Hide from Unemployment or Fight Back with these 5 Strategies

hide-from-unemploymentIf you hide from unemployment or Minnesota’s unemployment office, this generally means one of two things:

  • You are fearful of an unemployment audit, or
  • Unemployment sent you a questionnaire.

Luckily, you found me and the process of sending me a message or calling me directly is easy.  On the other hand, maybe you will sleep better if you consider this short list of suggestions:

Hide from Unemployment: Deadlines

Every deadline is important.  Do not hide from unemployment if you have a deadline.  Even if their deadline is less than an hour, always always always take any identified deadline as gospel.

I agree, some of the unemployment deadlines in Minnesota are ridiculous if not a black and white breach of our Constitution.  If you know about a deadline, abide by it.  For those who didn’t know about the deadline, try to manage it going forward.   If you forgot about a deadline, try to collect unemployment through a secondary process.

Hide from Unemployment:  Job Search

I wish unemployment was a vacation.  If it were, things would be easier.  Do not hide from unemployment because you know you are going to get a job.

Even the most talented people on the planet become unemployed.  Eligibility in Minnesota requires searching for a job.  As a result, I encourage everybody to keep a written log book of their job search process so they can prove their duty of looking for work.

Hide from Unemployment:  Estimation

Do not hide from unemployment because you are bad at estimating.  If you don’t know, you will eventually find out that each week requires answering standardized questions.  One of the questions asks about the hours and wages you earned for that particular week.

In my experience, estimating or guessing can become problematic.  It isn’t necessarily impossible to overcome, but estimating is a weak strategy.

Hide from Unemployment:  Bad Answers

Do not hide from unemployment because you do not know the answer to a question.  Your game plan for success requires you to find answers to a question before it is asked.

Flying by the seat of your pants or saying “I don’t know” is setting yourself up for failure.

Hide from Unemployment:  Audits are Easy

Do not hide from unemployment if you get audited.  Any answer or the lack of an answer can be construed against you.  This plays into my theory of never giving a bad answer.

The alternative is one or the other:

  • Prepare to give back your unemployment, or
  • Turn your back on thousands of dollars.

Luckily, you are not going to let this happen.