A Holiday-Season Job Search Plan for Florida Claimants

If you are claiming Reemployment Assistance in November or December, you still have to meet the weekly work search requirement, and the calendar is crowded. This plan is general and makes no promise about how quickly anyone will be hired; it is only a way to organize the weeks.

First, what the state requires

Under section 443.091, Florida Statutes, being eligible includes actively seeking work, which includes contacting at least five prospective employers for each week of unemployment claimed (three in small counties as defined in the statute). Each weekly report must include the name and address of each employer contacted, where an address can be a website, physical or email address. Alternatively, a claimant can report in person to a one-stop career center for the week. The statute also notes that the department conducts random reviews of the information claimants provide. Always confirm current rules and your own situation with the state at floridajobs.org. Any product mentioned below is optional.

If you take temporary work, the rules for reporting earnings still apply; our post on holiday work and partial weeks explains that, and the work search log post covers what each entry should contain.

A simple weekly routine

• Monday: build the list. Gather the week’s targets: seasonal postings on employer careers pages, general job boards, and staffing agencies. Aim for a few more than your requirement so one dead end does not leave you short.
• Tuesday and Wednesday: apply. Do the applications while you are fresh and log each one right away.
• Thursday: follow up. Call or message employers you applied to earlier and note the result. Visit local employers in person if that fits the work you seek.
• Friday: review. Check your count, your entries and your saved confirmations, then note next week’s interviews.

Where seasonal contacts tend to come from

Retail, warehousing, delivery and logistics, restaurants and hospitality, and tourism-related businesses often add temporary staff in the fall and winter, though what is available varies by employer and area. Staffing agencies are another source, and a contact with an agency can be recorded with the agency’s name and the type of work you asked about. Your local CareerSource Florida center can also point to openings and offers employment services. A real application for a temporary role you are able and available to do is a legitimate contact; browsing postings is not.

Optional: a resume that prints cleanly

Most applications are online, but some employers still ask for a paper copy at an in-person visit, and hiring managers sometimes prefer one at a walk-in interview. Print a handful of clean copies on plain white or cream paper. If you do not have a printer, a library or print shop works fine. If you would rather print at home, you could look at a compact wireless printer and some resume paper, and a simple padfolio keeps copies flat and gives you somewhere to take notes. None of these is necessary for the work search.

Optional: a better video-interview setup

More first interviews now happen over video. You do not need special equipment: a phone propped on a stack of books is enough. Choose a quiet spot, face a window or lamp so your face is lit from the front, and check your background. If your built-in sound is poor, a headset with a microphone can make you easier to hear, and a webcam may help if your laptop camera is weak. Test the video app with a friend before the real call.

Keep the holidays from derailing the routine

• Do your applications early in the week of a holiday, since many employers close or respond slowly around the day itself.
• Keep your payment-request day on a calendar so a short week does not make you miss it.
• Do not reuse the same employer at the same location three weeks in a row unless it has told you it is hiring.

Our record-keeping system post shows how to keep the paperwork tidy. A few optional search links are collected on the work search supplies page. For filing questions, see the filing guide, and rely on the state’s official pages for the final word.