Restaurant owner gives job to veteran advertising resume on street corner — within hours, his response stunned employer
Sometimes, people do get what they are looking for if they do not give up on hope. A veteran from Sacramento is a prime example of that. In 2018, the then-62-year-old George Silvey took to the streets to hand out resumes in hopes that someone would offer him a job. On that faithful day, a woman noticed his efforts and decided to post his resume and story on a Facebook group and help him out. She was determined to get him a job, and the post worked its magic. A restaurant owner reached out to him within 24 hours with surprising news, per CBS News.
The woman was impressed by Silvey's effort and made that post, and the results were almost instantaneous. "It threw me for a loop because I didn't expect this to happen so fast," Silvey admitted. He stood on a street corner holding a sign and asking for work while handing out his resume to anyone willing to take a look. "I know that once I get my foot in the door, I can make a lot of money real fast. All I need is the opportunity." Silvey recounted how the woman reached out to help him. "And she goes, 'We'll get you a job. I'll make sure of it.'" In a few hours, he had a job offer at a restaurant and felt that it had been a "lucky day" for him.
The next day he was washing dishes and taking out trash as a part of his job at KiKi's Chicken in Rancho Cordova. The Vietnam Veteran even showed up early for his first day at work. "How many people are really asking to earn their money when you see them out on the street? And how can you say no to someone that actually wants to take the initiative to take care of himself," Summer Gonzalez, co-owner of KiKi's Chicken, pointed out. "He put his shirt right on and he got right to work. He's a great guy," a surprised Gonzalez said about Silvey, who was grateful to get a chance to earn a living for himself.
"It means so much that there are people out there who really care," the grateful veteran expressed. He had previously worked in maintenance as a heavy equipment operator, a painter and even as an in-home healthcare provider, according to his resume. Silvey explained that he had handed out resumes in hopes of employment for over 6 years, per ABC 10. He was excited to have a new job and entered his workplace with the utmost enthusiasm. "My new job, I just started today," he exclaimed.
Silvey was glad to have employment and remarked that he was "extremely proud." He added, "I never thought in my wildest dreams that it would happen so fast." He hoped that his story would encourage other people facing a similar challenge. "Never give up, never give up hope. It can happen and it will happen," he suggested. The woman who found Silvey while pumping gas offered him money at first. But he declined her offer and handed her a resume instead. Silvey gave a shoutout to his workplace and called it the "Best chicken in town."