California Work Search Requirements
To be eligible for UI benefits, you must do one or more of the following work search activities listed below. We recommend you do at least 3 activities per week, and encourage you to always document your efforts in case the EDD asks for proof.
Work Search Activities
We recommend everyone enroll in the Online Career Workshops Program. You can take the workshops as work search activities, all while strengthening your job hunting skills, with workshops such as resume building and interview prep. Everything is done online, and you get a certificate of completion for each workshop for easy documentation. More info here.
Prepare for your job search. This can include:
• Setting up an account and uploading your resume on CalJOBS.
• Participating in employment services offered by the America’s Job Center of California
• Creating a profile on various job-search websites.
• Registering with your union hiring or placement facility and meeting all union requirements related to job placement
• Watching videos on job-search topics like writing cover letters and interview skills.
Expand Your Network. This can include:
• Letting friends, prior employers, or community members know you are looking for work.
• Connecting with people on job networking websites and searching for jobs.
• Participating in networking events related to suitable work.
Apply for suitable work. This can include:
• Applying for positions with employers who may reasonably be expected to have openings.
• Applying or taking exams for openings in civil service.
• Responding to “want ads” or job openings.
Participate in permissible training. This can include:
•Taking courses that help you gain employment and don’t prevent you from accepting full-time work, such as federal and state-funded training, computer literacy courses, English as a Second Language (ESL) courses, or courses offering certificates of completion.
Note: If you file a new claim for regular unemployment on July 11 or after, you must register on CalJOBS.
You do NOT have to perform work search activities if any one of the following applies:
• You participate in state-approved training, including the California Training Benefits program.
• You participate in an employer-sponsored Work Sharing program.
• You have a definite job promise within a reasonable time.
• You are on a temporary layoff due to inclement weather or another reason and will be returning to work within 30 days.
• You have a specialized skill with limited job prospects, and you’ve exhausted your potential job sources.
• Your labor market has been virtually eliminated because of a trade dispute.
• You’re unemployed due to a seasonal shutdown in your industry with little chance of finding other work.
We strongly recommend everyone enroll in the Online Career Workshops Program. You can take the workshops as work search activities, all while strengthening your job hunting skills, with workshops such as resume building and interview prep. Everything is done online, and you get a certificate of completion for each workshop for easy documentation. More info here.