WANTED — More jobs, fewer hard choices

Jack Matchett is homesick.

He sleeps in a hotel room and lives out of suitcases. His only companion is his terrier, Snickers.

He respects his new full-time job in Kansas City. It’s a paycheck. But he wishes he could be home in Lake Township where his wife and four children live. That is where he lived until recently.

In today’s economic climate, though, corporate cutbacks and company shutdowns have forced Matchett and other casualties of job loss in situations they not ready for:

• Forced to make sacrifices.

• Forced to find new jobs.

• Forced to redefine their lives and set new priorities.

For Matchett, that meant leaving his family — at least temporarily — for work. His wife, Pam, a nurse, runs the day-to-day operations at home.

They pay for two residences.

“I never thought I would have to move 800 miles to find a job,” he said last month while in town for a visit. “I know she’s having to carry the ball here and I can’t help. It’s difficult.”

Matchett wanted to provide for his family after his position of 22 years at a New Philadelphia packaging company was eliminated in May 2009. His only job opportunities were out-of-state. So, he and his wife made the choice for Matchett to move to Missouri.

“When you’re not getting anything (in Ohio),” he said, “you’ll take the next best thing.”

A DIFFERENT MARKET

Today’s job market is tough.

Full-time positions with decent pay and benefits are rare, and the competition is fierce. The jobs available frequently draw hundreds of applicants.

A polished resume and good work ethic might not be enough to win the interview, much less the job.

Faith Sheaffer-Polen, a career coach for CareerCurve, helps job seekers with their searches. She said employers have become selective.

Sheaffer-Polen said it is not enough for job seekers to submit applications and hope one will “stick,” because the pool of skilled applicants has become larger with so many out of work, giving employers more and better choices.

“Looking for a job is itself a job,” she said.

Sheaffer-Polen said applicants must become more assertive, committed and organized in their search; and they need to learn how to network and use the Internet for research. And yet, even if they follow her advice, there is no guarantee an applicant will get the position.

“The market is tough,” she said.

JOB SUPPORT GROUPS

Many of today’s job seekers never thought they would need another position. They believed they were set for life with their employers, that they would retire from their jobs.

Cutbacks cost them this security.

More than 2,000 jobs were lost when the Hoover Co. in North Canton shut down in 2007.

Some employees, including Randy Lemke, were paid through August 2008.

“Most of us never thought we would find ourselves in this situation,” said Lemke, a former mid-level manager at Hoover. He has searched for a similar position since, applying for more than 200 jobs without much success. Maybe a few interviews.

“I didn’t think I would be out this long,” he said. “I never thought I needed unemployment. But I’m glad it’s out there.”

Some of today’s job seekers, including Matchett and Lemke, have found support with searches through job network groups.

For example, one of the area’s largest groups is the North Canton Executive Networking Group, which meets every other Tuesday. There are more than 60 similar groups in Northeast Ohio.

“NCENG provides the necessary education and networking in a geographic location that is accessible to a large group of people who are willing and able to work together to help each other find jobs,” said the group’s moderator, Joyce E. Rodek, a certified public accountant.

The group formed in May 2009. The roster increases monthly. Most of its members are in their mid-40s or older.

They come dressed in business causal or professional attire. Their meetings feel like seminars.

Each week a guest speaker discusses a subject important to job hunters. In July, an attorney explained how to start your own business and the legal risks. The group also took a trip to The Employment Source, where they were provided updates on unemployment benefits.

“No more than four people per month — for the past three months — have notified me that they have jobs,” she said. “Most of these people were out of work for at least 15 months. Lately, I have heard more people talk about promising interviews.”

‘THIS IS MY HOME’

Sheaffer-Polen said some of her clients have expressed disappointment in the process because some prospective employers ignore e-mails, do not always return calls and suddenly pull jobs off the market without notice to applicants.

Connie Allton is a new face to the job search. In February, she lost her management position with Diebold.

She dedicated 30 years to the company, based in Green, moving across the country twice before her family settled in Canton. She and her husband, David, have five adult children and nine grandchildren; he works for Diebold too.

Allton wants another managerial position and does not want to relocate. If she does take a job out-of-state, she plans to commute.

“This is my home,” she said. “I would be willing to adjust, but I’ll only go so far. I’ve relocated twice, and I’ve adjusted so much in my career that I want a job comparable to my experience and education.”

Allton said the loss of her job has not affected their finances yet, but it will. “We’ve been trying to plan for this,” she said.

Allton has never been jobless — until now. That has been the biggest shock.

“To me, its been like 10 years,” she said. “I had invested everything with Diebold. I’ve never been without a job. My career is second only to my family.”

Allton said she has heard it takes 20 to 30 interviews before you land a position.

“I hope that’s not true.”

LONG PROCESS

It took 18 months and many restless nights before Sandra Stranski landed back on her feet and found new employment.

“It has been a long haul, and now I feel relieved,” she said in late August.

Stranski, of North Canton, survived on unemployment benefits and financial assistance from her 75-year-old retired father while out of work. Her position at a Perry Township company had been eliminated in February 2009.

She worked in quality control.

In an interview a couple weeks before she landed the new job, Stranski said it was not the first time she received a layoff notice.

“I’ve been off eight months before, but I never expected 18,” she said.

Stranski followed a job search process. She hunted three or four hours a day — mostly online — for new employment.

Each job opportunity she wanted, she saved online. Later in the day, she would review the job descriptions and fine-tune her cover letters to meet the criteria. Each job for which she applied, she saved in a separate database to avoid confusion.

She applied for more than 230 positions before she landed her new job. The stress of the search left her restless.

“I slept two or three hours a night,” Stranski said.

Sheaffer-Polen warns that job seekers who demand too much early in the process jeopardize their chances for employment.

She said employers know there are others who will not make demands, and they might eliminate applicants who do.

“However, once you get down to an offer, most companies do not want to put any more time and money and aggravation into more interviews and are very willing to work out what they can, not to lose (the applicant) this far in the process,” said Sheaffer-Polen.

For the folks in human resources, she said, the interview and placement process “is a headache.”

TOO OLD TO WORK?

Former Hoover employee Lemke, 61, has been frustrated because he believes employers refuse to hire older people, opting instead for younger, less experienced workers who can be paid less. He said those companies miss an opportunity.

Older employees, Lemke believes, learn faster because of their experience, and their financial needs are different than younger employees.

“I’m willing to take a less senior position. But you don’t get a chance,” he said. “I feel — right, wrong or indifferent — there is an age situation out there ... We just aren’t given the opportunities.”

Rodek said some companies have a reputation for not hiring anyone older than 35, while older applicants have felt unwelcomed by other companies.

However, she said, some employers look for applicants with skills that match precisely and have experience in the exact same industry.

“That said, there are companies who currently perceive that people who have worked for a long time are a bad fit for their companies, although they probably have the needed skills,” Rodek said.

Why?

Rodek said some employers perceive that older employees could want more money, might retire within a couple years and do not have the ability to adapt to the new job, personally or technologically.

Allton said her experience in the job market has been a disappointment.

“I want to work,” she said. “But when I look at jobs in this community, reality sets in. They’re not prevalent.”

Sometimes, you have to go elsewhere.”

“I’m still trying to find work here,” Matchett said. “But beggars can’t be choosers.”

Meanwhile, Matchett and his wife stay connected by phone. “Did you pay for this? Did you get that?” they question each other.

“I’m very thankful that I’m working but it’s not (home).”