Unemployment conundrums

Embarking on my third unemployment claim in six years, I find that I still don't understand the timing of the process – specifically, when I am supposed to start filing my "weekly claims". You would think that should be simple to determine. You would be wrong.

It all comes down to ambiguous, sloppy, and conflicting terminology in the various paper and electronic instructions and FAQs provided by the VEC. As a technical writer, who makes (well, "made") a living by writing clear and unambiguous instructions, I find this to be particularly annoying. Here is my quandary.

First, some facts:

• My last day of work was Thursday 3/31.
• I have about 3.5 days of vacation pay coming to me in my final paycheck, which I haven't received yet.
• I filed my initial claim Friday 4/1.
• I received my monetary determination and PIN on Wednesday 4/6 (supposedly processed and mailed on 4/1, which I find hard to believe). 

Now, that monetary determination claims an "effective date" of 03/27/11 – that's Sunday, four days prior to my last day of work –and says it's for "benefit year ending date 03/24/12". As near as I can tell, that means I could not possibly qualify for benefits for the first week of my "benefit year", because I was employed for most of that week! So I guess I have only 51 weeks during which I could collect a maximum of 26 weeks of benefits.

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Limited progress

The second time I was laid off, I noted that the VEC had finally progressed to the point of delivering unemployment benefits via direct deposit or debit card instead of cutting and mailing paper checks (as they were still doing three years before, during my first layoff).

This time around, I was hoping for more innovations or streamlining in the whole process, but so far my application for unemployment and registration for job services has proceeded pretty much the same as in 2008; they still had my records on file and again I just had to update them with my latest (terminated) employment. A determination of benefits and a notification of my PIN arrived in the mail yesterday (in two separate envelopes – now really, was that necessary?). The PIN is again unchanged from the one originally assigned to me way back in '05, and the amount of my weekly benefit, alas, is barely changed from '08: only 4% higher than three years ago. I suppose that's only to be expected considering the state of the economy over that time; I should probably consider myself lucky it didn't actually go down.

One thing that apparently has changed – and not for the better – is the number of positions showing up on the job boards for technical writers. They seemed to be much more prevalent three years ago. Mind you, I wasn't necessarily fully qualified for many of those positions (the one requiring experience with Navy small boat maintenance sticks in my mind for some reason), but at least they were there to apply for; after all, people posting job openings tend to go overboard with their requirement wishlists, knowing full well that they'll almost certainly have to settle for something a little more realistic. The pickings appear to be slimmer now.

Could be tricky to come up with two "job contacts" a week to qualify for benefits...

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Misery loves company

So, while I was nattering on here about my layoff/furlough/retirement (take your pick), all my friends from Decipher who ended up out in Denver working for Sony Online Entertainment (after the Decipher layoffs) had just gotten the axe from SOE as they closed three of their studios, including Denver.

Guys, I am truly sorry to hear this. Wishing you all the best and hoping for a speedy turnaround in your fortunes...

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Third time's the charm?

Well, here we are again. Today, for the third time in just over six years, I joined the ranks of the unemployed. This time, however, it came as no surprise; the government contract I've been working on for the last two and a half years has finally come to an end. Actually, the original contract came to an end last September 30, but it got extended twice, for three months each time. We've known for the last three months that there would be no reprieve this time, and I was notified a couple of weeks ago that my employer did not have another position to move me into, at least not now.

So, I've been slowly toting my personal stuff home since January, and believe it or not (those of you who were familiar with the state of my office at The Company will readily believe it), still had three Target bags full of the remainders to fetch out to the car today when I said a final goodbye to my colleagues and my cubicle.

And yet... my mood is much different from that surrounding my layoffs of six years ago or even three years ago. It's not just because I had plenty of warning this time; it's because I've been contemplating early retirement more seriously with each passing month. Unlike the last two layoffs, I now finally believe I can swing retirement financially. The main unknown is what I'll be able to do for health insurance once my COBRA runs out in 18 months... but I've decided to cross that bridge when I come to it.

