PA UC RESEA program at CareerLink - random selection or everyone?

RESEA stands for Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment. It's not something everyone has to do - you're randomly selected based on certain criteria. The purpose is to help people get back to work faster and verify you're meeting UC requirements. At the meeting, they'll review your work search activities, help with your resume, discuss job prospects in your field, and create an employment plan. It's actually helpful if you approach it with an open mind.

i had to do 1 of these last yr its not a big deal! just bring ur job search records n ur id they just wanna make sure ur actually looking 4 work. took like 45min total

The RESEA selection is supposed to be random, but from what I understand, they tend to select people in industries with high unemployment rates or those who might be at risk of exhausting their benefits. I went through it in February 2025. You'll meet one-on-one with a career counselor who will go over your resume, job search efforts, and help you access CareerLink resources. Make sure you bring documentation of all your work search activities since you started claiming benefits. They'll verify you've been doing the required job searches each week.

IT'S NOT RANDOM!!! It's a TRAP to find reasons to cut your benefits!! They WILL try to find ANY little mistake in your paperwork to disqualify you!!! I missed my RESEA appointment because my car broke down and they IMMEDIATELY stopped my payments for 3 weeks even though I called them right away to reschedule!!! The system is DESIGNED to cut people off!!! Make sure EVERY SINGLE JOB SEARCH is perfectly documented or they WILL use it against you!!!

Have you been trying to reach the UC office to ask questions about this RESEA program? I was in a similar situation last month and couldn't get through for days. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got connected to a PA UC rep in about 10 minutes. They explained everything about the RESEA program to me and even noted in my file that I had questions about it. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2. Definitely less stressful than waiting on hold for hours or getting disconnected.

I went through RESEA last month and honestly it was pretty useful. They helped me rewrite my resume and showed me some job search websites I didn't know about. The career counselor also told me about some training programs that PA UC might pay for. They do check your work search records pretty carefully tho. Mine were a little messy (I was just keeping dates and company names) and they told me I needed more details like contact info and position applied for. Bring a notebook and take good notes!

To answer your follow-up question - yes, they typically do check your job search records in detail. They want to see employer name, position, date of application, method of application (online, in-person, etc.), and some form of contact information or confirmation. If you're missing some of these details, start collecting them more thoroughly now before your appointment. And yes, sometimes they do have you apply for jobs during the session, especially if they find positions that match your skills.

Wait I'm confused...is RESEA the same as PREP? I had to do a PREP workshop when I was on unemployment before but don't remember anything called RESEA?

Thanks everyone for the helpful information! I feel much better about this meeting now. I'll get all my job search records organized with the details you suggested and go in with an open mind. It actually sounds like it could be useful for networking and getting some extra help with my job search. I'll update after my appointment to let others know how it went!