I finally found the light at the end of the long and dangerous job-hunt tunnel

I live in Michigan, to be a little more exact, the edge of southern Metropolitan Detroit. As many of you know the Michigan economy is rapidly declining. We have the worst unemployment rate of any state, and with the crash of many companies such as our local branch of Plastech, and the downsizing of the motor industry, there doesnt leave much hope as for finding a job unless you were a nuclear engineer then I suppose Fermi would be the likely place for work.

I was on the look out for two and a half years to find a job, and the search was not easy, because I was determined not to sacrifice my dignity in the form of flipping burgers for minimum wage.

My father is the stock manager at a Kroger store (one which used to be a Foodtown) and my two older brothers had once worked in that building with him for their first jobs. But when Kroger took over Foodtown, they made new restrictions on family members working in the same shift, or even the same department. So my father told me it would be best if I didnt push for a job there.

I applied at many other places after that. Unfortunately one which would have involved flipping burgers at the local Wendy's with my brother and his girlfried. But 5 applications later, and no call.

There was a chance at Newport Beach Cafe by the school, but yet again, applications later and no call.

Putting in numerous applications at Deb's didn't work either. The only reason I probably wanted to work there anyways was for the discount on the clothes. and everyone needs clothes.

There was a glisten of hope for a moment. Bob Evan's called me about my application and asked for me to come in for an interview. It was my brother's birthday, but I couldn't pass up this opportunity, and so I went. Interview went great. Except they decided to go with someone else.

I got accepted for an interview with Sears at the mall, but the lady I was suppose to meet with never called me with the details for the interview. So I left messages for her, and I even came in to see if there was someone else I could speak with. But once more, I was ignored.

Some more time passed, and application after another went unnoticed. Meijer, Cracker Barrel, TA, Buscemi's, Hallmark, Elder Beerman, Red Lobster, and even a job a friend almost guaranteed me for as a medical office assistant. Also got a couple calls from a flower shop for information about my application, but was never called for an interview.

Then one day I was sitting at home in my pajamas and the phone rings. Its my high school NJROTC instructer. Commander told me his wife (Shelly is a probation officer) was looking for a pretrial moniter. The job would involve taking recorded information from trial hearings and transfering them into the computer similiar to what I did in ROTC as the Administrative Officer, and kind of being like a secretary for her. The job would have been about 25 hours a week at $9 an hour. This was the best offer I ever had. He gave me Shelly's number and told me to call her. I did. I only had to leave one message and she called me back. She gave me the information to get an application and told me exactly what to do and where to go. Only a few days later she left me a message to come in for an interview. I was dressed to perfection, early, well spoken and poised. Interview went fairly well until about 20 minutes in when Shelly's supervisor said she wants somebody with a little more experience for the job. They thanked me for coming in and said if anything else opens up they would call me. A week later I got a letter from the court house. It was a courtesy letter. They were sorry but there wasn't a position available for me at this time, to check the website in 3 months and maybe something would be open.
I was CRUSHED.

So I gave in. I applied at every place in the mall that would give me an application. Taco Bell, Hallmark again, The Hallmark Seasonal Store, Dunham's, Claire's, Old Navy (which ended up closing anyways), Pheonix Theatres, The Shoe Department, Payless Shoe Source, President Tuxedo, and a few others.

Payless Shoe Source did call me. I went in to fill out an employment survey. The manager seemed really enthusiastic about having me work there, but the same as Bob Evan's, they went with "someone else."

I was so afraid I wouldn't be able to continue going to college. I had to pay vet bills, class fees, book fees, gas for school, animal food, and to make me feel even worse; I didn't even have enough money to buy my family christmas gifts.

President Tuxedo was my last try. They called me for an interview, I came in, it went fairly well. Called for another interview with another manager, I came in, it went fairly well.
But lucky for me, two guys quit, they switched over managers, and the President Tuxedo branch at our mall needed employees. I finally joined the work force.

I earn minimum wage ($7.15) and soon I'll be earning a commission as well. For only being part time, I get a good amount of hours. The work isn't extremely difficult, it's just a lot of knowing the product and knowing how to work with customers. I get along well with my manager Kathi and our other sales associate Chris. We have a new assistant manager Christy too now, but I haven't gotten to work with her yet. So overall the job is going very well so far.

Despite our economic decline, it is possible for someone with no work experience and who goes to school full time, can find a job. Takes persistence and a lot of patience, but it is possible.

If you have any questions, or just want to talk about your job or even about being unemployed, leave a comment or message me. Thanks for reading :)

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