Robert Haufler, Director of Marketing for Somerset Mortgage Lenders, was interviewed on Wednesday July 29th by Newsday’s Patricia Kitchen for her article “Signs of Hope Seen in Job Market” which was published on Friday July 31st, 2009.

Here is the link and text from the article, courtesy of Newsday and Patricia Kitchen:
http://www.newsday.com/business/signs-of-hope-seen-in-job-market-1.1338989

-Signs of Hope Seen in Job Market-

We may still hear of layoffs and employers taking forever to make hiring decisions. But, could there be a minuscule glimmer of hope on the job market front?

Yes, applications for first-time unemployment benefits went up nationally by 25,000 to 584,000 for the week ending July 25. But some economists told The Associated Press they see good news in that report from the U.S. Labor Department, as most of those new claims are part of the auto companies shutting plants temporarily in May or June — earlier than usual. And the four-week average of claims fell to 559,000, the lowest since January.

Tom Wieder, an executive recruiter for banking, said he’s seen some big players start to replace key people and “organizations that were in complete lockdown mode” move from “a hiring freeze to a hiring frost.” Certainly, layoffs continue, but “people don’t necessarily understand that hiring is going in through the other door,” said Wieder, managing partner for the financial services group of WorldBridge Partners in Baldwin.

In good times and bad, most hiring is not about industry growth, but replacement and turnover, said Gary Huth, principal economist on Long Island with the state Department of Labor. Yes, that turnover contracts during a recession, he said, but to say there are no jobs, “That’s not an accurate look at the job market.”

Here’s a sample of employers with local openings:

1. Netflix
Melville distribution center
netflix.com/jobs

OPENINGS: Driver
COMPENSATION: $13 an hour; operations supervisor, $19.50 an hour
QUALITIES SOUGHT: With an average 80,000 DVDs received and another 80,000 shipped daily from this facility, the company strives “to find people with excruciating attention to detail,” people who can work “fast, but precisely,” said Steve Swasey, vice president of corporate communications. That and start work real early. “Money is made and service is good when people get up early,” he said.

2. Verizon Wireless
VerizonWireless.com/careers

OPENINGS: Twenty sales rep positions at stand-alone stores and for BJ’s Wholesale Club and P.C. Richard & Son locations.
COMPENSATION: Base pay and commission; on average, sales reps bring in $40,000 a year, said Eileen Lambert, associate director of human resources in the metropolitan area.
QUALITIES SOUGHT: It’s best if you have a year or so of sales or customer service experience, or if you’re naturally persuasive, said Lambert.

3. Somerset Mortgage Lenders
Melville
somersetmortgagelenders.com

OPENINGS: Forty to fifty positions ranging from team leader and loan officer to underwriter and processor.
COMPENSATION: Depending on the position, compensation can range from $30,000 to $300,000 a year, said Robert Haufler, director of marketing.
QUALITIES SOUGHT: Be proactive — find out who you will be meeting with during the interview, arrive early, greet the person with Ms. or Mr. “That’s the person I want. The one who cares,” said Haufler. Haufler says to send a resume and follow up with a call to the recruiting department.

4. Paradigm Group
Syosset
paradigm-grp.com

OPENINGS: The maker and supplier of eco-friendly disposable products, such as plates, facial tissue, garbage liners is looking for industrial sales reps (experienced or entry-level) and inside sales reps (four to five years’ customer service experience)
COMPENSATION: Base plus commission
QUALITIES SOUGHT: You don’t need a degree in an environmental area, but should demonstrate that you’re “interested in and understand [the green] movement and understand what’s going on in marketplace,” said Ralph Bianculli Jr., business development and e-commerce director.

In a turbulent time in the mortgage industry, Somerset Mortgage Lenders stays ahead of its competition by lending a helping hand to senior borrowers. Along with saving seniors a lot of money with a reverse mortgage, many Somerset employees have gone the extra mile to make sure they remain friends with their borrowers by offering to lend a hand with home improvements.

One example of this is when a recent customer was going to pay $450 to paint a fence on her property and her Senior Lending Specialist, Sean Miller, offered to do it for free on his day off. “It feels good to help people in their time of need, not only by creating financial freedom that will save them thousands but also to help by lending a hand in other ways”, Sean stated.  The borrower Inez Richardson remarked “Sean has given me my financial independence and a brighter look on the future. He has given so much for so little in return”.

“You have never stood so tall until you kneel to help a senior citizen” Sean said.

Sean Miller is not the only an example of a Somerset Senior Specialist lending a helping hand. Because their product deals with people in times of need, our loan officers often encounter unfortunate situations. Another example of this is Vince Navarro, a team leader and Reverse Mortgage Specialist, recently helping a senior with no working bathroom living with basically an out-house accommodation, gain her bathroom facilities and her dignity back. “What’s great,” Vince said, “is that we can remedy a situation not only for now but for the long term. Fixing the bathroom was my pleasure”.