My sister just got laid off recently from her job in Dallas. This now brings the total to 4 people that I know that have been affected by the recession. Larry Fish, my ex-wife Amber, Jerry Yen, and now my sister. Both Amber and Jerry, last time I spoke to them, still have not found a new job. Jerry was studying to be a real estate agent. Amber had mentioned the possibility of getting a government job.
The economy does seem to be getting a little better, but not quickly enough. Everything that I've read lately seems to indicate it will be another two years before we start to see any positive change.
The economy does seem to be getting a little better, but not quickly enough. Everything that I've read lately seems to indicate it will be another two years before we start to see any positive change.
The hospital where I work, oddly enough, is still extremely understaffed. I couldn't understand it. With all the people out looking for work, why was it so difficult to fill positions here? I talked to one of the supervisors about it:
"Are people just not applying here?" I asked.
"Oh, they're applying." she replied. "We get about 1,000 applications a month."
The problem seemed to be the quality of the people applying.
"We get people coming in here wearing jeans and chewing bubble gum." she said. "Or, they just can't pass some basic aptitude tests."
It's amazing, really. With the economy the way it is, why the hell are people coming in for interviews chewing gum? Are people insane?
I wrote to my sister and told her she could apply here if she wanted, and I would do what I can to help her. My sister and I aren't on the greatest of terms, but it's not as bad as my relationship with my brother. We do actually still communicate with each other once or twice a year (usually on birthdays and Christmas.) I'm not sure she'd like working in the E.R. (pretty much the only department constantly hiring). She'd be around the homeless, the sick, the diseased, the mentally challenged, the bloody, and the vomit soaked masses. Quite a change of scenery from what she's used to. But you know, when times are tough, and you're desperate, anything is better than nothing.
Sorry to hear this news about your sister, Ken.
ReplyDeleteJust out of curiosity, what sort of company was she working for? Had she been there for a long time?
As for working in an E.R., wouldn't that require some special training in the medical field?
Fortunately, I've never had to spend much time around hospitals--so I don't really understand much about their operations.
As always, thanks for posting on your blog!
She worked for Verizon Wireless. I'm not exactly sure what she did, but I believe it was something in customer service. I'd say she probably worked there around 10 years.
ReplyDeleteThe ER job prefers you have some medical experience, but if you have a strong customer service background (like my sister does), they will definitely consider you.
I'm glad you guys found jobs. I hope your sister does soon. OH, and Amber does have a job now! She seems pretty happy with it so far.
ReplyDeleteI had wished you could find something here, like Wichita, but the employment situation there got so bad, so fast, and doesn't seem to be improving.
Emporia lost something like over 10% of their entire workforce in ONE company lay-off. Not to mention all the other companies laying off and closing.
I'm not sure how Kansas City is doing.
Larry wound up retiring, due to lack of job opportunities. He'd applied for some in Wichita, a couple of which looked very promising. Then he got a note thanking him for his resume, but that job had been cancelled. We'd already figured that though, because the layoffs with that company were so bad they hit the news.
Fred found a job too, as I think you know.
If Larry ever works again, it'll be part time. But he doesn't seem inclined to now. If he could find something locally, maybe. But I think at this stage of his life he's tired of driving 25 miles to work.
I'm glad you made the choices you did and found something. But sure would have loved it if you could have lived in Eastern Kansas. Maybe someday the job situation will improve and you'll find Kansas so lovely and compelling that you'll pick up and move here!
Ken, you should remind your sister of the movie "Office Space." I'm sure that she can relate to some of the references to crazy "corporate America." Laughter is sometimes the best form of therapy!
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