About Unemployment Phone Interviews

Unemployment insurance compensation is designed to help people between jobs. It's a federally funded program that's administered by the state that the unemployed person lives in. A person doesn't simply receive unemployment insurance just for being out of a job; they must continually be looking for a job in order to receive compensation. An unemployment phone interview determines a person's eligibility for unemployment insurance. Depending on the state, some or all of these interviews can also be done via mail, the Internet or in person.

Initial Application

A person submits an initial unemployment claim via the telephone or the Internet. A clerk reviews the application, then contacts the applicant for detailed information. This call verifies what the applicant said in the application or gets the applicant to expand on one of his application responses. The claims processing clerk will ask the applicant how long he worked, why his employment ended, how much the applicant made, if the applicant received severance, if the applicant is looking for a job and if he is able to work. After covering the initial application, the clerk signs the person up on a job website that employers have access to.

Fact Finding Interview

There are specific "hot button" questions on the application that could trigger a fact finding interview; method of termination is one of these issues. This happens if the applicant's questionnaire responses are vague. The interviewer will try to find out if the applicant quit because of employer abuse, or because she was unable to relocate with her job. If the employee was terminated through no fault on her part, then she may be able to get unemployment insurance.
The interviewer will ask if the applicant was given the opportunity to accept another job in the company. If the employer wasn't able to fit her with another job, the applicant may be able to get unemployment insurance.
The interviewer will try to determine if termination resulted from employee negligence, misconduct or for the employer's convenience. The interview makes a recommendation on the compensation seeker's application based on the phone interview.

Weekly Claim Interview

An applicant can file a weekly claim with a representative over the telephone. The interviewer can ask applicants any number of the following questions: if they've been available for work; if they're looking for a job; who they submitted applications to; if they refused work offers; if they failed to get a job because of drug testing; if they've registered with a job-related training program; if they've receiving other kinds of pay; what kind of work they did for the week, and if they've returned to full time employment. If an applicant files a claim over the Internet, or telephone and they answer "yes" where they should've said, "no," and they said "no" when they should've said yes, a claims clerk may contact them to get detailed reasons for those answers.

Job Search Progress Interview

Normally, by the time an applicant has used half of his unemployment insurance, he'll get a letter in the mail ordering him to attend an interview. It could either be an in-office or phone interview. The interviewer asks the same basic questions that the initial application interviewer asked. Then, the interviewer switches to the applicant's job search progress since accepting unemployment insurance. The interviewer is interested in the applicant's job search techniques and his plans to adjust the search parameters to improve his chances of getting hired. Based on this interview, the interviewer sends a package of job search related material to help the applicant find a job.

Reporting To a Hiring Employer Interview

Depending on the state the applicant lives in, this call is brief. The clerk asks the applicant for basic contact information, updates the applicant's file and then orders the applicant to report to an employer for a job interview. Applicants that fail to report to this job interview don't receive compensation for that week, and they may have their account reviewed for possible benefits termination. Many states simply send a letter ordering the applicant to report to an employer for an interview.

Resources

• Unemployment Interview Q&A
• History of Unemployment Insurance