Stage 1 – (Still) On the Verge of a Professional Job Search
William and I had a long conversation where he admitted that he was living out of his car. His mailing address was that of a former co-worker at the hardware store. He had some messages on his phone that he asked me to retrieve for him. One was for a doctor’s appointment for that day, he was sure, but he was unsure of the time.
Huge job search challenges: bad phone, impaired hearing, no home
He brought in his phone and I listened to his messages. He did have an appointment that day, but it was at the VA hospital in Menlo Park. That is quite a drive for him. I am still not certain that he can find the hospital in Livermore, because Chuck has taken him there every time. I called Menlo Park and they wanted to reschedule the meeting, which was a godsend.
There was another call from a VA administrator saying that his VA card had been returned, so I called her and found out that she had resent it. He went over that day and retrieved his card from his friend.
No interviews, but still progress – ID card found, appointments rescheduled
I asked him why he did not take his phone with him, so people could reach him. And why he never called Chuck back. I asked him to show me that he could call Chuck on the phone, while I was there and make plans to go out together to the VA hospital. He admitted that something was wrong with his phone and he could not make outbound calls. I tried to call Chuck using his phone and I could not figure it out. Something was definitely wrong with his phone. He agreed to go over to the phone company office and get it serviced. I also asked him to check into text messaging, because he could read those.
The next day I received a heartening call from Chuck. William had retrieved his VA card and they went out to the hospital and rearranged all of the appointments that he missed.
The two headed monster that strikes every job hunter
I asked William why he was so reluctant to disclose his problems to Chuck and me. He said that he was afraid. And I think he has been depressed, but coping. Slowly he has been retreating from society. Fear and depression, the two headed monster that strikes every job hunter. They are cunning and baffling emotions, cut from the same cloth. No job hunter, regardless of age, can escape these two. What makes the difference in the job search is how fast a person rebounds and gets back to conducting a professional job search.
William needs a place to live just as badly as getting his hearing restored. I placed a call to the Alameda County VA Helpline and got in touch with a case worker who will help Chuck and me. Next I checked in with a recent JobLink Alumni who recently landed a job. This person is connected to the real estate community and to the City of Dublin. He has agreed to help find a room for William to rent.
I would like to say we are into Stage One, but we need to take care of first things first.
