Speaker 1: Welcome back to On the Job. Can you believe we're
Speaker 1: at episode seven already? Where does the time go? Well,
Speaker 1: after all these wonderful profiles of people in the midst
Speaker 1: of their careers, we thought we'd switch things up just
Speaker 1: a bit for this episode and take a look at
Speaker 1: the challenges that many of us face went looking for
Speaker 1: a job. So today we're going to hear about one
Speaker 1: man's search for work and how that path to employment
Speaker 1: helped him to discover a whole new approach to life.
Speaker 2: Let's face it, looking for a job sucks. It does.
Speaker 2: It's a painful experience in so many ways. It's a
Speaker 2: moment of humility, of anxiety, and depending on how much
Speaker 2: money you have saved from the last time you worked,
Speaker 2: oftentimes it's a moment of sheer desperation. Whether you're searching
Speaker 2: online or in the newspaper, or driving around town looking
Speaker 2: for now hiring signs and handing out resumes. Searching for
Speaker 2: a job literally begins to feel like a job itself.
Speaker 2: And one man who knows exactly how that goes is
Speaker 2: Leon Albritton.
Speaker 3: There's a job, looking for a job.
Speaker 2: And if you're like Leon, who doesn't live in a
Speaker 2: big city, your options are that much harder because you
Speaker 2: have to.
Speaker 3: Go real far to get something, you know, the half
Speaker 3: way gainst it.
Speaker 2: And then even if you get lucky and find a
Speaker 2: gig that sounds of interest, you've got to go through
Speaker 2: the whole application process, which means updating your resume, writing
Speaker 2: a cover letter, reaching out to the hiring person, and
Speaker 2: half the time, maybe way more than half the time,
Speaker 2: after all that work, nothing and you can't help but
Speaker 2: think that maybe that application you've just spent all that
Speaker 2: time working on wasn't even rent. But fortunately there are
Speaker 2: places like Express and people like Olivia Merhrifeld.
Speaker 4: And I am the operations manager for the About Indiana
Speaker 4: and Shareble Indiana Express offices, and.
Speaker 2: Olivia totally knows how hard it is to get a
Speaker 2: job because prior to working at Express, she was in
Speaker 2: the exact same position that Leon was in.
Speaker 4: And you get so caught up in applying for jobs
Speaker 4: online or using those different avenues, you so many times
Speaker 4: don't ever get to speak to a real person. You're
Speaker 4: submitting resume after resume after resume.
Speaker 2: But fortunately for both Leon and Olivia, they called their
Speaker 2: local Express office.
Speaker 4: I came into Express, had my interview, They ended up
Speaker 4: placing me at a property management company where I was
Speaker 4: the leasing agent, and I was there about five years.
Speaker 2: Well, Olivia got lucky with that first job. Leon was
Speaker 2: having a harder go of it. How many different jobs
Speaker 2: did they try to get you in? Over a dozen? Right?
Speaker 3: What am I?
Speaker 4: Did?
Speaker 2: You ever get discouraged going after all these different jobs
Speaker 2: and them not working out?
Speaker 4: Man?
Speaker 3: I was feeling just like you said too. It was
Speaker 3: faultlessly ill stressful. Man.
Speaker 2: At Express, well, it's their goal to place job seekers
Speaker 2: in long term positions. They're also realists. I know that
Speaker 2: sometimes it takes a few tries until you find that
Speaker 2: perfect match.
Speaker 4: As much as it's about a client interviewing a candidate,
Speaker 4: it's also a candidate interviewing the client, interviewing them to
Speaker 4: make sure it's something that they're good at and want
Speaker 4: to do. I tell people daily that not every job
Speaker 4: is the right fit for every person. Just because something
Speaker 4: doesn't work out that time around doesn't mean it won't
Speaker 4: the next.
Speaker 2: You're playing the long game here with these people. It's
Speaker 2: not just like, Okay, you fail that doing this job,
Speaker 2: we're done with you. It's let's keep working until you
Speaker 2: find the right fit.
Speaker 4: Exactly and as long as someone is willing to go
Speaker 4: to work, show up every day, do their best, that's
Speaker 4: what matters to me. It's not a matter of odd
Speaker 4: if the good at it or not good at it,
Speaker 4: it's are they willing to try and put in the effort.
Speaker 2: And Leon was definitely willing to put in the effort.
Speaker 2: He went to job after job, showing up ready to work.
Speaker 4: He has done everything from working in a facility that
Speaker 4: did laundry for hotels, to dairy corporations to even a
Speaker 4: packager at a candy factory.
Speaker 2: It's quite the range there, it is.
Speaker 4: But he was always willing to go and always willing
Speaker 4: to try something new, even if he was going into
Speaker 4: something that he had never done before, he was always
Speaker 4: willing to give it a shot.
Speaker 3: He wasn't easy going up job.
Speaker 2: They too, Leon acknowledges that they were hard jobs. But
Speaker 2: if we're being honest here, he puts the blame mostly
Speaker 2: on himself because at that time in his life, with
Speaker 2: the stress of trying to find work, piling bills, and
Speaker 2: a feeling that he was letting people down, Leon turned
Speaker 2: to alcohol. And anyone who has ever used drugs or
Speaker 2: booze to cope with life's challenges nose things can spiral
Speaker 2: out of control pretty quickly. Did you lose a lot
Speaker 2: of jobs because of your drinking?
Speaker 3: Yes? I did it, some good jobs too.
Speaker 2: Then, in a moment of pure desperation, Leon decided to
Speaker 2: leave his home in Indiana and moved to Seattle because I.
Speaker 3: Gave up left my property here, I sold my car,
Speaker 3: and I just left, thinking beings is going to be different.
