Congrats on the new marketing job! 🎉 I just want to echo what everyone else has said and add one more practical tip that really helped me when I was in the same boat last year. Since you mentioned it's a marketing position, you can absolutely turn your required work search activities into valuable prep work. I did things like "researched Google Ads certification requirements," "studied marketing analytics dashboards," and "reviewed content marketing strategies on industry blogs." EDD counted all of these as legitimate work search activities, and they genuinely helped me perform better in my new role. I'd also recommend setting up a recurring calendar reminder to do your 3 work searches on the same day each week - I used Sunday mornings with coffee. Having a routine made it feel less like a chore and more like professional development time. Just remember: keep certifying normally, keep doing work search until you actually start working, and only report income when you're actually earning it. Save all your documentation (offer letter, work search logs, etc.) and you'll be golden. The rules seem annoying but they're pretty straightforward once you get the hang of it. Best of luck with the transition - marketing is such an exciting field and June will be here before you know it! 🚀

Congratulations on the marketing position! 🎉 This is actually a really common situation, and I went through the exact same thing about 6 months ago. Here's what I learned: you absolutely DO need to continue doing your work search activities until you actually start working, even with a signed offer letter. I know it feels pointless, but EDD's rules don't make exceptions for future employment. I tried to skip it thinking my offer letter was enough proof, and ended up getting flagged for an eligibility interview - not fun! However, you can definitely make this work in your favor! Since you're starting at a marketing firm, use your required searches to prep for your new role. I did activities like "researched digital marketing certification programs," "studied industry trends in marketing automation," and "reviewed case studies from top marketing agencies." All of these counted as valid work search activities AND actually helped me excel in my new position. For reporting to EDD: don't report anything until you actually start working and earning money. Your offer letter isn't considered income until you're on payroll. When you certify for the week containing your first day of work, that's when you'll answer "yes" to working and report your gross earnings. Pro tip: keep a simple log of all your work search activities with dates and specifics. I used a basic notes app on my phone to jot things down right after doing them. Makes certification so much easier! The bureaucracy is annoying but temporary - focus on that exciting new chapter ahead! You've got this! 💪

I'm currently in week 2 of waiting for my eligibility interview and this thread has been such a lifesaver! @Amara Eze your complete journey from stress to success gives me so much hope - that 2-day turnaround from interview to paid status is exactly what I needed to hear. I've been certifying every two weeks like everyone recommended, even though seeing "pending" makes my anxiety spike each time. I was laid off when my department got eliminated and have all my paperwork organized thanks to the advice here. The consistent timelines everyone's sharing (4-6 weeks for interview, then 2-5 days for payment) makes this feel way more manageable than the endless uncertainty I was imagining. Thank you to everyone who took time to share their real experiences - knowing I'm not alone in this waiting game is keeping me going! For anyone else just starting this process, definitely keep certifying and stay organized with your documentation. We've got this! 💙

This thread has been absolutely incredible to read through! As someone who's currently in week 1 of waiting for my EDD eligibility interview, seeing @Amara Eze's complete journey from total panic to getting all her backpay within 2 days of her interview gives me so much hope! I just filed my claim after being laid off from a tech company that had massive layoffs, and I'm already feeling that anxiety about the unknown timeline. Reading everyone's consistent advice about continuing to certify every two weeks no matter what has been invaluable - I was honestly unsure if I should keep doing that while in "pending" status, but now I know it's absolutely critical. The timelines everyone's sharing (4-6 weeks for interview scheduling, then 2-5 days for payment after approval) actually make this whole process feel predictable rather than endless. I have all my layoff documentation saved and ready thanks to the advice here. Thank you to everyone who shared their real experiences - this community support is already helping me feel less alone in what I know will be a stressful waiting period ahead!

This thread is a perfect example of why user experience design matters so much, especially for government services! I'm a UX designer and reading through everyone's experiences with that checkbox makes me want to cry - this is such a textbook case of how poor interface design can cause real financial harm to people. The double negative wording ("Do NOT withhold...") is essentially asking users to solve a logic puzzle when they're already stressed about their financial situation. In UX, we have a principle called "don't make me think" - interfaces should be intuitive, not require mental gymnastics to understand. A better design would be something like: "Federal Tax Withholding: ○ Yes, withhold 10% for federal taxes (recommended) ○ No, I'll handle taxes myself" Simple, clear, no room for confusion. The fact that this same issue comes up repeatedly shows EDD really needs to invest in user testing and plain language design. Until then, threads like this are literally saving people thousands of dollars! For anyone still confused: UNCHECKED box = taxes withheld. That's it. Don't overthink it!

