Residents Flock To Local McDonalds For Jobs, Not Burgers

Carlos Mendez showed up at the McDonald's restaurant on Jamacha Boulevard in Spring Valley Tuesday, dressed in shirt and tie. He wasn't looking to grab a quick bite on his lunch break, however.

He was looking for a job.

His is the same story to that of almost 400 other people, who came to the restaurant to fill out an application for work, as part of a nationwide hiring blitz for the fast food giant.

McDonald's announced that on Tuesday they are hiring 50,000 people at more than 14,000 locations across the country. For Mendez, he hopes that this could be the opportunity he's been seeking since being laid off from his telemarketing job more than a month ago. Prior to that he was also laid off from a job in the ship building industry.

For the Spring Valley resident, he just wants a chance to hold steady employment in a tough job market.

"I've worked for different restaurants like In 'N' Out, Carl's Jr. and Johnny Rockets," said Mendez, 24. "I figured with my previous experience, it should be easy to catch on to something like this, but that's not the case."

He said since his layoff, he's been applying at other fast food restaurants as well, but that they seem to prefer younger workers.

"It seems like they are always picking high school kids over us people with actual experience," he said. "We have responsibilities and bills, while high schoolers just want some extra spending money. I've got rent to pay. I'm not sponsored by mom and dad anymore."

Pablo Dimas, 24, agrees. He is currently an employee at Albertson's but is looking for a second job to support his month-and-a-half-old baby daughter. He heard about the hiring day from a friend and on Facebook.

"I'm a single father. I need this second job right now," he said.

Others, like Mount Miguel High School senior Gabriela Lopez, 18, are using this potential opportunity as a bridge. Lopez graduates in June and is planning on attending San Diego State University in the fall, and studying psychology.

She said that the job would be a convenient way to save money until college starts, and that it is not too far from her home.

"This is the first job that I've gone for, so I'm hoping it will work out," Lopez said. "It could be a little filler for getting ready for the job that college will be."

Hiring philosophies tend to differ, even for some locations in the same area. At the Rancho San Diego location at 2646 Jamacha Rd., assistant manager Lema Wasimi said that her team interviewed close to 70 applicants in the morning and early afternoon to fill three positions as cashiers and one cook. She said that it is important that the candidates be flexible with their schedules.

"Most of our employees are high school or college students," he said. "There are not too many employees here who are not in school."

But in Spring Valley, store manager Jesse San Agustin said that as part of the nationwide initiative, he is looking to see what people have potential and ability, who are thinking about the long term.

"We are looking to see what some people are capable of, not just to work for a couple months and that's it," he said. "We want people who are willing to work their way up."

His story is similar to many McDonald's managers.

"I started here as a cook, and cleaning up," he said. "But I made the decision that I wasn't happy just doing that. I wanted to do more. And I'm pretty happy right now."

The company said that 75 percent of its employees in managerial positions started out as crew members, and 50 percent of its owner operators started out behind the counter.

San Agustin, who has been at the Spring Valley location for four years, said that he is not sure exactly how many positions he is going to fill, but that he is simply looking to target people with potential.

"I've already seen a lot of potential with some candidates today, " he said. "I'm surprised, especially by some of the younger [applicants]. We are just trying to get this done and continue running the store."