Editorial: Treasure your job as times are tough

It can't be easy sitting beside a busy road in a desperate attempt to interest someone enough to give you a job.

In Saturday's Bay of Plenty Times Weekend 60-year-old Tauranga man Peter Lester told us his story of seven weeks of toil to find a new job.

Two months ago, Mr Lester was laid off from his job and he is surely one of many New Zealanders who believe in a fair day's work for a fair day's pay.

He has made it his priority to sign up with recruitment agencies, not stand in line at Work and Income to organise his unemployment benefit.

He wants fulltime work, not a handout.

In these economic times, Mr Lester is not alone in finding it tough.

Jobs are hard to find in the Western Bay, as well as many other parts of the country. A rare exception is Christchurch, where the reconstruction of the city is drawing workers in from around New Zealand.

And we all know about the exodus of workers looking for greener pastures across the Tasman.

But people like Mr Lester show the Kiwi spirit is still alive and well.

And he is a reminder to those of us with paid employment to treasure the jobs we have and put in the work required of us to the best of our ability.

We have also been telling you in recent weeks of the ways and means to secure a job, in our recruitment series with Right Staff.

Three eager job seekers - Karolyn Timarkos, Christine Atkinson and Kunal Narsey - have received advice on interview preparation and getting their CVs in order.

The advice offered so far makes a lot of sense and job seekers would do well to heed the tips offered.

In a difficult employment market, every box needs to be ticked to get a foot in the door and just maybe secure a job.

While these people are working hard and doing it tough, let's hope the New Zealand economy does its bit in the next few years.

Prior to the global financial crisis, the country was ticking along nicely and the Western Bay economy was growing.

Let the good times return.