news-record.com

Life can change in an instant. Just ask Johnny Walker.

When he reports to his new job for the first time today, he’ll drop off the list of 42,000 unemployed workers in the Greensboro-High Point area.

RF Micro Devices laid him off in January. In an instant, he found himself without a job for the first time in his life.

Today, things will be different.

“(It’s like) a 3,000-pound gorilla off my back,” he said. “Thank the Lord, thank the Lord. Wow... I’ll be able to tell my kids. I promised them we’ll get to go out for dinner real soon.”

Walker calls himself a “grinder” for sticking with his job search while fighting worry, bills and raising two kids as a single father.

“You’ve got this bill due, that bill due and it’s just constant warfare against yourself and the mass of people who are out of work,” Walker said.

In February, he joined hundreds for a job fair at Four Seasons Town Centre in a massive line to see a few employers with even fewer jobs.

He stood out with his sharp suit and gregarious personality.

Walker, 39, circulated dozens of resumes and barely missed landing a job at Terminix. On Monday, a friend mentioned him when a job came open at Ashland Chemical Co.

At Wednesday’s interview, “I was determined to be more focused and relaxed,” Walker said. “I was determined that I was going to get the job ... after being beat out in the Terminix job. I was determined that I won’t be beat out again.”

On Thursday, he got the job. He is now a chemical operator at Ashland.

One unemployed worker down.

Contact Richard M. Barron at 373-7371 or richard.barron@news-record.com