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Job market varies according to skills
By Tom Munds
Federal officials called it good news last week when they announced that for the first time since January, the total applications for unemployment insurance actually declined slightly.
The general inference was this is an encouraging sign the current job crunch was lessening.
Of course, those are numbers and do little to boost the morale of individuals like Stephen Kristler who has been out of work and hunting for a job since February.
The Littleton man said he has 12 years of experience in the stock brokerage field, and had been working for a local company about two years when the economic downturn hit. The result was the company cut its staff in half and Kristler was one of those let go.
“I have tried the Internet, a job-search company and the newspaper but so far, no luck,” he said. “I drew unemployment while I tried to find a job.”
He said he has sent out about 300 resumes, which have netted him a total of just three initial interviews and no call-backs.
Kristler said he is getting discouraged and thinking about moving back to his boyhood hometown in Montana because he knows he can at least get a job on one of the area ranches.
Job hunting varies depending on the individual and the type of job sought.
Frederick Hammerland, a 64-year-old retiree, said he spent almost 30 years in the employment field.
“The job market, like the economy, goes up and down. However, I’ll have to say I’ve never seen it worse than it is right now,” the Highlands Ranch man said. “But there are jobs to be had if the individual has the specific skills the employer is seeking.”
Melinda Fowler apparently is one of the individuals who has skills employers seek.
The 22-year-old woman moved to Englewood from Texas three weeks ago and has had about two dozen responses since she posted her resume online seeking a nanny’s job.
“I came to Denver because the job outlook in Texas wasn’t good at all,” she said. “When I got her, I went on line to several sites including Craig’s List, care.com and greataupair.com. I expected I would get a response but I was a little surprised at the number of responses.”
Fowler has references from the three years she has worked as a nanny plus references from her volunteer work.
She checked the listings and sent out 15 resumes. Because those looking for a nanny have access to online resumes, she has received 25 responses, which have led to three in-person interviews, a half dozen phone interviews and now she is expecting one or two job offers in the next couple days.
The economic downturn also has led individuals like Helen Zimmerman, who was planning to retire, to remain on the job for a while longer.
The Centennial resident said she was all set to put in the papers so she could retire from her job at the Federal Center in August but held off.
“My plans were to retire so I could start a second career by opening a restaurant,” she said. “But this economy isn’t a good time to do that so I held off and will probably stay where I am for the time being.”
Littleton resident Anthony Ramariz made a similar decision.
He has worked in Weld County for 26 years in purchasing and his plans were to hang it up this summer.
But, he too felt this wasn’t the best time to retire.
“I want to retire from my job but I want to continue to work because we are raising two grandkids,” he said. “I looked around and there just aren’t any jobs available in my field, at least not that pay very well. So, I guess I’ll just stay where I am for a year of so or at least until things get better and more jobs are available.”
The general inference was this is an encouraging sign the current job crunch was lessening.
Of course, those are numbers and do little to boost the morale of individuals like Stephen Kristler who has been out of work and hunting for a job since February.
The Littleton man said he has 12 years of experience in the stock brokerage field, and had been working for a local company about two years when the economic downturn hit. The result was the company cut its staff in half and Kristler was one of those let go.
“I have tried the Internet, a job-search company and the newspaper but so far, no luck,” he said. “I drew unemployment while I tried to find a job.”
He said he has sent out about 300 resumes, which have netted him a total of just three initial interviews and no call-backs.
Kristler said he is getting discouraged and thinking about moving back to his boyhood hometown in Montana because he knows he can at least get a job on one of the area ranches.
Job hunting varies depending on the individual and the type of job sought.
Frederick Hammerland, a 64-year-old retiree, said he spent almost 30 years in the employment field.
“The job market, like the economy, goes up and down. However, I’ll have to say I’ve never seen it worse than it is right now,” the Highlands Ranch man said. “But there are jobs to be had if the individual has the specific skills the employer is seeking.”
Melinda Fowler apparently is one of the individuals who has skills employers seek.
The 22-year-old woman moved to Englewood from Texas three weeks ago and has had about two dozen responses since she posted her resume online seeking a nanny’s job.
“I came to Denver because the job outlook in Texas wasn’t good at all,” she said. “When I got her, I went on line to several sites including Craig’s List, care.com and greataupair.com. I expected I would get a response but I was a little surprised at the number of responses.”
Fowler has references from the three years she has worked as a nanny plus references from her volunteer work.
She checked the listings and sent out 15 resumes. Because those looking for a nanny have access to online resumes, she has received 25 responses, which have led to three in-person interviews, a half dozen phone interviews and now she is expecting one or two job offers in the next couple days.
The economic downturn also has led individuals like Helen Zimmerman, who was planning to retire, to remain on the job for a while longer.
The Centennial resident said she was all set to put in the papers so she could retire from her job at the Federal Center in August but held off.
“My plans were to retire so I could start a second career by opening a restaurant,” she said. “But this economy isn’t a good time to do that so I held off and will probably stay where I am for the time being.”
Littleton resident Anthony Ramariz made a similar decision.
He has worked in Weld County for 26 years in purchasing and his plans were to hang it up this summer.
But, he too felt this wasn’t the best time to retire.
“I want to retire from my job but I want to continue to work because we are raising two grandkids,” he said. “I looked around and there just aren’t any jobs available in my field, at least not that pay very well. So, I guess I’ll just stay where I am for a year of so or at least until things get better and more jobs are available.”
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