Unemployment insurance meeting, etc.

[redbird]

Last week, I was summoned to a meeting about my unemployment insurance benefits. I had to take the letter they sent me (I think it said that) and fill out a form about my job hunt. The meeting was at 8:30, which turned out to mean that they open the building then; got about 20 of us in a room for a presentation that started about 8:50; and then there was a short wait and a meeting with someone.

I was nervous beforehand, because I wasn't sure about all of what to put on the forms. Some of it seems odder in retrospect: for example, it asks about my maximum travel time, and then in the presentation we were told that we had to be willing to travel an hour one way if by car, or an hour and a half if by public transit. OK, I can accept that, but then why ask me? So that they can get back to me and ask if I've been ignoring job openings because I thought they were too far away?

I am now registered in an allegedly AI job-matching system them have. Since I hadn't brought my resume (we weren't told to, and in fact one of the questions on the form was "do you customize your resume for every application?"), I have now emailed it, to go with the information they already had (like my address and most recent employment). I also asked to sign up for an interviewing workshop, because I could use some hints (assuming optimistically that sooner or later I will get some interviews). She also found one job that I am supposed to apply for—it's a contract proofreading job, so reasonable for me.

There was also a bunch of stuff about applying for "capable" jobs, meaning ones we have skills for even if they aren't what we've done in the past. Somewhere on either the state Department of Labor website or the separate one for the "Workforce 1" program is supposed to be information on this. I don't have it, because they told us not to take notes on URLs etc., we'd get a handout with them afterwards, and I was on the downtown train before I realized I should have been given a handout and wasn't. If I don't find it on the website I'll email the person at DoL who I sent my resume to for their system. The theory is basically that there are transferable skills, but there are complications about what jobs a person is required to accept to keep their benefits.

That did in fact take almost the full 90 minutes they told me to allow, from the 8:30 arrival time to when I was back out in the sunshine on 125th Street. (It could be a lot worse: the office is relatively near both my home and an accessible subway station.)

The next stop was the gym. Or, well, that was the plan. I got to the hotel where my gym is, noticed a fire truck outside, but everyone seemed calm, so I walked in. As I was walking through the lobby, one of the trainers stopped me and told me the gym was closed because of a "chemical spill." I inquired further, and found that it would be at least a few hours, maybe the rest of the day. My membership is good for any branch, but I wasn't carrying exercise clothes, I was going to use the ones I keep at the gym.

So, I gave up on that idea, and made a quick trip to Macy's. Quick and successful. I went to the same corner of the store where I successfully found pants last week; picked out five pairs to try on, all nominally in my size; and wound up buying four of them. Then I got cattitude to meet me in Chinatown for an early lunch (I had a relatively small breakfast, and then a banana and a few pecans for second breakfast, which isn't a lot), and came home.

Next step, that job application. Which wants a cover letter including salary requirements. I hate writing cover letters anyway; this makes it worse. I told the person at DoL this, and she expressed sympathy but had no suggestions.

Comments

[baratron.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, I'd forgotten you live in Queens rather than Manhattan. I was thinking "who drives in New York?" and forgetting that New York is more than just Manhattan. Still, 3 hours commute for 8 hours at work seems like a lot to expect of people. Unless it's your dream job, and you're renting the place you live, and can move relatively easily to be nearer.

[redbird]

Actually, I haven't lived in Queens since the 1980s, and I don't even have a drivers' license. I'm thinking more of the half of the state that isn't New York City (which they use the same forms for).