0:02

Welcome back to On the Job. Can

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you believe we're at episode six already?

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Where does the time go? Well,

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after all these wonderful profiles of

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people in the midst of their careers, we

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thought we'd switch things up a bit for this episode

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and take a look at the challenges that many people

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face one looking for a job. So

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today we're going to hear about one man

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search for work and how that

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path to employment helped him

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to discover a whole new approach to life.

0:36

Let's face it, looking for a job sucks.

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It does. It's a painful experience

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in so many ways. It's a moment

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of humility, of anxiety,

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and, depending on how much money you have saved from

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the last time you worked, oftentimes

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it's a moment of sheer desperation. Whether

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you're searching online or in the newspaper,

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or driving around town looking for now hiring

0:59

signs and handing out resumes. Searching

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for a job literally begins to feel like

1:03

a job itself. And one

1:06

man who knows exactly how that goes is

1:08

Leon Albritton.

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Here's a job, looking for a job.

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And if you're like Leon who doesn't live in a

1:15

big city, your options are

1:17

that much harder because you have.

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To go real far to get something

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you know they have way gainst it.

1:24

And then even if you get lucky and

1:26

find a gig that sounds of interest, you've

1:29

got to go through the whole application process,

1:32

which means updating your resume, writing

1:34

a cover letter, reaching out to the hiring

1:37

person, and half the time, maybe

1:39

way more than half the time, after

1:41

all that work, nothing

1:45

and you can't help but think that maybe that application

1:48

that you've just spent all that time working on

1:50

wasn't even read. But

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thankfully there are places like Express

1:55

Employment professionals

1:57

and people like Olivia Marrafeld

2:00

and.

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I am the operations manager for

2:02

the Vaparaiso, Indiana and Shaville,

2:04

Indiana Express offices, and.

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Olivia totally knows how hard it is to

2:08

get a job because prior to working

2:11

at Express, she was in the exact

2:13

same position that Leon was in.

2:15

And you get so caught up in

2:18

applying for jobs online or using

2:20

those different avenues, you so

2:22

many times don't ever get to speak to a

2:24

real person. You're submitting resume

2:27

after resume after resume.

2:29

But fortunately for both Leon and Olivia,

2:31

they called their local Express office.

2:34

I came into Express had my interview.

2:36

They ended up placing me at a property

2:39

management company where I was the leasing

2:41

agent and I was there about

2:43

five years.

2:45

Well, Olivia got lucky with that first job.

2:48

Leon was having a harder go of it. How

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many different jobs did they try

2:52

to get you in? Over a dozen?

2:54

Right? What am I?

2:57

Did?

2:57

You ever get discouraged going after

2:59

all these different and jobs and them not working

3:01

out?

3:03

Man, I was feeling

3:05

just like you said too. It

3:08

was faultlessly. It

3:10

was stressful. Man.

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At Express, well, it's their goal to place

3:15

job seekers in long term positions. They're

3:17

also realists. I know that sometimes

3:20

it takes a few tries until you find

3:22

that perfect match.

3:23

As much as it's about a client interviewing

3:26

a candidate, it's also a candidate interviewing

3:29

the client, interviewing them to

3:31

make sure it's something that they're good at and want

3:33

to do. I tell people daily

3:36

that not every job is the right fit for

3:38

every person. Just because something

3:41

doesn't work out that time around doesn't mean

3:43

it won't the next.

3:44

You're playing the long game here with these people.

3:46

It's not just like, okay, you fail that doing

3:49

this job, we're done with you. It's let's

3:51

keep working until you find the.

3:53

Right fit exactly. And as

3:55

long as someone is willing to

3:57

go to work, show up every day, do their

3:59

best, that's what matters to me. It's

4:01

not a matter of if they're good at it or

4:04

not good at it, it's are they willing to try

4:06

and put in the effort.

4:08

And Leon was definitely willing to put

4:10

in the effort. He went to job after

4:12

job, showing up ready to work.

4:15

He has done everything from working

4:18

in a facility that did laundry for

4:20

hotels, to dairy

4:22

corporations to even a

4:24

packager at a candy factory.

4:27

It's quite the range there.

4:29

It is. But he was always

4:31

willing to go and always willing

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to try something new, even if he

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was going into something that he had never done

4:37

before, he was always willing to give it a shot.

4:40

He was job.

4:44

They Leon

4:46

acknowledges that they were hard jobs.

4:49

But if we're being honest here, he puts

4:51

the blame mostly on himself because

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at that time in his life, with the stress

4:56

of trying to find work, piling

4:58

bills, and a feeling that he he was letting

5:00

people down, Leon turned

5:02

to alcohol, and anyone who has

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ever used drugs or booze to cope with

5:06

life's challenges. Nos things

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can spiral out of control pretty quickly.

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Did you lose a lot of jobs because of your drinking?

5:15

Yes? I did it, some good jobs

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too.

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Then, in a moment of pure desperation,

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Leon decided to leave his home in Indiana

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and moved to Seattle.

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Because I gave him up. You know, I left my property

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here, I sold my car, and

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I just left, thinking beings is going to be

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different.

