Melissa Bailey Photo
When he saw a “now hiring” sign outside a new fast-food pizza joint near his house, Andre Earl got in line and waited over an hour for a minute-long interview.
Earl, who’s 30, was one of over 200 people who streamed through Little Caesars Pizza shop Thursday at the corner of Ella T. Grasso Boulevard and Whalley Avenue. The store is set to open Sept. 10 in a space formerly occupied by Dunkin’ Donuts.
Earl said he’s been searching for work for six years, since the toy store he was working in at the Milford Mall closed. He said he has put in applications up and down Whalley Avenue to no avail.
At 11:30 a.m., he stepped inside the restaurant to make his pitch. He met manager Jerry Maldonado, who was interviewing candidates in rapid-fire fashion, then grading them on an A to F basis.
“Do you want a job, or need a job?” Maldonado asked him.
“I want a job and need a job,” Earl replied.
Earl said he has worked before at a Burger King.
“I have a clean record,” Earl added.
“I don’t worry about that. I care about the person,” Maldonado replied.
Maldonado said he’d be calling people back on Saturday with job offers.
Maldonado said he is looking to hire 45 people, about 15 of them full-time, for the latest outpost of the national chain restaurant. Workers make minimum wage, $8.25 per hour.
The rush of applicants highlighted the high demand for jobs in New Haven, which has a 12.4 percent unemployment rate.
The store advertised it would be holding interviews from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Maldonado said when he got to the store at 7 a.m., there were already half a dozen people waiting in line. The line continued down the sidewalk throughout the day. By 11 a.m., Maldonado said he had already interviewed over 200 people. Prior to Thursday, he received 500 job applications in paper, he said.
People standing in line included some of the 100 people per month returning to New Haven from prison.
Maldonado said he doesn’t exclude people who have a criminal record. Four people with felony convictions were “in contention” for the jobs as of 11 a.m., he said.
Andrew Jordan (pictured) was one of at least 10 people who showed up at Little Caesars after graduating from STRIVE New Haven, a three-week job readiness program. Jordan, 22, said the program focused on how to dress, build a resume, present himself in interviews and make eye contact. He said he’s done all kinds of jobs, including driving, landscape, janitorial, and working with little kids. He currently works for his aunt in transportation; he’s looking for a second part-time job.
He waited for over 90 minutes for his chance to make his case to Maldonado.
“This goes to show that a lot of people need jobs,” said Tina Alford (pictured), who was waiting in line at 11:30.
Alford, who’s 31, said she has been looking for work for about six months. She just got her 3‑year-old son into Head Start pre‑K, which will free her up to work. She said she has worked as a certified nursing assistant, as well as at Popeye’s and McDonald’s. She said the fast-food industry is not her top pick: “No one likes to do it because they work you like a slave and you don’t make any money.”
But “it’s getting close to Christmas,” and to her kids’ birthdays, “so this is better than nothing,” she said.