unemployment

Help in dealing with being unemployed, and how to use that time to find a job you’ll do well and be happy at.

how do I respond to colleagues who are jealous of my furlough?

A reader writes: I’m furloughed, along with about 98% of my organization (~35,000 people), the vast majority of them public-facing retail. When the corporate furloughs came, one of the “reassuring” points leadership widely circulated was that, at some compensation levels, with unemployment plus the federal stimulus and our company paying our insurance premiums, an employee […]

Read the full article →

can I get unemployment if I quit due to health issues?

A reader writes: Are there any current protections for those who are high-risk for coronavirus but whose workplaces are operating on-site operations? Right now this is predominately essential workers, but some non-essential businesses as well (e.g., bookstores offering curbside pick-up). If I have asthma and live with family, including my elderly relative who has COPD, […]

Read the full article →

answers to your questions about the new unemployment benefits law

On Friday, major new unemployment benefits were signed into law — and they significantly expand who can collect unemployment, for how long, and how much you’ll receive. Here are the highlights of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act: • From now until July 31, everyone collecting unemployment will receive their regular state […]

Read the full article →

here’s what an unemployment benefits worker wants you to know

Here’s some advice from someone who works in an unemployment office: Saw  your post from earlier this week encouraging people to file for unemployment benefits if their hours are cut due to the national emergency. I work at the unemployment office in my state, and just wanted to say thanks for your advice – it […]

Read the full article →

if your hours have been cut, you can collect unemployment benefits

You should know that if your hours are cut due to coronavirus (or for any other reason), you can file for unemployment benefits in your state. I’ve heard from some people who incorrectly believed they had to be fully unemployed before they’d be eligible for unemployment. While rules vary from state to state, that’s generally […]

Read the full article →

I don’t want to have a boss

This was originally published in August 2012. A reader writes: How can I stand being employed by someone when I don’t want to have a boss? I’ve always had trouble working for authority; my experience with authority, and this isn’t just a perception as I’ve tried changing that too, is they walk all over me, […]

Read the full article →

here’s how you should spend your time while you’re unemployed

If you’re out-of-work and thinking about the best way to spend your time, you probably/hopefully have the obvious stuff covered, like updating your resume and writing great cover letters. But here are five other things you should do while you’re out-of-work to make the most of the time. 1. Volunteer. Volunteering for a charity or local community organization […]

Read the full article →

10 things not to say to your out-of-work friend

If you have an out-of-work friend who’s trying to find a job, you probably want to be supportive and say the right thing to make her search easier. But well-intentioned comments can easily make a stressed-out job-searcher feel worse. Here are 10 things you should never say to an out-of-work friend. 1. “It must be nice […]

Read the full article →