Accepted job offer but start date is weeks away - how to handle job search requirements and interview requests?

Congrats on the job! Yes, you absolutely need to keep doing your job search activities until your actual start date. ESD requires those 3 activities weekly until you're officially employed. About the interviews - technically you should still attend them if offered. You can always be honest with the interviewer about your situation at the end of the interview. This maintains your compliance with job search requirements while being ethical with potential employers.

im in the same boat right now lol. got a job starting sept 5 but still have 3 weeks of unemployment to go. ive been doing my job searches but kinda just applying to jobs im overqualified for so i dont get interviews haha. probably not the best advice but its working for me so far

I worked at WorkSource for 5 years, so I can give you accurate info. You must continue your job search activities until your actual first day of work. However, you can report your job offer to ESD and request "standby" status, which might waive the job search requirement. With your start date only being a few weeks away, you may qualify. Otherwise, yes, you need to continue searching and attending interviews if offered. If you DO attend an interview, you should be honest with the employer at the START of the interview that you've accepted another position but are required to maintain job search activities for unemployment. Most employers will understand and appreciate your honesty rather than feeling their time was wasted.

The SAME EXACT thing happened to me last year!!! I got a job that didn't start for 6 weeks and ESD was being SO DIFFICULT about everything. I kept getting interviews and had to go to them even though I already had a job lined up. Such a waste of everyone's time!!! The system is completely broken and nobody at ESD cares about real people's situations. I ended up getting DISQUALIFIED for a week because they said one of my job search activities wasn't valid, even though I followed their stupid rules!!!

I've been trying to reach ESD to ask this exact question for days but can't get through. Always busy signals or disconnections after waiting for 2+ hours. Has anyone found a good way to actually speak to a human being there? I need to ask about this and several other issues with my claim.

To address your original question more directly - yes, you should still go to interviews if offered. But there's a practical side to this: you can list job applications as your work search activities without necessarily targeting positions you're highly qualified for. Focus on positions that match your skills but where you might not be the top candidate. This maintains compliance without creating awkward interview situations. Just make sure all activities are legitimate and documentable in case of an audit.

wait so if i accept a job but it doesnt start for like a month i still have to do job searches every week? thats so dumb lol

I remember when this happened to me last year! I just kept doing my job searches but mostly applied to positions that closed soon or had been open a while. Then when I certified each week I made sure to report that I had accepted a job with a future start date in the section where they ask if anything has changed. Never had any problems with it. Congrats on the new job!