Despite All Of The Many Layoff Announcements Some Companies Are Actually Planning To Hire
HARRIS: Well, clearly it is tough all over, lots of our iReporters struggling in this rough economy. Let's do this. Let's take a trip to CNN.com's iReport Desk and let's check in once again with "Tyson's Corner." We love our Tyson Wheatley. He is one of our producers helping us run things down there at our iReport operation. Tyson, good to see you. I think this is interesting what you're going to start with today, because I remember - I am old enough, I guess I should say, to remember a day and time when people didn't talk openly about their financial problems and the troubles they were going through with employment. And interesting that people are sending us iReports where they are openly sharing their problems and concerns.</s>TYSON WHEATLY, PRODUCER, IREPORT DESK: Yeah, well, layoffs have been such a big part of the news, we're hearing about them this week, and so many people are actually willing to share the story. And tell us, say, hey, I was laid off. I lost my job. And they've been sharing a lot of stories. I'm just going to share a few with you today. And we're going to start in Connecticut from John Stevens, and he was laid off -- he was a sales manager at a -- at a car dealership, and he got laid off back in October. Now he's searching for a way to, quote, "take care of his son, pay his bills, and return to the way things are. Let's listen to what he had to say.</s>JOHN STEVENS, IREPORTER: Things are tough. I still haven't found a job. I've applied for over 80 jobs. And either the people don't call me back, and when you follow up with a phone call, they don't return your calls, or they tell you they have actually stopped hiring, and they have cut back themselves. So things are very, very tough on the job front. And I mean, I've even applied at my local Wal-Mart and Target stores, and the answer I get is, we can't hire you. You have too much experience.</s>WHEATLEY: That's pretty incredible. Tony, check out this story from Detroit native Amber Easton. And she has gone from an $80,000 a year job to scrambling for work. Back in 2007, Amber was climbing the corporate ladder, she was a compliance officer. And then she decided to leave her job to pursue her law degree, thinking that would really help her career. A year into law school, she realized it wasn't her thing, but by then the job market has shrunk. Her old position was no longer available. At age 35, Amber is now having to make tough choices. She has lost her car. She now faces eviction from her apartment. She recently went to two job fairs with friends in the Detroit area and they stood in line for over three hours with hundreds of professionals of all types. And really there were all these applicants for really 35 jobs. That's a tough market.</s>HARRIS: It is.</s>WHEATLEY: And just one more I want to share with you. This is from Peter Kieselbach, he's a scientific engineer. He has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 14 years. He was a top performer, a key contributor. And then basically his company got bought up and all the jobs went away. Now he find's himself basically qualified in a field that is going away. So let's listen to what he had to say.</s>HARRIS: OK.</s>PETER KIESELBACH, IREPORTER: This August I was laid off, along with many of my colleagues from a drug discovery company in New Jersey. I saw it as unfortunate this is my first layoff in 30 years in research and development engineering. I have worked for just two companies in my career. But I'm finding that there are not many jobs and there is a lot of competition for the few there are. Now, this video that Peter shared with us was made a month ago. I spoke to Peter this morning and asked him for an update. Two bits of good news. One, he says his wife and he were fortunate enough to put away some emergency cash to keep them afloat for now. And two, he has been interviewing with a company that he really wants to work with. He has already had five interviews, so it sounds like they're also very interested in him. We're wishing you, Pete, all of the best today.</s>HARRIS: Absolutely. Tyson, appreciate that. We had a young man on the air on Monday whose home -- he lost his home to the string of arson fires in Coatesville, Pennsylvania and it looks like he may be having some luck in finding a job. Boy, the fact that he lost his home, and then lost his job recently, adding to his stress. So keep us posted on some of our iReporters and how they're doing in landing new jobs and moving forward with their lives.</s>WHEATLEY: Yeah, we would love to hear those stories. We want to know how you are surviving the economy. So please share your stories, iReport.com.</s>HARRIS: Tyson, appreciate it. Good to see you. See you again tomorrow.</s>WHEATLEY: Take care, Tony.</s>HARRIS: Thanks, man. And 11 million people are out of a job nationwide. And that number is growing every day. So if you have been pink-slipped, Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis says you may actually need to reinvent yourself. And, Gerri, we're getting a lot of iReports from folks who are losing their jobs.</s>GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: I know.</s>HARRIS: And, again, I'm old enough to remember when folks didn't really talk about that as openly as they are now. And if we're talking about reinventing ourselves, to be eligible for new jobs that means someone somewhere is actually hiring.</s>WILLIS: Well, that's right, Tony. That's the point today. I mean, there are companies that are actually hiring. Here are a few. T-Mobile is adding about 2,000 jobs throughout the country in retail and customer service. And a company called Safeguard Properties, now Tony, this is a firm that manages foreclosed properties for banks. That company is hiring about 1,400 in contracting, internal staff, IT professionals. A company called Banfield that is a veterinary hospital chain. They plan to add about 750 vets to their payroll and 2,000 other support folks, including pet nurses, believe it or not. Microsoft and Google are adding jobs despite laying off in other areas. For older workers, Walgreen's, Adecco (ph), Borders Books are adding more workers this year according to the AARP, Tony.</s>HARRIS: I meet need some training, or some retraining for some of these jobs. Is it available?</s>WILLIS: Yeah, absolutely. First off, go online. This is a great option for folks who don't have a way to get to campus or maybe you need really need flexible hours. You may use e-mails to communicate with your teachers, if you study online and return assignments. Make sure that college is accredited. Go to the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, at CHEA.org, to find out what schools are legitimate. Now, keep in mind that you really have to have vigorous study habits because distractions may be more frequent at home as we all know. You may also consider taking classes at your local community college.</s>HARRIS: My old saying, if it's free, it's for me. I'd like to do some of this retraining but -</s>WILLIS: I thought you were going to say you get what you pay for.</s>HARRIS: Well, there you go. You know, all of this retraining can be, frankly, it can be a little costly. Is there any free help out there, Gerri?</s>WILLS: Well, yeah, we're going to lower you price tag right now. If you want to figure out things like, what are the buzzwords you need on your resume. If you have questions about to do about an employment gap on your resume, that is a very common question. A great web site. Check it out, Careeronestop.org. You can view resume templates and samples for free. You may also consider getting some personal one-on- one advice if you still feel like you want extra help. Visit the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches. Yes, there is a professional association, PARW.com. We'll talk more about this and other issues affecting your wallet this Saturday on "Your Bottom Line," 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Be sure to join us.</s>HARRIS: Well, Gerri, there are some more people who may need to take your tips to heart this morning. We're just getting news from Boeing that in addition to the 4,500 job cuts that were announced on January 9th, Boeing is announcing today an additional 5,500 jobs will be cut across the Boeing commercial airplanes division. While some more job cuts for Boeing. So as the most serious credit crisis, really in decades, continues to rock your finances, CNNMoney.com has some advice and some answers for you. We encourage you. We absolutely encourage you to check out our special report, "America's Money Crisis". That is at CNNMoney.com. You've heard from the president and other politicians. Now hear what economists are saying about the stimulus plan. They explain it, in 90 seconds.