Some may question what I'm going to do with all my free time. That would only be those of you have not seen the state of my house or my yard recently, i.e., all of you. I've got a list of projects so long that I couldn't possibly complete them all if I lived to be 110. Hell, I've got a pile of family photos that I promised my younger brother copies of 18 years ago – as he not-so-graciously reminded me recently – that could conceivably take me the next month to scan and burn to CDs. And then there's the kitchen cabinets to replace, and the gravel path I want to build from the driveway out to the back yard gate, and the planting bed for which the edging stones have been sitting on the driveway for two years, and the deck and siding to pressure-wash, and... well you get the picture.

For that matter, I can't begin to count the number of unread books on my shelves that are crying out "Read me! Read me!" Not to mention this sadly neglected blog you're now reading, assuming that anyone is actually reading it. Oh, yes, I have more than enough to keep me busy.

Now, I'm not going to declare that my retirement is permanent just yet, though it may well be. My company has actually placed me, technically, on furlough status rather than layoff, because they are hopeful that they may acquire an additional contract or two in the relatively near future which will need a technical writer. Mind you, I told them I'm in no rush to go back to work, and even if they do come up with something for me, there's no guarantee I'll take it. I'll be filing for unemployment tomorrow (tried to do it tonight, but since today was my last day of employment, the brain-dead online application process thinks I'm still at work though it was 9 PM, and said I have to wait till tomorrow) and will dutifully apply for anything reasonably suitable, but if the trends noted in my last bout with job-hunting are any indication, I would be well-advised not to hold my breath waiting for an interview, let alone an actual job offer.

If anything does turn up, well, I'll have to make a decision about going back to work for a while (which would have the advantage of "resetting" my COBRA eligibility). Another bridge to be crossed if, and when, I come to it. For now, count me as retired and ready to enjoy it.

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8 + 68 + 12 = Finally!

8 months, 68 applications, 12 interviews.

That's what it took this time to land a job. Three years ago, it was 6 + 46 + 15. Stark illustration of the state of the economy: 33% more time, almost 50% more applications, 20% fewer interviews. And the interview rate is actually worse than it looks; only 7 of the 12 were actual full-scale interviews, with the rest being "screenings" over the phone that didn't lead to anything more. Last time around, it was 12 out of 15. So, really, more like 40% fewer "real" interviews.

Oh, and it's a 10% pay cut compared to my last position. :-(

Nonetheless, it includes fully paid health insurance, ten holidays (first time I've ever gotten all the Federal holidays, like Veteran's Day), and a 401(k) that they pay 3% into whether I contribute or not. And the commute is no worse, and perhaps easier, than for my last job. So I can't really complain.

All that aside, I have to say that today was the oddest "first day on a new job" I have ever experienced.


I was told to arrive at 9 AM for "check in". I did so, and spent just one hour filling out paperwork, going over benefits, and getting assigned an email/intranet account.

At that point my new supervisor said that was all he had for me to do today, because the project I'm assigned to (technical writing/software documentation for an off-site client) isn't quite ready to start. He said I could go home, call him tomorrow around 1 PM (after the project's "kick-off" meeting), and probably my first full day will be Wednesday.

So, apparently I am on the payroll as of today, but have nothing to do until Wednesday. And next Monday is Columbus Day (one of those Federal holidays), so I'm off that day. Nothing like a low-key start on a new job.

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Easy come, easy go

When I wrote about my unexpected Emergency Unemployment Compensation, I mentioned that the online weekly claim form no longer asked for the number or names of job-search contacts. Well, that lasted for five weeks. When I logged in to file my claim today, those questions had inexplicably reappeared on the form, just as inexplicably as they disappeared five weeks ago. Fortunately, I really did have my requisite two contacts (as I have every week) to list.

The way the government operates, I expect the next development will be a letter from the VEC taking me to task for not providing the details of my job contacts for the last five weeks, and demanding I repay those benefits.