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There may have been a woman involved, but

5:38

this is a business podcast, people. So

5:42

Leon found himself out there in Seattle

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with no job, no car. And

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since I know you're curious, that woman didn't

5:49

work out either. And while Seattle

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is a beautiful city, it doesn't exactly

5:54

have the kind of weather to break in your spirits.

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And so Leon's desperation only

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grew. And what started out is some

6:01

drinking to cope became a full fledged

6:04

addiction. When

6:07

we come back from the break, Leon

6:09

hits rock bottom. A

6:16

strong work ethic, takes

6:19

pride in a job well done. This

6:21

is the kind of person you need. Express

6:24

employment professionals can help because

6:26

in good times or bad, we understand

6:29

how critical it is to manage your business

6:31

for today. With the right workforce.

6:34

We offer hiring solutions to fit changing

6:36

demands. Express Knows

6:39

Jobs. Get to know Express.

6:41

Go to expresspros dot com

6:43

to find a location near you.

6:47

We're back with Leon Albron, who

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at this point in our story is out in Seattle,

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jobless and womanless, wondering

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why he ever left Indiana.

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And I left thinking is going

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to be different, But he got

7:01

worship.

7:03

What started as a few drinks to combat

7:05

life stresses quickly turned into a

7:07

full fledged dependency. Any

7:09

money Leon was making went straight to buying

7:12

a bottle. But as Leon's

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life was spiraling downward, he

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found out that at that same time, his

7:18

son's life was about to change for the better

7:21

in a very dramatic way.

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Somebody showed me that my son was getting

7:25

drafted in the NBA.

7:27

Really yeah.

7:29

Leon felt an obvious sense of pride that his

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son's dreams of turning pro were about to

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come true, but he also felt

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a deep shame for where he'd let his life

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lead him. Leon had hit rock

7:40

bottom, or actually he

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didn't hit rock bottom. He tried

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to walk into it and buy a drink.

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The name of the bob was lock Bottom.

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And then I looked at the top of it his rock

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bottle, that's ah wow.

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And somehow that was what did it. The

8:00

realization that just as his son was

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about to become a professional athlete,

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Leon was about to walk into a bar named

8:07

rock Bottom to have a few drinks

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and feel sorry for himself. That's

8:12

when he accepted that he needed to turn

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his life around, that he needed

8:16

help.

8:18

Yeah, well we he

8:21

got me back in the swinging things out there,

8:23

and.

8:24

After getting sober, Leon decided

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to go back home to Indiana.

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And he told me that Leon got

8:31

Indiana. Surround yourself around

8:34

people, that's gilerus to not take it.

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And Leon did just that. He built

8:38

up a positive community, established

8:40

a healthy routine, and rekindled

8:42

his relationships with his family. And

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then, of course he needed a job, and

8:47

Leon knew just where to go. When

8:50

he got there, though, there was a new face

8:52

in the office because in the time that

8:54

Leon had gone out to Seattle, Olivia

8:57

Marifeld went from being a job seeker at

8:59

Express to being a staff member

9:01

there.

9:02

I had no idea that they were looking

9:04

for someone for the front office

9:06

here. I ended up getting an interview

9:09

on the spot meeting with the franchise, and

9:11

then started the next day.

9:13

Amazing, right, such a cool.

9:15

Thing to have been in the associates

9:17

shoot in the past. I know exactly

9:19

what they're facing and what they're looking for.

9:22

And right off the bat, Olivia could see

9:25

that this was a new and improved Leon,

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Leon two point zero.

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It's been such a cool opportunity

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to see him grow, to see him change,

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to see the things that he's overcome

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in his life.

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Very quickly, Olivia had Leon back

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out in the workforce, doing a few

9:42

days here and there, but all the while,

9:45

her goal, as it is with all her associates,

9:48

was to eventually land Leon that keeper.

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I think part of our goal in one thing

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our staff really focuses on,

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is the fact that we aren't just like

9:58

any other temporary agency Michael,

10:01

is to find long term, permanent

10:03

placement for these associates.

10:06

So I want to place them where their skill

10:08

sets are going to be valued and where they're going to

10:10

do the best long term. We

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want them to find a home and find a career.

10:17

And with this new and improved Leon, a

10:19

Leon that is sober, clearheaded,

10:22

motivated and always willing to

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do the work, it didn't take long

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before Olivia made good on that.

10:28

She's kept the word. And that's how

10:30

my mom ever told me, wherever you

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go on life, if you don't have nothing

10:35

else, always keep their word.

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Because after all the jobs that didn't work out,

10:40

Leon has finally found the job for him.

10:43

Working in the industrial industry for

10:45

the last seven months has given Leon

10:47

not only an income, but a healthy

10:49

routine and a sense of purpose. Like

10:52

all of us, he has his days, has

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afternoons when the clock drags, and

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mornings when he just doesn't want to get out of bed.

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But then he reminds himself how

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far he's come and how hard

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he and the folks that Express have

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worked to get him where he is today.

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Express ball me back contill

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a human again. That's the way

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I'm gonna put it. They gave him my life

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back.

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For on the job. I'm Avery Thompson.