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Before the Labor Day weekend got under way it was learned that the country essentially created no new jobs in August, leaving the national jobless rate at 9.1 percent, the Labor Department reported.
South Sound jobless rates have remained above 8 percent in Thurston County – unusually high for a county where state government typically helps to dampen the blow of a recession — and Pierce County’s unemployment rate has hovered around 10 percent for months.
If not unemployed, the American worker is facing fewer hours, reduced pay or unpaid time off in the form of furloughs. It is times like these that the job seeker has to dig deep, itemize their key skills and think outside the box, said John “Moose” Moysiuk, a former Marine who now works at WorkSource Thurston County as a disabled veterans outreach program specialist.
But when he’s not working with veterans, he also teaches a how-to-market-yourself 101 class for all job seekers every Thursday morning at the Thurston County WorkSource office in Tumwater. He covers résumé writing, cover letter writing and reminds his job-seeking students to think carefully about their marketable skills and make sure every one of them is listed on their résumé.
Ever worked as a volunteer? Put it on your résumé, Moysiuk told his class. Do you have a commercial drivers license? Put it on your résumé, he said. He also told the students to be realistic about their job search. “I’m not a doctor so I’m not going to apply for a doctor’s job,” Moysiuk said.
About 15 job seekers attended his most recent Thursday class, the first time in two months that the class wasn’t overflowing with job seekers, Moysiuk said. Every desk typically is occupied, as well as the aisles and back of the room, he said. Moysiuk also told his students to “think outside the box” during the job search and he had a guest speaker offer an example.
Dion McNeeley had to fall back on his commercial drivers license after he lost his job as a Tumwater Police Officer. He later became an instructor and is now an operations manager for Commercial Driver Services of Lakewood, earning more than he did as a police officer, he told the class.
Not everyone wants to become a truck driver, McNeeley acknowledged, but he left the class with this thought: there are 6,000 transportation companies in the state, he said, and every one of them has an HR department, a sales department or needs office staff.
Although McNeeley has had some success, the search for a new job continues to be a struggle for many. Aramark, a company looking to hire 12 to 18 people for food service work at The Evergreen State College, recently had a two-hour hiring event at the mall and about 50 people showed up during the first hour.
Among them was Ben Cummings, 33, of Olympia, jobless for the first time in his life after he worked nearly 16 years – 50 hours a week – for a fast-food restaurant straight out of high school. His last position at the restaurant was assistant manager and he’s been looking for work for six months, he said. He’s had a few interviews, Cummings said; the challenge is that he’s either over-qualified for entry-level work or not qualified enough. “Since I don’t have my college degree it really makes a difference,” he said.
Ken Koontz, 32, of Elma, who also attended the same hiring event, said he hasn’t had a full-time job in two years. Unable to afford his own apartment, he lives with his parents and has worked part-time or held temporary seasonal jobs, Koontz said. The challenge for him is too many job seekers, such as the graduates from South Puget Sound Community College, The Evergreen State College and Saint Martin’s University, and not enough jobs. “People are moving into this area but there are not enough jobs being created,” he said.
Jessie Scott, 19, of Tumwater, said she was looking for more working hours after her time at a daycare had been cut to 12 hours a week. She said she’s applied at every store in the mall. Her assessment of the economy? Poor. “There’s not a lot out there and part-time jobs get filled quickly,” Scott said.
Rolf Boone: 360-754-5403
rboone@theolympian.com
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