After he earned his associate’s degree in recreational therapy from Moraine Valley Community College in May 2010, he began his search.special valentines flowers
He sent out 150 resumes in 18 months, landed “maybe 20 to 25 interviews” and received nary one job offer.
“It’s extremely frustrating because you go on interviews and you think that you’re doing it right. Honestly, I never knew what I was doing wrong,” said Faulkner, 25, of Midlothian.
He hoped to work at a retirement home or assisted living center for seniors.
Prospective employers “try to put up a good front (but) you never know exactly how it went,” he said.
“It was very frustrating to send out applications and emails and never hear back or to send resumes and never hear back or to get an interview and they’ll say, ‘We’ll call in two weeks,’ and they never do or to get the bad news and they say, ‘We’ve found someone more experienced,’” he said.
But Faulkner’s frustration is over now thanks to “the best Christmas gift.”
special valentines flowers
Five days before Christmas, while sitting in the audience of “Dr. Drew’s Lifechangers,” a TV show on the CW Network, Faulkner was hired to work fielding .
His mother, Kathy Faulkner, had learned that the TV show was trying to find jobs for people and urged him to apply.
“I thought this would be the perfect job for me,” he said, noting vision problems preclude his being able to get a driver’s license.
His first interview went well.
“One of the things they asked was, ‘If you were hired, would you be willing to go on ‘Dr. Drew’s Lifechangers’ and tell your story?’ I said, ‘Absolutely,’ ” Faulkner recalled.
A second job interview followed on Nov. 30.
“I was very excited because I’d never had a second interview in my life. We went through the various questions and they asked about the TV show again,” he said.
On Dec. 12, invited him to attend a Dec. 20 taping of the show. His trip was paid for , a harbinger of things to come.
Before the show, audience members were asked if they were willing to be interviewed by Dr. Drew Pinsky. Only Faulkner raised his hand.
He did not get that chance. But during the taping, a company representative walked toward the audience, pointing to people and saying, “You’re hired, you’re hired,” Faulkner said.
“I was shaking. I couldn’t believe it,” he said.
“Being interviewed would’ve been nice,” Faulkner said, “but getting the job was most important.”
The job requires him to be available 11 hours a day, five days a week.
“It is a lot of hours, but I’ll take it,” he said.
He’s not getting rich at 10 bucks an hour, but he has what so many do not: A job. And, frankly, he likes the idea of working at home.
“For Christmas, I got a pair of pajamas I plan to wear for my first day of training and my first day on the job,” he said with a smile.
Training begins in mid-January. He’ll be on duty in time for Valentine’s Day.
“Even though I’m not working in my field, I’ll still be making a difference, they want something special. I’ve used it myself. Whatever field I’m in, I want to treat people with the same treatment I’d want my mom to get. I want to end the call with them being happy, satisfied and taken care of,” he said.
He still hopes to work in his field one day.
“My passion is working with seniors. I feel I work very well with seniors. I’ve developed a good rapport with many in this church. They’re really good people, they’re really fun and I also think they tell the best stories, honestly,” said Faulkner, who attends Pilgrim Faith United Church of Christ in Oak Lawn.
A spokesman said Faulkner is the kind of person the company needs.
“We participated (in the TV show) because it was a great opportunity to expand our home agent network, people who can work at home. We’ve found our home agents are very diligent and have high incentives to do a really good job,” said Joe Pititto, vice president of investor relations and corporate communications.
“David made a very positive impression on Maureen Paradine, our senior vice president of human relations, who appeared on the Dr. Drew show, and we are looking forward to having David become part of the family. We’re in the business of delivering smiles, and we want people who are happy in their work. We’re thrilled to have him on board.”
No comments:
Post a Comment