2018 Update: I haven’t lived in Indiana in nearly 5 years. I’m not sure how their site works anymore, but if this post is still relevant and helps, I’m glad it helped. I leave it up for archival and self-reminders.
According to the Indiana State Workforce Development Self Service Claimant Unemployment Website, all you have to do – once you’re approved for unemployment benefits – is the following:
- Register, post your resume and have your resume available on line for employers to view in our job matching service (IC 22-4-14) at https://www.IndianaCareerConnect.com within four (4) weeks of filing your claim.
- To fulfill work search requirements, submit one application per week (first line of on-line weekly voucher) and conduct two additional work searches per week (second and third line of on-line weekly voucher) in order to remain eligible for benefits. You may apply for work in person, by mail, or online, and be able to document your job application information to DWD upon request. Mailing or submitting a resume for an open position qualifies as applying.
Failure to complete these requirements will cause benefits to be denied until these requirements have been met.
(source url: https://solutions.dwd.in.gov/uplink/uplink-information.htm#benefitRequirements)
I have fulfilled the obligation, as noted below:
As you can read, my Resume is online and searchable by employers.
Yet when I go to fill out my voucher, the state unemployment site tells me the following:
| SMARTLINKS | – STOP! You must provide information on all links listed below. |
(Check where the link goes!)
As seen here:
Confused? Me too.
Since I figured it was just a disconnect between:
- https://uplink.in.gov/CSS/CSSLogon.htm (Indiana state online employment claimant site)
- https://www.indianacareerconnect.com/ (Indiana state job boar)
I didn’t think too much about it.
But then today I went to go catch up on my claims and I couldn’t go past the week of 12/12 claim because of the “STOP! Provide information on all links below!”
Midnight hit, and I was allowed to reactive my claim. REASON: I didn’t “provide all information” within 30 days according to the state claim site, even though I had it done within a couple days of filing my claim.
And today is Sunday so I can’t call. So I went to the only place I can ask questions about my claim online:
https://askworkone.in.gov/I asked the following question:
I have been approved for unemployment. I have uploaded a resume to the indiana career connect site. I have done all that is required yet when i go to my claimant homepage, it still tells me: SMARTLINKS – STOP! You must provide information on all links listed below. Go to Job Match What more do I have to do?
The site told emailed me with an autoreply:
We have received your message and will respond to you within 7 days.
You may review your message below. Thank you for asking WorkOne!
7 DAYS? U’mmm, no.
I bitched on Twitter, got a couple of nice replies from Noah Coffey & Douglas Karr. DK said something that triggered a thought:
Who the Hell did design the sites?
So I did a little poking around to discover that at the bottom of https://www.indianacareerconnect.com/ is a note:
Well, who the Hell is Geographic Solutions, Inc?
Come to find out that Geographic Solutions, Inc. is a employer software solution based in the Indiana town of Palm Harbor, Florida. Here’s the Geographic Solutions Press Release about their development of Indiana Career Connect. Now I know there’s the joke that Florida can also be called “South Indiana,” but I don’t think that counts as My Man Mitch keeping the work in-house.
So, my guess:
Indiana state’s archaic unemployment claim site isn’t syncing with the Florida company’s Indiana job board site and people like me who need the site are suffering for it.
PROVISO:
I am still not certain that it’s a sync issue. I could have done something wrong with my claim. If that’s the case, then the state’s sites do not properly tell me what more I need to do to correct the problem. Either way there is a disconnect.
I can’t wait to find out and pass that information along.
Check back tomorrow as I give tips in an open letter to the state on how to make the sites suck less.
UPDATE 5/01/2010.
Hi, I switched the commenting system on this post and my old comments no longer appear. I apologize.
To let you know, later on that week (first week in January, 2010) I finally got a hold of someone at the state and what they told me was that I had to login to the Indiana state unemployment site once a week or the paused the account. The policy changed in summer 2009 whereas before so long as you were eligible you could go back and do a couple / three weeks worth of the claim at the same time.
The thing that is still unbelievable is that they leave that…
“Stop! You must provide information on all links below!”
With a link to that 20th century Indiana Career Connect site even if you have filled all the information out because, as the guy on the phone told me (I wish I could remember exactly but it’s been 4 months)…
“We leave that link up there anyway so people can go to the Indiana Career Connect site”
That is textbook horrific user experience.
It’s almost hard to believe that big companies believe Indiana is technological behind.
Hey, My Man Mitch, I’m sure you’ve seen this post because I’m outranking the Indiana Career Connect site, I work for a great company – in INDIANA – that could make that Indiana Career Site into a valuable asset. Leave me a note.
Went to one of the WorkOne offices to see about the processes involved only to learn the office in Valpo has nothing to do with unemployment benefits and is really only about helping with the online resume’ and associated online stuff. So I go to an office to do stuff online, but to just get information about unemployment options, you have to go online yourself.
Seriously, as we stand on the precipice of the Federal government dictating and running healthcare, is there anything we can point at that works efficiently that the government has done, less the military (though there are many who would question “efficiency” and anyone who has dealt with or “benefited” from the VA would discount its effectiveness.)