Speaker 2: There may have been a woman involved, but this is
Speaker 2: a business podcast, people. So Leon found himself out there
Speaker 2: in Seattle with no job, no car. And since I
Speaker 2: know you're curious, that woman didn't work out either. And
Speaker 2: while Seattle is a beautiful city, it doesn't exactly have
Speaker 2: the kind of weather to break in your spirits. And
Speaker 2: so Leon's desperation only grew. And what started out is
Speaker 2: some drinking to cope became a full fledged addiction. When
Speaker 2: we come back from the break, Leon hits rock bottom.
Speaker 2: A strong work ethic, takes pride in a job well done.
Speaker 4: This is the kind of person you need.
Speaker 2: Express employment professionals can help because in good times or bad,
Speaker 2: we understand how critical it is to manage your business
Speaker 2: for today. With the right workforce, we offer hiring solutions
Speaker 2: to fit changing demands. Express knows Jobs.
Speaker 3: Get to know Express.
Speaker 4: Go to expresspros dot com to find a location near you.
Speaker 2: We're back with Leon Albrin, who at this point in
Speaker 2: our story is out in Seattle, jobless and womanless, wondering
Speaker 2: why he ever left Indiana.
Speaker 3: And I left thinking is going to be different? He
Speaker 3: got worship.
Speaker 2: What started as a few drinks to combat life stresses
Speaker 2: quickly turned into a full fledged dependency. Any money Leon
Speaker 2: was making went straight to buying a bottle. But as
Speaker 2: Leon's life was spiraling downward, he found out that at
Speaker 2: that same time, his son's life was about to change
Speaker 2: for the better in a very dramatic way.
Speaker 3: Somebody showed me that my son was getting drafted in
Speaker 3: the NBA. Really yeah, the brand and Dawson.
Speaker 2: Leon felt an obvious sense of pride that his son,
Speaker 2: Brandon's dreams of turning pro were about to come true,
Speaker 2: but he also felt a deep shame for where he'd
Speaker 2: let his life lead him. Leon had hit rock bottom,
Speaker 2: or actually he didn't hit rock bottom. He tried to
Speaker 2: walk into it and buy a drink.
Speaker 3: The name of the bottle was rock Bottle. And then
Speaker 3: I looked at the top of it his name rock
Speaker 3: Bottle that said oh wow.
Speaker 2: And somehow that was what did it. The realization that
Speaker 2: just as his son was about to become a professional athlete,
Speaker 2: Leon was about to walk into a bar named rock
Speaker 2: Bottom to have a few drinks and feel sorry for himself.
Speaker 2: That's when he accepted that he needed to turn his
Speaker 2: life around, that he needed help.
Speaker 3: Yeah, well we got we gotta be back in a
Speaker 3: swinging things out there.
Speaker 2: And after getting sober, Leon decided to go back home
Speaker 2: to Indiana.
Speaker 3: And he told me, they said, Leon, well, goob in Indiana,
Speaker 3: surround himself around people as gilbers not take it.
Speaker 2: And Leon did just that. He built up a positive community,
Speaker 2: established a healthy routine, and rekindled his relationships with his family.
Speaker 2: And then, of course he needed a job and Leon
Speaker 2: knew just where to go. When he got there, though,
Speaker 2: there was a new face in the office because in
Speaker 2: the time that Leon had gone out to Seattle, Olivia
Speaker 2: Marifeld went from being a job seeker at Express to
Speaker 2: being a staff member there.
Speaker 4: I had no idea that they were looking for someone
Speaker 4: for the front office here. I ended up getting an
Speaker 4: interview on the spot, meeting with the franchise and then
Speaker 4: started the next day. Amazing rights, such a cool thing
Speaker 4: to have been in the associates shoot in the past.
Speaker 4: I know exactly what they're facing and what they're looking for.
Speaker 2: And right off the bat, Olivia could see that this
Speaker 2: was a new and improved Leon, Leon two point zero.
Speaker 4: It's been such a cool opportunity to see him grow,
Speaker 4: to see him change, to see the things that he's
Speaker 4: overcome in his life.
Speaker 2: Very quickly, Olivia had Leon back out in the workforce,
Speaker 2: doing a few days here and there, but all the while,
Speaker 2: her goal, as it is with all her associates, was
Speaker 2: to eventually land Leon that keeper.
Speaker 4: I think part of our goal in one thing our
Speaker 4: staff really focuses on is the fact that we aren't
Speaker 4: just like any o temporary agency Michal is to find
Speaker 4: long term, permanent placement for these associates. So I want
Speaker 4: to place them where their skill sets are going to
Speaker 4: be valued and where they're going to do the best
Speaker 4: long term. We want them to find a home and
Speaker 4: find a career.
Speaker 2: And with this new and improved Leon, a Leon that
Speaker 2: is sober, clearheaded, motivated and always willing to do the work,
Speaker 2: it didn't take long before Olivia made good on that.
Speaker 3: She's kept the word. And that's how my mom ever
Speaker 3: told me, wherever you go on life, if you don't
Speaker 3: have nothing else, always keep your word.
Speaker 2: Because after all the jobs that didn't work out, Leon
Speaker 2: has finally found the job for him. Working in the
Speaker 2: industrial industry for the last seven months has given Leon
Speaker 2: not only an income, but a healthy routine and a
Speaker 2: sense of purpose. Like all of us, he has his days,
Speaker 2: has afternoons when the clock drags, and mornings when he
Speaker 2: just doesn't want to get out of bed. But then
Speaker 2: he reminds himself how far he's come and how hard
Speaker 2: he and the folks that Express have worked to get
Speaker 2: him where he is today.
Speaker 3: Express Ball feed back and still a human again. That's
Speaker 3: the way I'm gonna put it. They gave him my life.
Speaker 2: Back for on the job. I'm Avery Thompson.