As someone who just went through this exact same confusion last month, I totally feel your frustration! That checkbox is honestly the worst example of confusing government form design I've ever seen. The double negative wording is so counterintuitive. Here's what finally helped me understand it: think of the checkbox as EDD asking "Do you want to OPT OUT of tax withholding?" If you want taxes taken out (which you clearly do to avoid that tax surprise), then you DON'T check the opt-out box - leave it blank/unchecked. So the rule is: UNCHECKED = taxes withheld, CHECKED = no taxes withheld. You can easily verify what happened with your past payments by checking your UI Online payment history. If your "Amount Paid" matches your "Weekly Benefit Amount" exactly, then no taxes were withheld. If the amount paid is about 10% less, then taxes were properly taken out. Don't stress too much about the past 3 weeks - you can fix this going forward on your next certification. Just make sure to leave that tricky checkbox UNCHECKED from now on. And maybe set aside some money from those past payments just in case, but at least you caught this early rather than at tax time!

I've been on UI for about 3 months now and use Bank of America for direct deposit. In my experience, once your status changes to "paid" in UI Online, it typically takes 1-2 business days to show up in my account. Bank of America seems to be pretty quick with EDD deposits compared to some other banks I've heard about. Since you certified Sunday and it's already showing paid on Tuesday, I'd expect to see it in your account by Wednesday night or Thursday morning at the latest. One thing I noticed is that BoA usually processes these deposits in the evening/overnight, so I typically see the money when I check in the morning. The timing has been very consistent for me - rarely takes more than 48 hours once it shows paid status. Just make sure your direct deposit info is correct in your UI Online account under the payment settings!

I've been on UI for about 6 months now and wanted to share my experience with Wells Fargo timing since that's your bank. In my case, once the status shows "paid" in UI Online, it typically takes 2-3 business days to hit my Wells Fargo account. Since yours changed to paid yesterday evening, I'd expect to see it by Thursday night or Friday morning. Wells Fargo seems to process EDD deposits overnight, usually in the early morning hours. One tip that's helped me - if you have Wells Fargo mobile banking, set up push notifications for deposits so you don't have to keep checking. The timing has been pretty reliable for me, even during holiday weeks it's rarely more than 3 business days once it shows paid. Also keep your EDD debit card handy as a backup just in case there are ever any direct deposit issues down the road.

I'm a substitute teacher who went through this exact process last year and wanted to add a few practical tips that really helped me! Beyond all the great advice already shared, here are some specific things to consider: **Before applying**: Call your district's benefits office (not just HR) - they often have more detailed information about substitute employment classification and may have template letters they've provided to other subs for EDD purposes. **Application strategy**: When describing your work pattern, be specific with numbers. I wrote something like "worked 0 days in 8 out of 20 weeks this semester" - concrete data helps EDD understand the inconsistency better than general descriptions. **During the process**: Save EVERYTHING - emails about available assignments, your substitute portal login history showing when you checked for jobs, even text screenshots if your district uses those. I had to provide additional documentation during my claim review and having everything organized made a huge difference. **Work search requirement**: Remember that while collecting benefits, you'll need to document job search activities. Apply for summer camps, tutoring centers, educational nonprofits, etc. - not just traditional teaching jobs. **Patience with the system**: My initial application was "pending" for almost 5 weeks before approval. Don't panic if it takes time - the system moves slowly but many subs do get approved eventually. The financial relief during summer was incredible after months of unpredictable income. Definitely worth the paperwork hassle! Feel free to ask if you have questions about any specific part of the process.

I'm a substitute teacher who just went through this process successfully this past summer! Reading through this thread brings back so many memories of my own confusion and stress about the whole situation. Here's my experience and some additional tips: **My situation**: Similar to yours - inconsistent work for about 8 months as a sub, some weeks with 4-5 days, many weeks with absolutely nothing. I was also terrified about applying because I'd heard horror stories about EDD denying educational workers. **What actually happened**: I applied the day after my last assignment in June and got approved after about 4 weeks! The key was being completely transparent about my situation and using the right language that EDD recognizes. **Specific tips that worked for me**: 1. I requested a letter from my district specifically stating I was a "substitute employee with no guaranteed minimum hours or income" - this was crucial documentation 2. I tracked my work pattern for the last semester: 23 total days worked spread across 36 possible weeks, with 13 weeks having zero assignments 3. When they asked about "reasonable assurance," I explained that being on the substitute list only means I'm eligible to be called, not that I'm guaranteed any actual work **During summer**: I collected benefits for 9 weeks while actively job searching. The work search requirement wasn't too burdensome - I applied to summer programs, tutoring centers, and even some retail positions to show I was genuinely seeking employment. **One thing nobody mentioned**: Keep copies of any substitute handbook or orientation materials that mention the "as-needed" or "on-call" nature of the work. This helped support my case that substitute teaching isn't regular part-time employment. Don't let fear stop you from applying - you have a legitimate claim! The worst they can say is no, but many of us do get approved. Good luck!