Congratulations on landing the marketing job! What an incredible relief after 4 months of searching - I can only imagine how excited and nervous you must be feeling right now. Everyone here has given you absolutely perfect advice, and I just want to reinforce the key points: definitely keep certifying every two weeks and report your work hours and gross earnings honestly. This IS the official way to notify EDD about returning to work - there's no separate form or special process needed. When you certify next, answer "yes" to working and enter your hours and gross pay for the actual weeks you worked, even if your first paycheck hasn't arrived yet. The system is designed to handle this transition smoothly. Once you consistently report full-time earnings that exceed your weekly benefit amount (usually after 2-3 certification periods), EDD will automatically stop payments and eventually close your claim. Whatever you do, don't just stop certifying without reporting your work - that's exactly how people end up with those nightmare overpayment scenarios months later. The certification process creates the proper paper trail showing you were transparent about your return to work from day one. One small tip: consider setting a phone reminder for your certification dates so you don't accidentally miss one while adjusting to your new work routine. Starting a new job is exciting but can be overwhelming, and it's easy to forget administrative tasks like this. Best of luck with your first day on Monday - you're going to do great at the marketing firm, and you're absolutely handling the EDD side correctly!

Congratulations on your new job! That's such wonderful news after 4 months of searching - you must be so relieved and excited! Everyone here has given you excellent advice, and I just want to add my own experience from when I went through this exact situation about 8 months ago. The key thing is to absolutely keep certifying every two weeks and report your work honestly - don't stop certifying! When you certify, you'll see questions asking if you worked during specific weeks. Answer "yes" and report your gross earnings (before taxes) for the actual weeks you worked, even if you haven't received your first paycheck yet. So if you start Monday and that week falls within your certification period, report those expected earnings based on your agreed salary/hourly rate. The EDD system will automatically reduce your benefits once you report earnings that exceed your weekly benefit amount. After consistently reporting full-time wages for 2-3 certification periods, your claim will automatically stop. You don't need to call or fill out any special forms - the bi-weekly certification process IS how you officially notify them about returning to work. One tip that really helped me: keep a simple log (even just notes on your phone) of your work hours and gross pay for each week. This way you have everything organized when it's time to certify and you won't have to scramble to remember details. The overpayment horror stories you hear about usually happen when people either hide their work or just stop certifying altogether. As long as you're honest and consistent with reporting, you'll be fine. Good luck with your first day at the marketing firm on Monday!

Great to hear you got your new claim approved! Just wanted to add for anyone else reading this - make sure you keep detailed records of all your job search activities. EDD can ask for proof that you're actively looking for work, especially if there are any issues with your claim later. Also, since you mentioned the contract work, be prepared that they might contact your previous employer to verify your employment dates and wages. Sometimes this can cause delays in processing, but it's just part of their standard verification process. Good luck with your job search and hope you find something stable soon!

For anyone else dealing with the entertainment industry side of things - I work in TV production and wanted to clarify a few things. Yes, we do cycle on and off unemployment between shows, but there are some important details people miss: 1. You still need to meet the minimum earnings requirements for each new benefit year, just like everyone else 2. The "same employer" rule can be tricky - if you work for different production companies even on the same network, those count as separate employers 3. You have to genuinely be available for work during your unemployment periods. You can't just collect benefits while you're committed to a specific future project that hasn't started yet The biggest advantage we have is that our industry is structured around temporary employment, so EDD understands that being unemployed between gigs is normal rather than suspicious. But we definitely don't get to "game the system" like some people think. Still have to follow all the same rules about job searching and being available for work!

This thread is absolutely amazing! I just accepted a job offer after 5 months of searching and was completely overwhelmed about properly handling the EDD transition. Reading through Carmen's expert breakdown about continuing to certify while reporting employment accurately, plus seeing all the success stories from Mateo and others who got the "earned too much for benefits" confirmation message, has been incredibly reassuring. The detail about claims staying active for the full benefit year is something I had no clue about - that's such important information! I'm also taking notes on all the practical tips like having your EIN ready, reporting gross earnings, and keeping screenshots of everything. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences here - this community knowledge is invaluable for navigating these confusing processes. Starting my new position next week feeling much more confident about doing everything correctly!

This has been such an incredibly helpful thread! I'm actually in the exact same situation right now - just got hired for a customer service position after 3 months of unemployment and was totally stressed about how to properly report to EDD. Reading through Carmen's expert breakdown about continuing to certify while reporting all employment and earnings accurately has been a huge relief. The fact that the system automatically stops benefits when your earnings exceed the weekly amount makes so much sense, but I never would have known that without this discussion. I'm also really grateful for all the practical tips everyone shared - having the EIN ready, reporting gross earnings, keeping screenshots, etc. Mateo, thanks for asking this question and sharing your successful update! Seeing that you got the "earned too much for benefits" message and everything worked smoothly gives me so much confidence. This community is amazing for helping navigate these confusing government processes!

This thread is so helpful for anyone dealing with EDD payment delays! I'm a newcomer here and just went through something similar last week. My payment was stuck on pending for almost 3 full days before it switched to paid. What I learned from my experience and reading through everyone's advice here is that these delays seem to happen more often than EDD lets on, especially during busy certification periods. One thing that helped me stay calm was reminding myself that if my claim was already approved and I'd been receiving payments regularly, a temporary pending status was likely just a system issue rather than a problem with my eligibility. It's frustrating how much anxiety these delays cause when people are depending on these payments for essentials, but it's reassuring to see a supportive community here sharing experiences and advice!

Just wanted to jump in as someone who's been dealing with EDD for about 8 months now - this pending status issue is unfortunately way more common than it should be! I've had my payments get stuck on pending probably 4-5 times during my claim period, and each time it resolved itself within 2-4 days without me having to do anything. The pattern I've noticed is that it happens more frequently during weeks when there are holidays, system maintenance periods, or when I certify really late on Sunday nights like you did. It's super stressful when you're counting on that money for bills, but try to remember that if your claim has been running smoothly for months, this is almost certainly just a temporary system glitch rather than any issue with your eligibility. Glad to see from your update that it went through! For anyone else reading this who might face the same situation - patience is usually the best approach before trying to battle EDD's phone system.

I'm going through the exact same thing! Just submitted my first certification 4 days ago and my payment is still pending. I've been checking the portal obsessively which is probably making my anxiety worse. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been such a relief - I had no idea that first payments take so much longer due to all the verification steps EDD has to do. It makes total sense that they need to verify identity, check with previous employers, and review everything before releasing that initial payment. The 7-10 business day timeline that everyone mentions gives me hope that mine should come through soon. It's definitely nerve-wracking when you're already stressed about finances, but knowing this is completely normal helps a lot. Thanks for posting this question - I was wondering the same thing and was starting to panic!

I'm in the exact same situation! Just certified for my first unemployment payment 5 days ago and it's still showing as pending. I was starting to get really anxious about it, especially since I've never filed for unemployment before and didn't know what to expect. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea that first payments take so much longer because of all the verification steps EDD has to complete. It makes total sense that they need to verify identity, check with employers, and review everything before releasing that initial payment, but when you're already stressed about finances it feels like forever! The 7-10 business day timeline everyone is mentioning gives me hope that mine should process soon. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences - it's so reassuring to know this waiting period is completely normal for first-time claimants. I'll try to be patient and wait the full 10 business days before calling EDD.