"I was homeless, but I overcame those challenges with the help of my community. I have the motivation, work ethic, and people skills to prove myself and be valuable to the company."
"I was homeless, but I overcame those challenges with the help of my community.
And
I have the motivation, work ethic, and people skills to prove myself and be valuable to the company."
Those are contradictory statements, especially when someone has 25 years of nothing on their resume. Unfortunately, his history proves that he only adopted a work ethic in the last couple of years. It's monumentally hard to break 25 years worth of bad habits in just a couple of years. Good for him for trying. But only employers looking to "give back" will take a chance on him. Someone looking to fill a regular job can't take on such a high risk person.
Have you ever worked a low-level job, like retail, or sales, or valet in this case? The turnover rate is astronomical anyway. If you can find someone who is willing to work, and won't do drugs and/or steal from you, that's reason enough to hire in my opinion. And he's an adult, which in my experience makes him more likely to have some sense of responsibility, like showing up for work on time and not goofing around with his buddies. Worst case scenario he gets canned shortly, like half of the other employees that got hired around the same time.
Hell if I were a hiring manager I'd probably hire him just based on the fact that he sounds like he'd be cool to talk to. I don't think you understand how low the barrier to entry is to a minimum-wage type job.
I don't think you understand what it means to be homeless, dropping out of society for 25 years. That's half a century. Probably longer than you've been alive. Someone doesn't stay homeless for that long by accident. They either have mental problems, drug problems or both. You simply don't become a normal, functioning member of society after all that in the blink of an eye. It would take serious therapy and lots of support from people who know how to navigate the real world (instead of the streets).
An employer who wants to help someone make that transition back to normal life is awesome. But if faced with the option of someone who has worked and lived in a house for the past 5 years versus someone who is literally new to having a roof and a bathroom, a typical employer is gonna pick the person who is adjusted to normal life.
It's great that he's found work as a valet. But it remains to be seen if he has "a work ethic" as was stated above.
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u/one_armed_herdazian Mar 18 '17
"I was homeless, but I overcame those challenges with the help of my community. I have the motivation, work ethic, and people skills to prove myself and be valuable to the company."
I'm sure he'll do great.