In summary – I feel your pain.
Oh, Ben Stein is right – if you want to make something efficient then it needs to have incentive.
Competition, performance incentives / punishments.
Classic economics still reign true!
thanks for the comment, RG!
2010/01/04 UPDATE:
So I called the number on the Indiana State Workforce Development UPLINK site:
UPLINK Customer service:
800-891-6499
Result: busy signal. Repeatedly. I forgot what that sound was.
So I called the local WorkOne office number:
Portage WorkOne
1575 Adler Circle, Suite A
Portage, IN 46368
phn: 219-762-6592
They took my name and number and went to investigate my case.
They didn’t call back, but if the email’s gonna take 7 days, I’m guessin’ they’re not having much better luck.
2010/01/05 UPDATE
I got an email reply from the state:
You have a voucher to file for week ending 01/09/10.
Which is great, but it doesn’t detract from the fact that:
1) My online account still says I have information to fill out on IndianaCareerConnect before I can fill out another voucher even though the IndianaCareerConnect site says I have my information filled out
2) I’m still not able to claim for the following weeks:
12/19/2090
12/26/2009
01/02/2009
01/09/2009
though y claim is active and contains quite a bit of funds in it.
And Obama wants me to trust a universal health care plan?
2010/01/05 UPDATE Followup
1) I’ve called the local office in Portage, but since I call and don’t walk-in, my needs aren’t addressed as quickly. I guess I’m gaming the system by using the phone when 1,300 miles away.
Follow-up calls go to a mailbox that isn’t configured to handled messages.
2) I emailed the tech support of the designer of the IndianaCareerConnect site – Geographic Solutions – to let them know their site isn’t communicating with the state site.
I’m gonna have to fly home and stand in line because of a bureaucracy.
Yeah, this country is ready to handle the demands of universal health care. (nope)
2010/01/06 FINAL UPDATE
Finally got through on the state unemployment site at 4:30 pm today. After a ~7 minute wait, the specialist told me that I coudn’t claim for those last three weeks because I hadn’t been active on the site for 20 days. After 20 days they pause the account with the assumption you’re back to work. Which ends up being true because I had contract work and was going to have to claim it somewhere. So in the end I lose a week, but it could have been worse.
SO IN SHORT: be active on the site once a week!
And as for the SMARTLINK – STOP! You must provide information on all links listed below
They leave that link there for easy access.
“Adds something, don’t you think?” – Daniel Kaffee A Few Good Men (Aaron Sorking)
Can I have your direct email address? Please send to jtw1209@att.net. Thank you.
I can't file for the latest extension until I “finish” setting up an acct on career connect but I can't log into it. I just get a loop over and over. I've tried to call the office to speak to a human, but that was a waste of time.
Were you able to find an answer? It’s been awhile since I’ve used it (hopefully, it remains that way)
September 18, 2010
Yes, I too was one of these to be disconnected. I have read all the comments ,but still do not follow what in the world is going on. Someone please fill me in. I too have I thought done all requirements. Is this a joke site. Help!!!!!
This post just expressed the issues I had with the site back in December / January of 2009. The user experience is dreadful. I’m sorry if it hasn’t improved any. Governor Daniels should try the site on his own, go through the steps…with the same level of help we get…between hold calls and 24 hour email response times.
Then I could point him to about 10 Indiana Design / Technology companies that do it better than the crap they got from out of state.
Did you ever get it resolved?
I don’t know if you will read this comment on an old post – but YES, you are still at the top of the google search engine for this type of search, and the reason I am searching is, I am having the SAME issue. I did all the indianacareerconnect registering, but it still says STOP and provide all info… I have yet to get paid, so I was going to their office and stand in a long long line to find out what the dealio is… I can’t really see any other choice? I don’t see a solution posted in this post – but above it says all you old comments were deleted, so maybe that is where the info is, or I am missing something? anyway – I am glad I found your blog, because I was thinking of starting some sort of blogging, or social media type thing, while I am searching for work – and you have ALOT of great info on your site :o) I will be following you now.
If you want to contact me (with helpful UE claim info, please?) julieaspear AT gmail DOT com.
From what I recall, and I think it’s still in this post, They leave that “STOP!” there as just a link to give people incentive to go to that archaic job site. I got that info a couple years ago when on the phone with them. As for payment? I dunno. It might be a, “wait 20 days,” thing. Or just waiting for you to get your ATM card. Have you received it yet?
Sincerely,
Finn
This answered my question perfectly! I’m in the same boat too, as in it’s a Saturday and no one is available to help solve this issue. Bravo for getting this to rank at the top of Google search! I just got laid off from a digital media firm, so it’s nice to see someone else using the powers of internet marketing for good instead of evil. You’re a hero in my book Nat!
Thanks for the straight up scoop. The Blakester turned me on to this post as he and I share a common boat.
Gee, I can’t imagine how Indiana, whose governor had such great luck with IBM technologies, wouldn’t have every the basics worked out for a government site? Maybe if I’d been as incompetent, I’d be heading a public university instead of filing for unemployment.
Still at the top of Google, and still helping people. Thanks 🙂