Good Luck for Some, None for Others: Where are the Jobs?

By Sheila Helmberger

Northland businesses are reeling from the effects of the ailing economy. So are their former employees.

Nikki Hodgman of Brainerd was let go from the Brainerd Dispatch on Dec. 5. With a wedding coming up in just six months it wasn’t news she wanted to hear. “I was devastated,” she said. “There were rumors about layoffs but all I could think was I have a wedding coming up and bills coming every month that need to be paid.”

Hodgman honestly exposed that she had already been keeping her eyes open for another position. “I heard rumors there may be some cuts, so," she said, “I wasn’t aggressively seeking anything but I paid attention to the jobs that were in the paper. I would check the medical Web sites to see if any of them were hiring.”

When she was laid off, she started searching seriously. “I went back to those Web sites to see if there was anything on there that I could do.”
She said she applied for five positions right away and got two interviews the following week.

“I did sign up for unemployment,” she said. “And then I got hired at the Brainerd Medical Center at the very end of December. She started her new job Jan. 7.

The experience has resulted in a self-guided crash course in job-hunting. Her advice to other people that find themselves unemployed is to keep up on your resume, “I had to practically redo mine,” she said. “Make yourself marketable. Find a way to make your resume standout. If there’s some place you’d like to work don’t be afraid to contact them and ask if they’re hiring.” Word of mouth is also effective. “I had an interview from a friend’s dad in an accounting office,” said Nikki, “for a position that they weren’t even advertising for.”

Hodgman said she did have to take a pay cut at her new job but says the schedule is basically the same as her old job, but with occasional weekend hours, and with scheduled cost of living raises it will even out in the long run.

Hodgman likes her new position at the clinic, “It’s very busy,” she said. “And I feel extremely lucky that I got a job.”

She’s right. She is one of the lucky ones.

Kerry Townsend, Baxter, has worked for Crystal Pierz Marine for four years. Seasonal layoffs have been part of the job but this year, Townsend said, has been the longest he’s been out of work.

“I got laid off on Oct. 31,” he said, “It’s been a bugger.” He said they told the staff in advance of the layoffs but that last year they were called to returned back to work earlier. He’s hoping this year to be back in mid-March.

“Unfortunately,” he said, “I used to be in automotive and I thought, ‘Well, I’m getting a little burned out,’ so I got a new job. But I never thought about the fact that you don’t sell boats year round.”

“When I got laid off this year I wasn’t thinking it would be this long because it hasn’t been in other years. It’s been very tough. I’m dedicated to those guys but the economy isn’t helping.”

Townsend said he’s been able to draw unemployment but with three kids, ages 7, 8 and 11, getting through the holidays was difficult. Even when you know you’re going to be laid off for part of the winter saving for Christmas is hard. And the winer months that follow.

“It’s been tough making ends meet,” he said, “Wondering how I’m going to pay the electric bill or the gas bill.I find resources. Lutheran Social Services has helped me extend the payments a little bit longer. It’s a struggle though to try to keep food in the house, a warm place for the kids to stay. I pray a lot.”

He hopes he gets to return to work at Crystal Pierz Marine soon. If not, he said he’d be willing to return to work in automotive services where he’d been since ’94. “Even in that line of work - there’s nothing out there right now.”

For others in the same situation he said the only advice he can offer is, “Things are real tough. Keep your head up and keep trying to get through.”