  
Job Seekers
 “Starting over is really rough, especially without the tools you’re used to.” Alan knows what he’s talking about. Up until about a year ago, he was working in the telecommunications field. Then the layoffs hit. “Hit is the right word. I was making good money, but I hadn’t been working long enough to build up a good enough nest egg yet. It was kind of like running up an escalator, and suddenly finding out you get to the top and there’s no floor there. I fell pretty far and pretty fast.
“I ended up having to move and sell my car. I even had to close my checking account, because a creditor got hold of the number and started siphoning off what little money I had left. Right now I’m staying with some friends who were nice enough to loan me a spare room. But I really don’t want to take too much advantage of them.
“I wasn’t sure how I’d stay in contact with potential employers, or have any way of handling my money other than sticking it under the mattress. But then I found the Genie-in-a-card.
“Genie-in-a-card has helped give me back a little bit of my dignity, and made life a whole lot easier. With Genie, I prepay a small fee and I get all of the tools and features I need to start putting my life back together: a stable phone number, complete voice mail, a bank account with an ATM card, email and more. That really helps.
“One way it helps a lot is in the job search. I had interviewed at a company that really seemed to like me. I told one of the guys I’m staying with about it, and how good it looked. But I guess he misunderstood me, 'cause they called about a week later to offer me the job, and he told them I’d had another offer. By the time I found out, and tried to straighten things out, they’d already hired their second choice.
“But now, with Genie, that won’t happen. Genie won’t give out any information to callers on her own - only what I want. And she’ll take the message right, without me having to worry about someone else playing the message or accidentally erasing it.
“I also have my Genie email, which helps me get out resumes and emails to hiring managers. I can use just about any web browser equipped PC to do that too. I don’t have to rely on a friend - just go to the library and use theirs.
“And the GenieCard
account is very important to me. I don’t have to carry cash around with me. I just use any ATM to get cash if I need it, or use the card to pay for things at any store that accepts ATM cards - like the grocery store.
“I’ve taken a couple of small temporary jobs while I’m trying to land a full-time position again, and the GenieCard helps there too. The folks I’ve been working with were able to put me on their direct-deposit program because I had that account. They didn’t have to write special checks to me, and I didn’t have to worry about finding a place to cash a check.
“All in all, Genie-in-a-card has been a big step up for only a very little money.”
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