My Form Went Above and Beyond

Help-wanted posts for local jobs are popping up all over on Facebook. Prospective employers instruct interested job seekers to direct message the hiring agencies or businesses. I wish that opportunity had been available to me the last time I had to look for a  job. It might have simplified my employment search. Well, maybe just a bit.

During the early 2000s, I was unemployed for several months when the company I refer to as The Zoo packed up and left town. The Zoo had been going downhill for about a year, so the company’s departure was not unexpected.

My friends and I knew we were working there on borrowed time, but we were determined to stick it out until the bitter end. No, it wasn’t the prospect of collecting future unemployment benefit checks that kept us there. The way things were going, if you took time off to go on job interviews, the powers-that-be most likely would terminate your employment, using the excuse that you weren’t reliable. And we all had bills to pay.

Around the first of June, I, along with about forty other former Zoo employees, started collecting unemployment checks. Of course, the Department of Economic Security (DES) expected recipients to look for work. After collecting checks for about six weeks, clients were required to have an interview with a DES counselor in order to verify that they were actively seeking employment.

To help in verifying job searches, the DES gave clients a form to track their prospective employment contacts. The form had thirty-five lines. Job seekers were supposed to write one entry on each line. Kind of cramped, I thought. I divided the form into seven sections of five lines, took it to Kinkos, and made a small stack of copies.

The employment ads came out in the newspaper on Sunday and Wednesday. I clipped ads for jobs I thought I was qualified for. I also clipped ads for a few jobs I knew I was over qualified or under qualified for, because why not? I taped the clips to a sheet of colored paper—using a different color for each month. Next to the ads, I scribbled what I had done regarding the advertised positions.

And I noted all those prospective employment opportunities on the DES form, indicating the position advertised; the name, address, and phone number of the company; the person spoken to; the outcome of the conversation; and any additional comments. If I had e-mailed or faxed a resume and cover letter, instead of making a phone call, I noted the name of the person I had sent them to, if applicable.

I also researched local jobs on the Internet (yes, including Craigslist) and e-mailed or faxed a resume and cover letter to any company that seemed promising. I dutifully noted that information on the DES form.

Before I found a new job, I had filled about fifteen forms with at least one-hundred entries. However, at the time I was called into the DES office to discuss my job search, I had only sixty-four entries. The counselor seemed impressed by my detailed job search record. According to him, I had gone above and beyond. Most recipients listed a maximum of two or three job searches each week.

Because my records were so detailed, I asked the counselor if he wanted to make copies for his records. He said it wasn’t necessary. I was disappointed.

Not a Drunk, Not a Druggie, I Fell

At the end of March, I got distracted while walking across the parking lot of a neighborhood store. I tripped on a curb and face planted on the sidewalk. At first, I didn’t know how badly I was hurt and I panicked. At least four people saw me sitting on the sidewalk, intermittently sobbing and struggling to get up.

A couple of fellows who looked a bit sketchy walked by and ignored me. That didn’t surprise me. On the other hand, I was so disappointed by the elderly couple I asked for help. Yes, I understand that they might have been reluctant to get involved. But I did not ask them to help me directly. I called out to them saying, “I’m not drunk, I’m not on drugs. I fell. Would you please go into the store and tell an employee that a customer has fallen outside” They stared at me, stuck their noses in the air, walked to their car, and drove away.

Apparently, it was asking too much to almost beg them to go into the store and tell an employee that a customer needed help. Yes, sometimes sketchy individuals do hang out in the area, but I’m not one of them. I guess the couple assumed I was lying about not being an alcoholic or drug addict. No, I am not one of those and never have been. And, like that couple, I’m also a senior citizen.

Eventually, I picked myself up and hobbled off, hoping I could successfully stay upright until I got to where I had to go. When I did get there, I discovered my cell phone was missing. I wasn’t on the phone when I tripped, but I did have it in my hand.

By some miracle, I survived with only several painful scrapes and bruises. I was lucky. It could have been so much worse. I could have broken my nose or my cheek bone. Or my wrist.

People, don’t be so quick to judge others. When someone obviously is hurt and is floundering around on the street, struggling to get up, they deserve to be helped, no matter who they are. If you see anyone, anywhere, who seems to be ill or injured and in distress (even if they do look a little sketchy), you DON’T have to help them directly if you have doubts about how they would react. But, please just do the right thing, and go into a nearby store and tell an employee that someone needs help. And if there is no store nearby, call 9-1-1.

And yes, I got my phone back. Another customer found my phone and turned it in to the store. I don’t know who he was; he didn’t leave his name. I am sorry I wasn’t able to thank him.