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Sick call

So, Thursday morning I woke up with the beginnings of a cold: stuffy head, runny nose, slight sore throat. Things went downhill from there, and by Friday I could delete "slight" from the sore throat and add a dull headache and occasional cough. Despite periodic swilling of ersatz Nyquil, I slept poorly, and accomplished approximately nothing all day Saturday.

For once, I'm downright glad that I'm not employed. Not only am I not using up PTO that I'd much rather save for a vacation, but if I was working, I'd be truly pissed off at spending a perfectly good long holiday weekend on the sick list. Not that I enjoy being sick, you understand, but at least the timing of the "bug" is fairly irrelevant.

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Spoke too soon

OK, so I jumped the gun a bit when I said I was no longer unemployed, but rather "retired". It seems that while I wasn't paying close attention, the Federal Government decided to authorize Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) for us folks who use up our standard 26 weeks, e.g., me. So I get a letter from the VEC with a form to fill out to apply for EUC, which I send in and get approved for another 13 weeks.

So I'm coming out of retirement for another three months of grasping at straws. The pickins, always slim, have turned downright skeletal; but somehow I don't think the VEC will accept "couldn't find anything I wasn't either drastically overqualified or drastically underqualified for" as an excuse for not making my two contacts a week. (Although, curiously, the online weekly claim form no longer asks me how many contacts I made in the previous week, or asks for details. Those questions just disappeared after the 26th week. But I was told I still had to meet the same criteria for "active job-hunting". Go figure.)

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From unemployed to retired

Yesterday was a milestone of sorts in my job search. I emailed off my 54th job application. Nothing special about the number 54, but it was the last application that I "have to" make. See, the VEC requires the unemployee to be "actively searching for employment" each week in order to draw unemployment benefits for that week, and the minimum criterion for an "active search" is two contacts each week. Some weeks it has been damned hard to find two jobs that I might be remotely qualified for, but I have nevertheless dutifully logged at least two a week (a process also known as "grasping at straws").

But all good things, they say, must come to an end, and so it is with unemployment benefits: this marks the 26th and final week that I'm eligible to draw benefits, which is a good news/bad news situation. The bad news is that the check (well, direct deposit) next Wednesday will be my last. The good news is that I need no longer grasp at employment straws, because the VEC will no longer care whether I am actively searching for work. The VEC, in fact, will henceforth ignore my existence completely.

So, where does this leave me? For now, I'm going to consider myself an early retiree. Of course, it's barely possible that one of the last few applications I made might yet hit pay dirt... but I'm not holding my breath. I'll continue to watch the job boards for possibilities, but I'll no longer feel compelled to apply for jobs I don't really want and/or I'm not totally qualified for, just to fill a quota.

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Your check is in the ether

So, the Virginia Employment Commission no longer issues paper checks for unemployment benefits, instead making direct deposits to the unemployee's bank account or debit card. Three years ago, when I filed my weekly claim online on Sunday (the earliest day possible), my check would arrive in the mail on Wednesday. With electronic funds transfer eliminating the noble couriers of the USPS from the equation, it would be reasonable to expect that money to appear in my account a bit more expeditiously, say on Tuesday, if not Monday.

Reasonable, maybe, but wrong. My usual Sunday online claim resulted in the online augmentation of my bank balance on... Wednesday. Yup, no printing of a check, no taking it to the post office, no carrier slogging through rain and snow and glom of nit, just electrons slogging through the gloom of cyberspace -- and it still takes the same amount of time to get here. What are they doing, using slow electrons?

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The VEC goes 21st century

Speaking of the VEC and unemployment compensation, I was pleased to see that they are making progress towards entering the 21st century. Three years ago, while you could file for unemployment online, and make your weekly claims there as well, they still cut you a paper check and sent it by snail mail every week, so you could trek to the bank to deposit or cash it. Today, lo and behold, they have discovered both debit cards and direct deposit, between which you can choose for receipt of your largess. Indeed, paper checks are apparently no longer even an option, and good riddance I say.

