Tuesday 16 June 2009

Steve Murphy got a job, just like that

Steve Murphy of Whitfield has been looking for work for too long. He's tried almost everything.
"I've been without an income for a while now, and it was getting desperate," Steve Murphy told CairnsBlog. "When you send in your CV, you often don't even get an acknowledgement. I've worked in retail, hospitality, construction, even done marketing," Steve said.
In what has become a familiar method to get noticed, yesterday morning at the crack of dawn, amidst peak-hour traffic along Mulgrave Road, Steve Murphy took his plight to the streets of Cairns. Perched in the middle of the road, and armed with a large sign with his phone number, he advertised himself.
His trick paid off. Just after 9:30am yesterday morning, Tony Carter from Abelia Cleaning drove by and invited him back to his Bungalow office for an interview.

"We'd just had someone leave over the weekend, so it was good timing," Tony said, who runs a family business with his partner Sue Homer, and their both parents. "We've been in business for 15 years and employ 45 locals. We're always on the look out for keen, honest and good people to join our team," Tony told CairnsBlog.

"Steve was well-presented, he had his CV and references with him, and once we'd checked things out, we offered him a position on the spot," Tony Carter said.

"Yeah, I'm really delighted," Steve said. "I think I could motivate anyone to do this you know. I should charge them $25 and say, 'I'll get you a job!' "

Abelia Cleaning look after a large number of Cairns customers, from James Cook University, St Andrews, corporate buildings, even body corporate properties and restaurants.
"I admired Steve's initiative and thought we had to talk with him," Tony Carter said. "It takes a lot for someone to do what he did."
It's not the first time that this out-of work-worker has turned to the streets for help. At the height of the 1983 financial crisis, Steve found himself in a similar predicament.

"I took a sign and went onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge to tell the city I wanted a job," Steve Murphy recalled. "Within hours, my answerphone had about 70 messages on it. I was on radio and even TV's Today Tonight wanted me to come on alongside a politician, however I refused that invitation!"

Tony and Sue at Abelia have given him a clean sweep. At 4pm today, Steve Murphy starts his new job.

(The Cairns Post will be pleased to bring you their version of this story, via snail mail.)

12 comments:

Part time worker said...

Good onya Steve - you deserve to get a job and I hope that this job is good to you.

Nice to see that some people still want to work, will do anything outside their usual type of employment and show some initiative in looking for work.

Good Luck Steve.

David A said...

Good on him. It worked. I saw this bloke the other morning and I was concerned for his safety and the safety of motorists. He stood on the median strip during peak hour traffic. Motorists would not be able to absorb the mobile phone number let along write it down without taking their attention off the road.
Yes, these are desperate times, but I'm not just glad he has a job, I'm glad he's still alive.

Smell the Coffee said...

This is nonsense.

People shouldn't aspire to having "a job". They need a CAREER, which requires EDUCATION and hard work.

He won't last a month.

Aunty Jack said...

Smell the coffee's comments are offensive and incorrect.

Beleive you me, careers are not all that they are cracked up to be.

Many people are happy doing a job that they love and good luck to them.

Education and intelligence are a bonus, but they do not necessarily go together nor do they always produce good rounded, honest, reliable human beings who are skilled or good at the particular job they do.

I know some very arrogant, incompetent professional people, who get paid alot of dosh, who are social misfits, cannot work with others in a team environment, and who consistently clamber over other fellow colleagues to get to where they are going. They contribute nothing or very little to the society in which they live.

Variety is the spice of life and it is important to be happy in whatever you do in this life for a crust.

Good onya Steve and good on the company that gave you a chance.

nocturnal congress said...

I was in a "career" job and literally sickened with the back-stabbing, mean mindedness of those climbing the greasy pole. Kiss up big and kick down hard is the modus operandi of most corporate climbers. Every corporate culture today has its drop-outs, burnouts, and breakdowns. They can stick their "executive" this and "executive" that, all up their woolly jumpers. I've had enough of people getting off on their own grossly exaggerated sense of self-importance bullying and abusing those on the ladder beneath them and fawning and ingratiating themselves with those above. These people make everything in life a competition - who has the best car, who has the best house, whose kids are doing the best at school, on and on it goes. If we have a job which we love, we are blessed. That's bloody what it is all about.

Mary Mary Quite Contrary said...

I concur wholeheartedly Nocturnal Congress.

Most of those types you mentioned appear to working for Queensland Health at the moment.

Many have egos the size of Canada, especially the young males or "young turks" (as I refer to them) and the level of bullying, intimidation, backstabbing continues in this Organisation and misuse of taxpayers money is unbelieveable in the first instance and criminal in the second and should be exposed.

Many should be sacked and if they worked in private enterprise and pulled the same stunts, they would be!

NotTheChaser said...

Aunty Jack wrote:-
"I know some very arrogant, incompetent professional people, who get paid alot of dosh, who are social misfits, cannot work with others in a team environment, and who consistently clamber over other fellow colleagues to get to where they are going. They contribute nothing or very little to the society in which they live."

Sounds like the current Cairns Council!

nocturnal congress said...

That's a feature of a corporatised work environment which is geared to competitiveness and a self-serving ethos not a co-operative or customer service orientated work environment. Still, shut up and put up with this for about another twenty years, before the penny drops that having a "piece of paper" ie a degree, doesn't make you the ideal employee. You know there are characteristics such as honesty, ethics, integrity, principles, altruisim, conscientitiousness....but, oh, you can't get degrees in these...
Still...yawn...think of the woman with an HONOURS degree who is going to ignore you as you lay in your bed with weeping bed sores, and haven't been fed for three days or bathed for two weeks..hey, she has an H9ONOURS degree!!
Feel good, do you??? Your turn is coming.

Jude Johnston said...

All the above comments were the reason I hopped off the Corporate ladder years ago and opted for working for smaller private companies, where my attributes of honesty, work ethic and integrity are appreciated. I get far more job satisfaction in working for an employer who treats their staff with respect. And I agree, a Degree doesn't necessarily make you the right person for the job, it is graduating from the Universtiy of Life that gives you a better perspective on work values.

cat's vomit said...

Well said Jude. I also found working for a small family run business much more rewarding. The pay and perks were not as grand, but hey, I looked forward to going to work every day.

cat's vomit said...

As psychologists keep on pointing out, the sociopathic personality is doing very very well in todays modern workforce. Find any corporatised workplace, and you will find a few sitting up there at the top, playing their power games, crawling up to the politicians and playing them like cheap fiddles, preying on the young and vulnerable for sex, bullying and abusing any staff who might be a threat, and helping themselves to whatever they want from the corporation. It doesn't take them long to turn a workplace toxic which they thrive on.

nocturnal congress said...

Yeah, cat's vomit, they're the silver tongued charmers, "the REAL nice guys/gals" who can turn on the charm for those they find useful. If anyone here finds themselves working with one, try and avoid them, don't cause any confrontation. Never disagree with them and don't ever make the mistake of doing something that shows them up as less talented than yourself. Also never run them down, or pass any criticism however mild, to anyone at work, ever. Keep your thoughts to yourself. Because they are liars, cheats and thieves, try and transfer away from them if you can. Whatever they do to a business or corporation is not your problem.