Job hunting

Now that we have settled into the campground near Mom, it’s time to look for work.  Mark came knowing that he will be working at UPS for the Christmas season.  We were both hoping to be working by Monday, October 31st, but we found out this morning that his job won’t start till November 14th.  That leaves me to come up with something quick.

I have been trying to apply for jobs for at least the last month, and I had several interviews set up for today.  My first was a phone interview this morning with Road Scholar.  I knew that they were looking for someone permanent, but other than that, I would be a perfect match for the job.  I have traveled extensively for the last four years, I have been familiar with Road Scholar ever since it used to be Elder Hostel, and I even once ordered one of their catalogs and drooled over it.  If you aren’t familiar with Road Scholar, it’s an organization that does educational tours.  I’ve seen groups of Road Scholars in Door County, but I know they also do tours all over the world.  I would love to work for them, but as soon as the woman on the phone asked me how long I’ll be here and I told her till mid-April, the interview ended.  I told her I could telecommute once I learn the job here and she said she’d run that by the hiring manager, but I don’t hold out a lot of hope for that.

Later in the morning I had an interview with a temp agency, which I thought I would have an easier time getting a job through.  The woman who interviewed me there said that 90% of the companies that hire through them are looking for someone who can go from temp to hire.  Only 10% hire on a contract basis.  Right now, she doesn’t have anyone looking for contract work.  She said she’d check with her colleagues, and she said with the holidays coming up she might have something soon, but I left feeling less hopeful than when I went in.

Since that interview was near my sister’s house, I stopped there and she made lunch for me.  I told her the results so far and she bolstered me up by saying that God has a job out there for me and we’ll just have to pray that He’ll reveal it soon.

From there, I went to the Good Will Industries store near my mom’s house.  When I arrived, someone else was in the office with the job coordinator so I hung around outside the door.  The job coordinator escorted the man to the store registers and came back with a smile… A success!  The man who had been in his office had just gotten a job.  Before he could start with me, he created a gift card for the previous person so he could buy business clothes in the store.

The job coordinator’s name is Jon Schoblaske.  I had contacted him from Wisconsin and he had my resume in his files.  I told him about my situation and the impediment of being here for only a few months.  He gave me some job leads to pursue and said that he can help me with my resume or with interview skills, or whatever I need.  He said this service is free, both to the job seeker and to the potential employer and is paid for by the sales in the store.  All my years of shopping at Goodwill may finally be repaid!  I told Jon that I had already had two interviews earlier in the day and he told me that if I get a job, whether it’s through him or not, to let him know and he’ll give me a gift card in the store for buying work clothes.  I wasn’t expecting that.  Goodwill does all kinds of things I hadn’t been aware of before.  I have a couple more interviews tomorrow, plus following up on the leads Jon gave me today.  I have already filled out a couple job applications Jon sent home with me.

I just finished 1 Timothy in my devotions and one of the things Paul said to Timothy was that believers need to work rather than being idle and becoming busy bodies and gossips.  I am reminding God that He prefers that I work so He needs to help me find a job.  I know something will come through in His good timing.  I just pray I won’t have to work evenings (so I can spend them with Mom) or Sundays (so I can keep the Sabbath day holy).  It would also be nice if the job was full time through the period I’ll be here, if the money was enough for me to support Mark while he’s in school as well as supporting myself and saving for travel expenses, and if the job was something I enjoyed.  From my mouth to God’s ears!

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