Another improvement of note: One requirement for receiving unemployment benefits is that you be registered with VEC Job Services. In 2005, you did that by filling out a multi-page, mostly machine-readable, paper form with a #2 pencil and turning it in at the VEC office. Three years down the line, when you finish your online application for benefits, you are directed to the Job Services website to register. Hallelujah! And believe it or not, they actually still had my record from before, which I only had to update with my latest job history.

Now if they could just use that computing power to actually find me some viable job leads. The lone referral they sent me last time around arrived after I had finally started work at my new job. Keeping my fingers crossed that this might have improved also.

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Positive thinking

OK, so getting laid off for the second time in three years isn't exactly a stroke of good fortune. But I'm trying to think positively, look on the bright side, count my blessings, etc. And comparatively speaking, I'm a heckuva lot better off now than I was three years ago.

• It hasn't been 25 years since I last put together a serious resume or interviewed for a job.
• I already have a stack of books on resume writing and job hunting.
• I already have all the job-hunting websites bookmarked. (Yes, I still have that three-year-old folder of bookmarks. I never throw anything away. And so far they all still seem to be valid.)
• I know the ins and outs of unemployment claims. In fact, I applied online last night. With any luck, I might even avoid having to physically visit the VEC unemployment office this time around. Which is good because I'd rather not have to bother actually locating a VEC office, since the one I patronized last time closed shortly after I found a job. (And, in a bizarre turn of fate, my new employer ended up moving to the renovated building.)
  
• I paid off my car loan last August, trimming $300 a month off my fixed expenses.
• I got some major home maintenance (new roof and A/C) taken care of last year, so I don't have those expenses looming over me.

In short, I'm prepared. I know what to expect. Mind you, I'm not saying I'm looking forward to the challenge or any stupid bullshit like that. I hope like hell that it doesn't take me six months to find something this time. But at least this time I know the drill.

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Deja vu all over again

So, it's 6 days till the 3rd anniversary of what some of you may think of as Black Monday -- the day the first batch of us got "transitioned out" of The Company. Just yesterday, in fact, I marked next Thursday on my whiteboard calendar at work as "Black Monday".

Had I known, I could also have marked today, January 18, as Black Friday. Instead, I packed the calendar up with everything else in my office and stuffed it in my car. Yes, today The New Company called nine of us local employees into the conference room and passed out termination letters, effective immediately. They had already notified about the same number of the "remotes" that their services were no longer required. We'll get paid through the end of the month plus our accumulated PTO.

I can't say I was totally blindsided this time around; there had been ominous signs recently, and I'm no longer blithely oblivious to such warning signals. Not that that helps a whole lot. About the best I can say for it is that at least the CEO had the guts to wield the axe himself instead of delegating it off to the managers.

I'm really starting to hate the last half of January.

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Year of Hell

In roughly 12 hours, it will be exactly one year since I, and a number of my friends, were "transitioned out of" The Company in its first wave of layoffs. Although I eventually found employment in a much less stressful job at a much higher salary (making the layoff ultimately a Good Thing for me, as my friend DrHeimlich says it was for him), it took a six-month-long trek through dense clouds to reach that silver lining. It will be a while yet before my finances recover from the double whammy of living on unemployment insurance while having to pay the full freight on my medical insurance, and I don't think I will ever forget the punched-in-the-gut feeling from getting that figurative pink slip on Black Monday.

That said, I know that many of the others caught in that layoff and the two later rounds (not to mention those who pre-emptively departed for greener pastures before they could be likewise unwillingly "transitioned") had their lives disrupted a great deal more than I did, having to pick up and move, some with houses to sell and/or babies on the way. I'm thankful that I was able to find a new job locally, and that I didn't have to worry about the impact of my unemployment on anyone but myself.

To all of my former colleagues, here's wishing y'all a peaceful and truly happy new year in 2006, sans pink slips, job hunts, moves, or any of that bullshit. I miss you all.

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