Day 1
Your first priority today is protecting the income you are entitled to. Georgia DOL unemployment filing has a limited window — delaying even one week can forfeit your first payment. File your initial claim before doing anything else. After that, create your OpenInterview profile before sending a single application. Employers reviewing senior engineers move faster when they have a profile to watch instead of a resume to decode. These two actions done today put you ahead of most candidates who spend Day 1 updating LinkedIn.
Tasks
File your Georgia DOL unemployment claim
File your initial unemployment insurance claim with the Georgia Department of Labor at dol.georgia.gov. You were laid off April 30 and are within the 7-day filing window for Week 1 eligibility.
Create your OpenInterview profile
Create your candidate profile at openinterview.me. Record a 60u201390 second technical introduction covering your backend engineering background, the scale you have worked at, and the kind of role you are targeting.
Locate and review your COBRA election notice
Find the COBRA continuation coverage notice sent by Driftline or their benefits administrator after your April 30 layoff. Review the election deadline and monthly premium cost.
Set up your Built In Atlanta job alert for Senior/Staff SWE roles
Create a job seeker profile on Built In Atlanta and configure alerts for Senior Software Engineer, Staff Software Engineer, and Backend Engineer roles with salary $120k+ in the Atlanta MSA and remote.
Pull compensation benchmarks for your target roles on Levels.fyi
Research current compensation for Senior Software Engineer and Staff Software Engineer roles in Atlanta and remote on Levels.fyi. Note the median, 75th percentile, and equity structures for your target companies.