I got calls from four more recruiters today about the IBM job, bringing the total to fifteen. Even if the job itself doesn’t work out, I’ll still have a bunch of new recruiter contacts to add to my networking address book.
In all the excitement, I forgot to report another milestone that occurred yesterday: I got kicked off unemployment. I received a phone call from a gentleman at the North Carolina Employment Security Commission, who explained that now that I’m working full-time, I should stop filing weekly certifications for unemployment insurance. I had wondered exactly when I was supposed to do that, but it wasn’t clear to me whether it was based on hours, earnings, or something else. Anyway, I told him I would comply.
Before landing my temporary job, I had been dreading the expiration of my unemployment benefits for months. Now they are gone, and it doesn’t matter. The paycheck from my temporary job has basically replaced the unemployment checks, so this doesn’t change our financial situation. And if I still haven’t found another job by the time my temporary one ends on May 31, I can reopen my unemployment claim.
But it’s nice to know that, for now at least, I’m officially no longer unemployed. Underemployed, yes. That’s still a step up, isn’t it?