What kinds of things should I mention / not mention when I have my unemployment telephone "interview" with the Dept of Labor on the 25th?

So, are is your company fighting the unemployment? Is that why you are having this interview? Usually I advise just answer what is asked, don’t add more info. But, you will have to gauge how the conversation goes. Seems like honesty is the best policy and just tell your side of the story. I don’t see why you would be denied unemployment, but I am no expert on these things. I think it is pretty awful they are fighting you on thos. you would have kept working right? Did they write you up or give you warning? Was your position eliminated?

I don’t know if they are fighting it or not.
I was written up twice, the second time I was terminated. The reasons given for the write up were really vague. Also, may of the things she complained about in the 2nd meeting I was hearing for the first time. For example, she complained about the forms I was using. I looked at her in astonishment and said, “These are the forms that are on the shared drive, and I’ve been using them since I hired in!”
She just said, “It doesn’t matter.”
Another thing she complained about in the first meeting was that I was making student folders for their electronic files on the day they enrolled when I was supposed to wait until they did their first day. She was old school…she didn’t use the computer for much. She’d have the student’s transcripts faxed. There was a form in Excel to do their analysis on. She’d print it off and fill it out by hand. However, she specifically told me it was OK to get their transcripts via email, and to fill out the analysis on the computer—I mean, it automatically calculated what credits, etc. they needed.
So I did that on the day they enrolled. Then I printed them off and put them in a temporary manila folder, like she did…then I asked if she wanted me to delete the files I had on them and just rescan them in when they did their first day. She thought about it, and, of course, said, “No. Go ahead and make a folder online. We can always delete it later.”
So I did. And got ripped up one side and down the other in the second meeting which was held with our state manager and HR for doing just that.
It was shit like that @JLeslie. She’d tell me to do something then would forget she’d told me to do it.
She was on a witch hunt, plain and simple.

Total bitch.

Sniff. That makes me feel better! :) Thank you. ~

Are they paying you unemployment now? If so the reason maybe to verify that are looking for work. Have a list of companies contacted and who you spoke to or left the job application with.

No, they haven’t started yet. This is just the first step.

@Dutchess_III: It’s over a decade since I went through it, but I just told my side of the story. I don’t remember the specific questions I was asked, though. Good luck!

Thanks @hearkat.

@Dutchess_III I went through something similar about 5–6 years ago. First, the assist manager told me get my metrics up, or I could be terminated. a few weeks later he said if they did not improve by “X” date, I would be terminated. A few days before “X” date, he called me in and “offered me the opportunity” to resign, which I stupidly did.

I applied for unemployment, and was originally denied. I appealed the decision, and was called in for an interview similar to what you are talking about. I was candid, told them the truth, and emphasized that I had tried to fulfill my job requirements, but in spite of training and coaching I was unable to do so. The decision was reversed. The employer appealed that decision, but failed to follow up in a timely manner, so the employer’s appeal was denied; I was receiving unemployment.

Moral: Tell the unemployment interviewer the truth. Answer only what your asked. At the end, they asked me if there was anything I wanted to add. That was my opportunity to give details and make my case.

About nine months later, I was still unemployed, and my original claim was coming to an end. I was required to apply for a second claim, and/or extension. At that time, the employer re-appealed the first claim, stating that the unemployment division had not followed up with them on their first appeal. This appeal was granted and I had to repay all the compensation I had received on my first claim!

^^^^Oh shit!