It's like a full-time gig

My first moment of doubt came in the spring. New to the rolls of the unemployed, I earnestly walked into a mandatory orientation at the Rainier Avenue WorkSource office. I expected — or hoped, at least — to get some good job-hunting tips or resume-writing advice. After all, I had worked at The Seattle Times for 20 years and hadn’t had to look for work in all that time.

I told my job counselor I was concerned because I had to have surgery in May. I knew that in order to collect my unemployment check each week I needed to complete three “job search activities” — either applying for jobs or attending state-sanctioned workshops.

What should I do after surgery? Was there something like a “sick pay” clause for people like me? Would I have to stop claiming my money while I was recuperating?

My counselor gave me a puzzled look, like she couldn’t fathom my worry. “Well, you can apply for jobs from your couch,” she coaxed. “Everything’s done online now.”

Hmm. I expected to be on narcotic painkillers, sleeping a lot, fuzzy-brained at best. Could I craft a good sales-pitch cover letter in that condition? Dozing off through some old Seinfeld episodes sounded more like it.

That’s when I began to realize: For all of the good intentions behind the three-a-week job-search rule, it’s often viewed dismissively — as a hoop to jump through with the least possible effort. Not just by job-hunters but by people doing the hiring, and sometimes even by the people charged with enforcing it.

On any given week in Washington state, there are roughly 200,000 people claiming unemployment benefits. Federal law requires every state to enforce the job-search requirement for anyone collecting benefits. Job-seekers must keep detailed logs of their efforts and be ready with proof in case they’re asked.

In August, the state audited 5,603 people and found 146 of them had incomplete job-search logs. They were referred for further investigation to see whether their benefits should be cut.

The requirement makes legal and moral sense: It lessens the risk of fraud by helping ensure that people collecting unemployment really do want to be working. And it reinforces the ethic that you can’t get something for nothing. After all, $611 a week, the maximum benefit, is real money.

Practically speaking, though, the rule is problematic.

This is the worst economy the U.S. has seen in decades. In Washington, 9.3 percent of people officially are unemployed. There simply aren’t enough jobs to go around.

For job-seekers, that can make it tough to find three suitable openings to apply for every week for months on end. And it sometimes leads to nuttiness. Corporate CEOs apply for entry-level office jobs. People with no experience apply for executive-level positions. A journalist friend of mine seriously considered applying to be a train conductor. His initial thought: He does like trains.

“It’s natural. In these times, people are going to try for anything,” said Sheryl Hutchison, communications director with the state’s Employment Security Department. “Some might be trying to game the system. Others, I think, are making a genuine effort and they’re willing to try anything.”

At the Seattle Repertory Theatre, an opening in August for an information systems coordinator, a position that pays less than $35,000 a year, drew more than 300 resumes. “It was insane,” said human resources director Katrina Miller, who has just one assistant, a volunteer. A lot of applicants were “vastly overqualified,” she said, citing former chief technology officers looking to make $100,000. “And a lot of them are uber-educated. We weren’t even requiring a degree.”

On the other hand, Miller has seen applicants who are clearly under-qualified. One senior-level opening for an “external relations” director drew people with no fundraising experience even though the posting spelled out that requirement.

“They’re just blasting their stuff out there,” Miller said. “They’re not even paying attention. You think to yourself, are you even reading the job description?”

While Miller feels the burden of slogging through hundreds of applications, she stands by the state’s requirement for job seekers. “If you’re going to draw unemployment,” she said, “you probably should be looking for a job. I can’t think of another way to do it.”

The state recognizes the burden all of this creates for employers, especially small shops. So as part of WorkSource — a public-private venture that serves as the state’s job-assistance center — businesses can find help learning how to filter out applicants who aren’t qualified.

For some people, online job postings can lead to work. But for others — including professionals, who have been hit hard by this recession — applying blindly over the Internet is not the best way to find a job. It’s all about personal connections.

Even WorkSource counselors say networking is the key to getting hired. Naturally, then, they should count it as a job-searching “activity,” right?