Job Slog Blog Inaug!

Hi there intrepid readers!

This blog is being launched because I'm being told the most mind-boggling stories of people in the job-hunt, across the nation.  Just when I think I've heard the weirdest, something wilder comes along. 

If you're on the hunt, know you're not alone. If you're having some of this entertainment yourself, please shoot me an email at tothepointcommunications@yahoo.com, I would love to include you.

I won't be writing my own experiences but I would love to share yours, as long as you're good with my reporting style and verification of facts from both sides.

I plan to post once a week on Fridays.  There's enough variety out there to keep each story very different. And I'll include a tip from the Dark Side, commonly known as human resources.  There are in fact some good souls floating around in that hellish miasma and they can really offer some insight if you catch one. Might require burning a little sage. 

The story I'm starting with is bizarre in two ways.  First, it's about the job most seeking employment hope they never wind up doing - panhandling.

Second, it involves what looked like a great idea that ground quickly to a halt.

See what you think.  

Kinda' Helping the Needy

Is it really help if you hire two panhandlers for a couple of weeks, get lots of publicity, then quit?

That's the question with two local men and a real estate agent that paid them, briefly, to hold his signs.

Realtor, Joe Manzanares first hired panhandler Chris Ruzac to hold a sign like the one in the photo above. It brought the realtor a gold mine of attention, everything from an article in the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle (mailed to 82,500 addresses) to contact from AOL Studios which was interested in doing a documentary.  

Manzanares doesn't dispute the publicity.  "It just went crazy on Facebook," he says.  "The whole thing went viral, then I got a call to meet with the mayor's coalition on homelessness."  

But the sign holding didn't last long. The first man hired was picked up on an old warrant and sent to jail. Manzanares hired another sign-holder, known in Colorado/Mississippi intersection neighborhood as Corner Phil, but only for a few weeks. Then the realtor decided to stop the program. 

Phil doesn't want his last name used because he's afraid he'd lose his disability payments.  He is very clear that Manzanares always paid for the time the sign was held, but he felt used when the whole thing ended after such a short time.  "This guy got all kinds of publicity for 60 bucks a week, then cashed in on it and quit," says Phil.

Manzanares says it wasn't worth what he was paying.  "I wish I could say there was a lot of money to be made because of it.  I had two or three good calls from it.  Nobody bought a house."

Manzanares still plans to move ahead if contacted by AOL Studios, because he hopes to start the sign-holding program again, but adds, "Right now, real estate has gotten so tough.  It was starting to affect my pocketbook."

For Phil's part, he's still available if you need a sign held.  You can find him most days on the southwest corner of Colorado Boulevard and Mississippi Avenue.  He's been there four-years and works it like a job. "I'd rather ask you for money than steal it from you," Phil says, "I did some time in prison and I'm not going back."

This Week's Tip from the Dark Side

"Dress for the job you want, not for the job you've got." 

This came from a human resources director at my old station, KMOV in St. Louis. She had started out as an administrative assistant, quickly realized she could do the same things as those making the big bucks and started to emulate their styles of clothing and accessories, even manicures.

"It gets your head in the game," she explained.  "All the sudden you look like you fit in with the big dogs and they start treating you differently."

   

See you all next Friday.  If you liked this post, follow me at https://thejobslog.blogspot.com.  Happy hunting!

© - Ann Ervin Janitell

To the Point Communications