Danie3633

Hello all,
so I have been recently let go and I'm not that panicked about it, I'm careful with money and have enough saved that I can breath for a while. I feel I need to take this time to figure out what I really want to do (I'm 27).
Anyway, I have a friend with an apt to spare in Milan and it was offered to me rent free and they've all promised to do mini trips through italy while I'm there. I know I don't need a visa for 3 months and I have the FF miles to get me there super cheap.
My question is this: I live in NYC and want to file for unemployment and since the only way I can meet the requirement of seeking employment is with the internet why can't i send out resumes from there? Has anyone done this? Anybody have a problem?
A friend who works in HR said just say i needed to leave town for a family matter but that I'm still looking for a job if they ask me to appear...
I feel like I just need to get out of NY for a while and get my head straight
Guess I'm just nervous but I thought all of you kind and wise folks might have experience and advice. Especially 111op I saw a similar thread.
Thanks

111op

Hi, I am sorry to hear about the job loss, but you're not alone.

I don't really want to get into too many details here, but I considered a couple of issues.

Unemployment certification must be done weekly. You can easily certify on the internet and it takes 2 minutes. The only difficult thing about it is to apply for it the very first time. It requires a phone confirm with someone, and it could be hard to get through. I kept dialing for a while.

You should claim asap. That goes without saying. If you delay two weeks, you potentially lose two weeks of benefits. For example, you find a job after 12 weeks, so you could have collected 12 weeks, but instead, you collected 10 weeks because you took your time to file at first.

I received a notice to appear in person a few weeks after I filed for unemployment. Now, I was unable to make the first notice (I think they asked me to come in on a Friday). I called and said I couldn't make it. They said no problem. Come the following Monday. And I did.

The notice for me to show up came in about one to two weeks (if I remember right) before the appointed date. The notice will tell you that appearance is required. If you don't show, benefits will be cancelled. I knew I couldn't make it so I called them right away.

I received a second notice to show up a few days after the first appointed date, but by then, I had already shown up, so I disregarded it.

Quite a number of weeks later, I received a simple questionaire to fill out about what I'd been doing to look for a job. There was a deadline for my reply. It was a pretty generous deadline. I almost missed it, but to be sure I'd make the deadline, I returned my response by priority mail.

I think people's experiences can vary depending on what which unemployment office has jurisdiction. I've a friend in Westchester and he has indicated a different experience.

Other issues you may have to consider -- does the labor department track IP addresses of where the certification is done? It's quite easy to tell from an IP address whether it's domestic or international. Does the labor department check with USCIS as to whether the applicant is in the country?

Danie3633

Hi 111op thanks for replying so quickly.
Yes I've heard the same thing about a request coming within a couple weeks but as I'm not planning on leaving for around 6 weeks or so I didn't think it would be a problem.
Is there a way to privately message you on this thing? I understand not wanting to get into details here.
For curiosity what did you do while you were traveling?

111op

Regarding IP addresses, I'll share one experience.

I also bank with HSBC, and I was abroad. I decided to check my acocunts online, and to my surprise, I was blocked.

I was very surprised, as I'd never had an experience with HSBC like this in the US. I've a retirement account with Vanguard, which is smart enough to recognize whether an IP address is unknown. So I could envision an experience like this with Vanguard, but since I've tried to access HSBC accounts from at least 3 different IP addresses in the US and never had a problem I couldn't figure out why they would block my access.

So I called HSBC and asked why they had blocked my access. Reason -- the website blocks access from all non-US IP addresses. They had to do an override.

111op

I think I got my notice within 6 weeks, but I think your mileage may vary. One friend filed later and I don't think she got her notice within 6 weeks, I think.

You've to realize that the unemployment office must be swamped with requests these days. I filed way before Dow at 6600.

Feel free to e-mail me at op 111 op 111 @ hotmail.com (remove all the spaces to reply), but I think you have enough info to decide what's good for you.

cammci

Well...not knowing the NY unemployment system, but assuming it's the same as in Iowa, I did take vacation while I was also collecting unemployment benefits. I had to look for 2 leads each week, and those I researched were Internet-based and I faithfully documented what I was looking for in my unemployment journal as I applied for my benefits. In my position, I could turn down jobs if they weren't up to my salary requirements based on what I was making previously. Was I really looking--heh, kinda. If something good would have popped up I would have taken it.

The unemployment workers who talked to us at our company's pre-closing basically said they system is set up that the unemployment staff are understaffed and can't monitor everybody's claims. However, if you get audited, make sure you have the data (the job searches) accurately documented.

So if you have to ask our opinions, you must be hesitant. Your options are:
a) chat w/unemployment case worker and tell them your story over the phone and ask their opinion (try not to give your name so your case is flagged--you never know)

b) just do it-set up your account--it'll take several weeks before you even get your payment and do direct deposit for the money. It also takes time because the company who let you go has to confirm or deny you worked for them. What if there was a hearing? Also, check time differences because you can call in to process your claim as there's a specific window of time to do it in. Not sure if the claims can be done online or not.

c) Pick either or. Either stay in the US and collect your unemployment, or forgo unemployment and stick it out in Milan (no worries to do job searches, no ethical wrestling)

check out: https://ui.labor.state.ny.us/UBC/home.do

111op

I don't know about Iowa, but for NYC you can definitely claim online. However being able to claim online begs other questions I've already raised.

Also it won't take a few weeks to set up direct deposit. I forget how long it took. Maybe two weeks? The money should go directly into your bank account. I always check to be sure that the money goes in.

