Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey.
Speaker 2: Brain Stuff listeners. Instead of a normal episode, today, we
Speaker 2: are back with a preview from the new season of
Speaker 2: the podcast On the Job. We've teamed up with them
Speaker 2: to bring you a few samples of what they do,
Speaker 2: which is engage with professionals from all kinds of businesses
Speaker 2: about what they do, from wind turbine technicians to cartographers.
Speaker 2: Through these stories, the team tries to help explain and
Speaker 2: explore different aspects of what working means in our world today.
Speaker 2: They're sponsoring us to run these samples. I think it's
Speaker 2: a good fit though, because it's a look into how
Speaker 2: different jobs work. Today's episode is about the intertwined to
Speaker 2: journeys of two different job seekers, one of whom wound
Speaker 2: up being in the industry of helping the other navigate
Speaker 2: the often difficult world of finding a good gig that's
Speaker 2: good for you. Will feature some previews of future episodes
Speaker 2: in the future, though. If you want to hear more
Speaker 2: or explore their six seasons, you can find On the
Speaker 2: Job from Express Employment Services wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to On the Job. Can you believe We're
Speaker 1: at episode six? 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 a
Speaker 1: bit for this episode and take a look at the
Speaker 1: challenges that many people face one looking for a job.
Speaker 1: So today we're going to hear about one man search
Speaker 1: for work and how that path to employment helped him
Speaker 1: to discover a whole new approach to life. Let's face it,
Speaker 1: looking for a job sucks. It does. It's a painful
Speaker 1: experience in so many ways. It's a moment of humility,
Speaker 1: of anxiety, and depending on how much money you have
Speaker 1: saved from the last time you worked, oftentimes it's a
Speaker 1: moment of sheer desperation. Whether you're searching online or in
Speaker 1: the newspaper, or driving around town looking for now hiring
Speaker 1: signs and handing out resumes. Searching for a job literally
Speaker 1: begins to feel like a job itself. And one man
Speaker 1: who knows exactly how that goes is Leon Albritton.
Speaker 3: Here's a job, looking for a job.
Speaker 1: And if you're like Leon who doesn't live in a
Speaker 1: big city, your options are that much harder.
Speaker 4: Because you have to go real far to get something.
Speaker 4: You know they have way gainst it.
Speaker 1: And then even if you get lucky and find a
Speaker 1: gig that sounds of interest, you've got to go through
Speaker 1: the whole application process, which means updating your resume, writing
Speaker 1: a cover letter, reaching out to the hiring person, and
Speaker 1: half the time, maybe way more than half the time,
Speaker 1: after all that work, nothing and you can't help but
Speaker 1: think that maybe that application that you've just spent all
Speaker 1: that time working on wasn't even read. But thankfully there
Speaker 1: are places like Express Employment professionals and people like Olivia Marrafeld.
Speaker 5: And I am the operations manager for the Vaparaiso Indiana
Speaker 5: and Shable Indiana Express offices, and.
Speaker 1: Olivia totally knows how hard it is to get a
Speaker 1: job because prior to working at Express, she was in
Speaker 1: the exact same position that Leon was in.
Speaker 5: And you get so caught up in applying for jobs
Speaker 5: online or using those different avenues, you so many times
Speaker 5: don't ever get to speak to a real person. You're
Speaker 5: submitting resume after resume after resume.
Speaker 1: But fortunately for both Leon and Olivia, they called their
Speaker 1: local Express office.
Speaker 5: I came into Express, had my interview. They ended up
Speaker 5: placing me at a property management company where I was
Speaker 5: the leasing agent and I was there about five years.
Speaker 1: Well, Olivia got lucky with that first job. Leon was
Speaker 1: having a harder go of it. How many different jobs
Speaker 1: did they try to get you in it?
Speaker 3: Over a day?
Speaker 1: Doesn't right? More on that, Yeah, did you ever get
Speaker 1: discouraged going after all these different jobs and them not
Speaker 1: working outdays?
Speaker 4: Man?
Speaker 3: I was feeling just like you said too. It was heultlessly.
Speaker 3: It was scessful. Man.
