I did have a part-time position with the Samaritan Counseling Center from Sept-Dec, but due to the economy and a slow opening, I had to give that position up. I loved working with the Samaritan Counseling Center. I enjoyed driving to Barrington, IL every day (a 45 to 60 minute car ride each way) because of the homey towns, and the great scenery, I drove though. I was always greeted by Rev. (Mary) Tudela [Executive Director] at the Samaritan Counseling Center with warmth, a cheery hello, along with a very comfortable and favorable working environment. I was sad to leave, but I could understand from Mary the circumstances and the reasons why I needed to be let go.
For months, and I mean months, I have been laboring diligently, putting in 4 to 6-hours a day looking for employment. I, along with everyone else in Chicagoland and the nation, were being let go or fired, with entire companies and industries folding. We were all out looking for jobs, a job, any job. The job search was long and arduous. July will go down in the record book, for me, as being the miraculous month. I received a call from PDS (a temporary recruiting agency out of Hartford, CT) and they, along with plenty of others, saw one of my myriads of resumes on the Internet, and wanted to know if I was interested in a temporary position. I was already a client with several temporary agencies throughout DuPage County, but I thought I’d give another agency a whirl, and this was an agency from out-of-state in Connecticut. ** Connecticut is where my sister Denyse and her family live. **
PDS was a magical ‘shoe-like’ Cinderella fit. I was immediately put in touch with my recruiter, Ana, who was personal and professional, along with being a little blunt at times. Ana set me up for an interview with Hartford Insurance Company’s Workers Compensation area for the Midwest. Before you knew it, I had the interview and the good folks at Hartford liked me and *poof*, I was hired. My first official work week with them started on Monday. The job with PDS/Hartford is a 2, possibly 3-month, temporary assignment.
As any employee to a new company will know, the first few days and weeks are trying, exciting, and stressful. My first week was eventful and memorable. I am starting from the ground floor up. This week I filed. Filing is one of the most important actions I can do for a company or government entity, but it is the least of the things I like to do in my profession.
However, it is by filing, and Hartford is no exception, I learn about the company. Through filing, I am getting a clearer picture of the claims I file and their important nature. I am meeting and interacting with other professionals at Hartford; therefore this week's job activity has been a blessing in disguise. Another PDS Temp (Nadene) started the same day, the same position, along with the same location I did; so, instead of having that constant ‘deer in the headlight’ stare, it has been a breeze. The two of us starting at the same time, cubical mates, rattling things around in our heads together are great. It has also helped immensely with the great supervisors Nadene and I have to report to at Hartford.Excuse me, did I tell you Hartford Insurance is only five (5) minutes away from where we live!! It’s another miracle
I am back in the work saddle again. Working 8:00am-4:30pm, Mon-Friday. Lynn is happy and ecstatic as well. Lynn has been holding down the fort for so long due to our move to Illinois, my surgeries and recovery period, and then while unemployed. I am eager and excited to put my shoulder to the wheel and get our lives moving back on track.
This entry has been quite an epilog for such a quick synopsis, and I’m sorry. But, I was so excited and I just had to let you know what was happening in our lives and my life now.
-Shelly