Anyway, I think the labor department has a record of whom you worked for. They asked for the employer's ID number, which can be found on your W2. They should have a record of the taxes you paid. So verification is really quite quick.

If I remember right, I believe for NYC, you can't claim the very first week (it's a waiting week, or something like that). I forget exactly what it is.

CarolA

Well...

I was able to file remotely. However, the state of Georgia makes you "appear" to take classes and failure to take them will result in denial even if you file. I was able to "postpone" one class due to an interview, but there were "windows" to complete the class (at the one I went to there were several people trying to "get back into the program by catching up" LOL)

Also, as a hiring manger. If you aren't going to be available for interviews because you are on vacation, DO NOT bother to send me a resume. I don't really care what your HR friend says.... you are buring a bridge that way. So you better not "apply" with anyone you want to be hired by. When we call to find out when we can talk to you we will know we were being "played" for the unemployment.


What I wound up doing was looking for a job and then delaying the start so I could go on my vacation.

WillTravel

I am trying to understand the hiring manager's perspective on this. Many times when I've submitted a resume, I've been called back weeks later. If I'm called back a month after I've submitted a resume, it's quite conceivable that I would be away even if I hadn't originally planned to do so at the time I submitted the resume. In my examples, unemployment insurance was not a factor, but the general principle still applies.

Grassshopper

I would do it in a minute but I wouldn't claim unemployment, just because I wouldn't feel that it was right. Afterall, you're not really going to be looking for a job are you?

But as for going, absolutely. I wish I had done that when my job ended in 2003. Hindsight is 20/20.

Danie3633

Wow I really didn't expect this sort of heated debate. But yes as Grasshopper said I feel like it's something said I feel like it's something I need to do for me and something to get my head on straight. If I need to not receive benefits for that period of time so be it. Also, I work in a very small niche field and most likely any offer will not be coming for quite some time as the field is pretty much "on hold" and from someone I know in the industry or at least through someone I know. Plus I would have a base and not be making other reservations that need canceling so if something comes up I can also pay the change fee and the return of the FF ticket.

111op

Personally I think that most hiring managers will show flexibility. In any case, even if you're away for three months, if you get a call from them, you don't have to tell them that you're away for three months. If the job sounds interesting, you can fly back to interview.

Plus it's more and more common for the first interview to be a phone screen anyway. You can still do the phone screen remotely.

Anyway I'm thinking that it's more likely that there are few suitable jobs as the original poster pointed out, so it will not be very likely that there will be an interview that will come up. And in any case, even if it does come up, there are ways to handle it.

Leely2

I have been called to come in for interviews over six months after I'd submitted my resume (government and education jobs mostly, but even a few wild cards in the private sector). After I got my last job year and a half ago, I got called for interviews many places I had completely written off.

Leely2

Oops, meant to hit preview. Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much about that particular problem at this point.

CarolA

Maybe it's just my industry, but I have rarely had a call back several weeks or months later (and can't say that when I hire I ever go digging that far back LOL!)

If you apply for a job I post then I assume you are looking now, not later. And with the "glut" of applicants right now unless you are just head and shoulders above everyone else I am not going to wait 3 months for the in person interview and risk losing someone I may like for the job in the meantime!

Now I have delayed hiring if you tell me "I would like to take a few weeks off to do X" My current job I did just that. Accepted with a start date 6 weeks out! They had no problem with that (and then I went to Paris!)

SCFoodie

I've been on both sides of this.

When I was laid off from my last job, I took some "time off" to relax, take some classes and just enjoy life. I knew the layoff was coming, so I had planned for it - financially and emotionally. During my "time off" I did not look for a job - and there weren't any good ones out there at the time anyway. After a few months I filed for unemployment and started the job search. But I still really wanted to take a trip. For ethical and financial reasons, I chose to wait to take the trip until I had accepted a job offer.

I started my job 4 weeks after I accepted it. And in those 4 weeks I took a vacation to see my family on the East Coast and then went with one of my sisters to Bora Bora. It was a great time. No worries about finding a job and no stress from a current job!

In my current position (and the past two) I am responsible for hiring in my office. When I post a job, I am hoping to get qualified applicants fairly quickly - within the first 2 weeks. If I call an applicant and he or she can't interview for weeks or months, I won't totally write them off, but will take them out of immediate consideration and move on to interview people who are available to meet with me within a 1-2 week time period.

I would never be comfortable sending out resumes and applying for positions if I was not available to interview within a reasonable time period (a week or so.) And I was not comfortable accepting unemployment checks when I was not looking for a job. Do what feels right to you.

If you can swing it financially, why not go to Milan for a month or two and then come back to the States, file for unemployment and start your job search? Is there a time limit in NY for when you can file for unemployment?

WillTravel

Personally I wouldn't want to delay starting a job to take a vacation, because the real cost of the vacation would be the net salary/benefit loss during that period plus the vacation costs. So really it would be a very expensive vacation. It's not to say it's wrong to do so, but I just don't personally like it from a financial point of view.

Danie3633

Thank you all for your replies. I also had been planning for it since my field has been um decimated. I am not really planning on spending too much as it's $40 for the ticket and a free apt. I have however asked the State and I can out my benefits on hold and pick them up again with no penalty when I get back and since I'm only allowed x number of weeks per year no harm no foul. So since they are allowing me to do so I don't really see an ethical issue anymore.

Hagan

Go for it Danie and have a ball! You may never get such a chance again. Life is full of strange little coincidences, and you just never know what will come from such a serendipitous trip. Please write and let us know how it goes.