Speaker 1: At Express, well, it's their goal to place job seekers
Speaker 1: in long term positions. They're also realists. I know that
Speaker 1: sometimes it takes a few tries until you find that
Speaker 1: perfect match.
Speaker 5: As much as it's about a client interviewing a candidate,
Speaker 5: it's also a candidate interviewing the client, interviewing them to
Speaker 5: make sure it's something that they're good at and want
Speaker 5: to do. I tell people daily that not every job
Speaker 5: is a right fit for every person. Just because something
Speaker 5: doesn't work out that time around doesn't mean it won't
Speaker 5: the next.
Speaker 1: You're playing the long game here with these people. It's
Speaker 1: not just like, Okay, you fail at doing this job,
Speaker 1: we're done with you. It's let's keep working until you
Speaker 1: find the right fit.
Speaker 5: Exactly and as long as someone is willing to go
Speaker 5: to work, show up every day, do their best. That's
Speaker 5: what matters to me. It's not a matter of if
Speaker 5: they're good at it or not good at it, it's
Speaker 5: are they willing to try and put in the effort.
Speaker 1: And Leon was definitely willing to put in the effort.
Speaker 1: He went to job after job, showing up ready to work.
Speaker 5: He has done everything from working in a facility that
Speaker 5: did laundry for hotels, to dairy corporations to even a
Speaker 5: packager at a candy factory.
Speaker 1: It's quite the range there, it is.
Speaker 5: But he was always willing to go and always willing
Speaker 5: to try something new, even if he was going into
Speaker 5: something that he had never done before, he was always
Speaker 5: willing to give it.
Speaker 4: A shot, showing up job they.
Speaker 1: Too, Leon acknowledges that they were hard jobs. But if
Speaker 1: we're being honest here, he puts the blame mostly on
Speaker 1: himself because at that time in his life, with the
Speaker 1: stress of trying to find work, piling bills, and a
Speaker 1: feeling that he was letting people down, Leon turned to alcohol.
Speaker 1: And anyone who has ever used drugs or booze to
Speaker 1: cope with life's challenges, nos things can spiral out of
Speaker 1: control pretty quickly. Did you lose a lot of jobs
Speaker 1: because of your drinking?
Speaker 4: Yes, I did it, some good jobs too.
Speaker 1: Then, in a moment of pure desperation, Leon decided to
Speaker 1: leave his home in Indiana and moved to Seattle.
Speaker 4: Because I gave you up.
Speaker 3: You know, I left my property here.
Speaker 4: I sold my car, and I just left, thinking things
Speaker 4: is going to be different.
Speaker 1: There may have been a woman involved, but this is
Speaker 1: a business podcast, people. So Leon found himself out there
Speaker 1: in Seattle with no job, no car. And since I
Speaker 1: know you're curious, that woman didn't work out either. And
Speaker 1: while Seattle is a beautiful city, it doesn't exactly have
Speaker 1: the kind of weather to breaken your spirits. And so
Speaker 1: Leon's desperation only grew. And what started out is some
Speaker 1: drinking to cope became a full fledged addiction. When we
Speaker 1: come back from the break, Leon hits rock bottom.
Speaker 6: A strong work ethic, takes pride in a job well done.
Speaker 6: This is the kind of person you need. Express employment
Speaker 6: professionals can help because in good times or bad, we
Speaker 6: understand how critical it is to manage your business for
Speaker 6: today with the right workforce. We offer hiring solutions to
Speaker 6: fit changing demands. Express knows Jobs. Get to know Express.
Speaker 6: Go to expresspros dot com to find a location near you.
Speaker 1: We're back with Leon Albron, who at this point in
Speaker 1: our story is out in Seattle, jobless and womanless, wondering
Speaker 1: why he ever left Indiana and.
Speaker 4: Left thinking things is going to be different, But he
Speaker 4: got worshiped.
Speaker 1: What started as a few drinks to combat life stresses
Speaker 1: quickly turned into a full fledged dependency. Any money Leon
Speaker 1: was making went straight to buying a bottle. But as
Speaker 1: Leon's life was spiraling downward, he found out that at
Speaker 1: that same time, his son's life was about to change
Speaker 1: for the better in a very dramatic way.
Speaker 4: Somebody showed me that my son was getting drafted in
Speaker 4: the NBA.
