PAUL NAWROCKI

NEW YORK, NY – One man went to extremes to land a job and it finally paid off!
Paul Nawrocki was laid-off from his toy company executive position in 2008. While many would have hit job posting sites and phoned friends, Nawrocki took a different approach. He hit the streets of Manhattan wearing a sandwich board reading “Almost Homeless” and handing out his resume. He had become the face of the recession.
“It was very inspiring for me,” said Nawrocki. “It truly changed me spiritually as a person.”
The idea was not his own but rather his daughter’s. The 61-year-old father of one now has his daughter to thank for helping land his new job that he started last month at Fantasma Toys.
“I applied online, looked in newspapers, I networked,” he said. “And nothing was happening.”
Nawrocki began to make the commute from upstate Beacon into the city daily. Armed with his trusty sign and a fresh stack of his resumes, he hoped to get a little more action. After collecting 99 weeks of unemployment, the dedication paid off and he was rewarded with his new job.
The job couldn’t have come at a better time. Nawrocki and his wife declared bankruptcy last year. They were on food stamps, they went to food banks, and they received gifts from family. He’s way behind on his mortgages and the reality of how long his unemployment could continue for was setting in. Although his paycheck is nearly half of what he made and his title isn’t as glamorous, his new job offers a minimal sense of stability and security in an economy that doesn’t offer the same.
“It was good. It felt good,” he said of being back in the office.