For Traralgon’s Deborah Peatey today marks the start of a bright new future.
She’ll begin a new job cleaning for a local business after two weeks stationed on the side of the Princes Highway with a sign reading ‘looking for work’.
She said she couldn’t be happier her unorthodox job-searching method had paid off.
“I’m really keen and rapt. I’m really, really excited for next week to start,” Deborah told The Express on Thursday.
The 43 year-old had previously described herself as “hungry, cold and fed-up with borrowing money to pay the bills”.
“I feel like I can actually take a breath without panicking,” Deborah said.
“The fact the work is there has taken about 50 per cent of the stress off me.”
Deborah’s roadside stint began late last month after she had tried “again and again” for cleaning jobs and anything else she believed she qualified for, over a period of nine months.
But she said the answer was always ‘no’.
In a desperate, last-ditch attempt, she took to the roadside hoping to “stick out among the 500 people going for any one job”.
Deborah said she was then inundated with calls of support and offers of casual cleaning work.
She has also received calls from other jobseekers looking for tips and tricks to stand out in a declining job market.
“I think it’s hard for everyone, the workforce is getting smaller and the population is getting bigger. I just managed to stand out,” she said.
Deborah said she was overwhelmed by the support of the local community.
“It was the kindness of strangers that got me through the tough times. If it wasn’t for the locals paying attention, I wouldn’t have made it, so thank you everyone,” she said.