Speaker 1: Really yeah. Leon felt an obvious sense of pride that
Speaker 1: his son's dreams of turning pro were about to come true,
Speaker 1: but he also felt a deep shame for where he'd
Speaker 1: let his life lead him. Leon had hit rock bottom,
Speaker 1: or actually he didn't hit rock bottom. He tried to
Speaker 1: walk into it and buy a drink.
Speaker 4: The name of the bob was rock Bottom, and then
Speaker 4: I looked at the top.
Speaker 3: Whatever it is a rock bottom that's said, Oh.
Speaker 1: Wow, And somehow that was what did it. The realization
Speaker 1: that just as his son was about to become a
Speaker 1: professional athlete, Leon was about to walk into a bar
Speaker 1: named rock Bottom to have a few drinks and feel
Speaker 1: sorry for himself. That's when he accepted that he needed
Speaker 1: to turn his life around, that he needed help.
Speaker 4: Yeah, well we got He got me back in the
Speaker 4: swinging things out there.
Speaker 1: And after getting sober, Leon decided to go back home
Speaker 1: to Indiana.
Speaker 4: And he told me that said, Leon, when you go
Speaker 4: back in Indiana, surround himself around people.
Speaker 3: That's gilbers My take.
Speaker 1: And Leon did just that. He built up a positive community,
Speaker 1: established a healthy routine, and rekindled his relationships with his family.
Speaker 1: And then, of course he needed a job, and Leon
Speaker 1: knew just where to go. When he got there, though,
Speaker 1: there was a new face in the office because in
Speaker 1: the time that Leon had gone out to Seattle, Olivia
Speaker 1: Marifeld went from being a job Seekrett Express to being
Speaker 1: a staff member there.
Speaker 5: I had no idea that they were looking for someone
Speaker 5: for the front office here. I ended up getting an
Speaker 5: interview on the spot meeting with the franchise and then
Speaker 5: started the next day.
Speaker 4: Amazing, right, it's such a cool.
Speaker 5: Thing to have been in the associates shoes in the past.
Speaker 5: I know exactly what they're facing and what they're looking for.
Speaker 1: And right off the bat, Olivia could see that this
Speaker 1: was a new and improved Leon, Leon two point zero.
Speaker 5: It's been such a cool opportunity to see him grow,
Speaker 5: to see him change, to see the things that he's
Speaker 5: overcome in his life.
Speaker 1: Very quickly, Olivia had Leon back out in the workforce,
Speaker 1: doing a few days here and there, but all the while,
Speaker 1: her goal, as it is with all her associates, was
Speaker 1: to eventually land Leon that keeper.
Speaker 5: I think part of our goal in one thing are
Speaker 5: really focuses on, is the fact that we aren't just
Speaker 5: like any other temporary agency. My goal is to find
Speaker 5: long term, permanent placement for these associates. So I want
Speaker 5: to place them where their skill sets are going to
Speaker 5: be valued and where they're going to do the best
Speaker 5: long term. We want them to find a home and
Speaker 5: find a career.
Speaker 1: And with this new and improved Leon, a Leon that
Speaker 1: is sober, clearheaded, motivated and always willing to do the work,
Speaker 1: it didn't take long before Olivia made good on that.
Speaker 4: She's kept the word, and that's how My mom ever
Speaker 4: told me, wherever you go on life, if you don't
Speaker 4: have nothing else, always keep your word.
Speaker 1: Because after all the jobs that didn't work out, Leon
Speaker 1: has finally found the job for him. Working in the
Speaker 1: industrial industry for the last seven months has given Leon
Speaker 1: not only an income, but a healthy routine and a
Speaker 1: sense of purpose. Like all of us, he has his days,
Speaker 1: has afternoons when the clock drags, and mornings when he
Speaker 1: just doesn't want to get out of bed. But then
Speaker 1: he reminds himself how far he's come and how hard
Speaker 1: he and the folks that Express have worked to get
Speaker 1: him where he is today.
Speaker 4: Express Ball be back, contill a human again. That's the
Speaker 4: way I'm gonna put it. They gave him my life.
Speaker 1: Back for on the job. I'm Avery Thompson.