Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Spring (the season) (07/23/09)
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TITLE: In Spring I Found a Job! | Previous Challenge Entry
By BILL HUNT
07/26/09 -
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“The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them” (1 Tim 5:24).
But that's an old story men ignore. In spring, I found a new job. That's my story!
“Max, I've served a career position for twenty years. Now I've lost my income. Medical insurance costs way too much. The stock market dived. My retirement funds sank deep into the well.”
“George, there remains only one thing, seek a new job,” my friend said.
So, week after week, month after month, I scratched the newspaper ads. Nothing....
I sat at home on my back steps watching the wisdom in God's nature out across the fields. I penned verses to a poem, perhaps to ease my nerves, perhaps for understanding.
Two stately hawks, royal emissaries,
daily top their sunlit thrones
high on the frame barn roof,
watch and wait the moment to strike!
That's it! Time arrived to exit the pit of discouragement! The phone rang. My friend Max spoke hurriedly.
“George! I discovered a way to find a job fast,” he said. “Professionals term it the hidden job market. Seventy-five percent of all newly employed are not hired through searching wanted ads!
“Listen to this. One quarter are hired by managers who aren't thinking to hire--until they meet an impressive candidate. Another quarter are hired by those who are just contemplating their need. Another quarter are hired by those who are planning, but haven't started advertising the position!
“Your task is to contact two or three managers in potential companies on a daily basis until you find one who hands you the contract.
“George,” Max said, “list twenty names of family, friends, and acquaintances, and call me back tomorrow.”
King Hawk bends his feathered crown
to the classroom ground
with telescopic eye.
Watch and wait the moment to bite!
When I called Max back, he eagerly instructed me.
“George, start visiting each one on your list of twenty in person.”
“Can't I just phone them to save time?”
“No, phoning will never raise full steam. You'll spin your wheels like you were stuck in a bog,” Max said. “Have you printed your resume?”
“Not yet,” I said. “I've got to update it.”
“Okay, George. Research 'resume' on the internet and update yours, first class! Then we'll launch your campaign.”
The eye of the hawk sights the strike,
drops to the ground with a twitch of his wing
to beak a grub from the grass.
As I discussed the procedure with Max, he assigned me the mission.
“Visit each person on your list, two or three per day. If they manage a business, ask them if they plan to hire within the next couple of months, no pressure. Leave each one a copy of your resume with the phone number. Ask each of them to recommend two names of colleagues.”
“Everybody knows two names!”
“Now, George. If you persuade each person on your list of twenty to give you two names, how many new names will you have?”
“Well, forty, of course,” I said.
“If you contact your list of twenty and your list of forty, what else will you have?” Mack asked.
“Sixty contacts,” I answered.
“More than likely,” he smiled, “you'll have a new job! I'll pray for you.”
A grub's the reward for endurance.
Patience in time.
The eye of the hawk sets the dive.
Catching managers, friends, or family on location wasn't easy. Sometimes I made two or three drop-ins before I scored. But in about six weeks, severe discouragement creped in. I was running out of steam. I looked at the notes taped on the bathroom mirror.
“Never give up!” said one. “God doesn't make junk!” said the other.
“Is this going to work?” I asked myself over and over again. True, I gathered new lists of names, more than a hundred. But even my prayers were waining. Just when I slumped, it happened!
Grubs and things do not fare well
in the hawk's world.
Patience in time. He strikes.
“George, I have good news for you!” said Max on his cell phone. “The people at Florida Crown called me in reference.
“You've got a job, George! Glory to God!”
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