SIUSLAW NEWS | SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 2021 | 5A
JOBS from page 1A
People can go to three
riverscasino.com/careers
for additional information.
To contact Hickson direct-
ly, call 541-902-6648.
For Hickson, the casino
hiring is a good sign, show-
ing that Three Rivers was
able to safely remain open
for much of the pandemic
with stringent health stan-
dards in place.
“So far, it’s worked out
really well. And our staff is
happy too, because they’re
working — and that’s a
good thing,” she said.
Not everyone has been
so lucky, which Florence
Area Chamber of Com-
merce CEO/President Bet-
tina Hannigan witnessed
personally both here in the
local community as well as
in recent travels out of state.
“Everybody’s
having
staffing problems right
now,” she said.
She has asked for cham-
ber members to check in
about reopening, and re-
ports are still coming in.
“We were just supposed
to pop back into business,”
Hannigan said. “It’s like,
‘Poof! OK, everybody,
let’s all go back to business
PHOTOS BY MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
Businesses all over town are looking for additional employees.
Several resources are available for those hunting for a job,
including social media, job boards and the classifieds.
could.
Now, as things open up,
it’s leaving a vacuum with
not enough staff to fill po-
sitions.
Or, possibly, the employ-
ees are out there, and just
don’t know where to look.
Hickson is continuing
to offer advice that she has
learned in her years of hir-
ing people and running the
Community Career Fair.
“I’m just passionate
about it, that’s for sure,” she
said.
Her first recommenda-
tion for both businesses
and potential employees is
to utilize resources in the
community. From social
media groups where peo-
ple post, to business pages
— “People are looking at
social media and they’re
using it,” Hickson said.
Businesses can also run
job listings in the classi-
fieds section, on the radio
and on job boards through
WorkSource Lane County
and Goodwill Job Connec-
tions.
“We’re really fortunate
living in a small town that
everybody knows every-
one and everything about
everybody else,” Hickson
said. “That can be good,
and it can be bad, but in
this case, relying on each
other in the community is
now.’”
Many businesses have
been looking forward to
reopening. The problem,
however, has been resum-
ing operations with enough
staff on board.
A lot of people who were
employed in the service in-
dustry were furloughed or
let go early in the pandem-
ic. While many remained
in town, some found other
jobs or took care of chil-
dren, who were attending
school via distance learn-
ing. Yet others left, follow-
ing the work where they
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not a com-
petition as
much as it is
helping each
other out.”
For peo-
ple looking
for
jobs,
Hickson
recommended the same re-
sources.
“Word of mouth is a big-
gie,” she added. “Just getting
out there and connecting
with different business-
es here in town. … Check
with your local community.
Just reach out and ask who’s
hiring.”
It’s important for people
to be deliberate.
“The face-to-face con-
tact is really a good thing,
but pick up those phones
and don’t be afraid to make
those calls and connect
with people,” she said.
Once the connection has
been made, people should
prepare for an in-person
interview.
“Get those résumés up-
dated and make sure you’re
putting your best foot for-
ward,” Hickson said. “And
when you show up for the
job interview, show up to
present yourself for the job
that you’re applying for.”
The Florence Area
Chamber of Commerce
also has connections with
job opportunities that it
posts in its weekly Cham-
ber Blast. Among these is
Elevate Lane County’s Hir-
ing Fair 2021, a four-week
virtual event to connect
local students with local
companies and hiring op-
portunities. From April 19
through May 14, students
will get to know participat-
ing businesses, learn how
to build a résumé, apply
for jobs and more. Students
can apply now through
Friday, April 14. Business-
es can also participate and
should apply as quickly as
possible.
People can go to
connec tedlane.org for
more information.
The chamber’s role is
to wrap resources around
businesses. It also mar-
kets the area and receives
Transient Room Tax (TRT)
revenue depending on the
number of people staying
overnight in the area.
“Our TRT reports are
up over 8 percent from last
year, so people are com-
ing,” Hannigan said. “A lot
of what we’re seeing is that
people are not comfortable
getting on airplanes, and so
they’re doing driving trips.
And then I think we’re see-
ing a lot of cabin fever, too,
where people are just try-

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ing to get away and have a
little break in their day.”
It’s a sign that people are
coming back to Florence
and that the tourist season
is starting with the spring
weather.
According to Hannigan,
one thing the pandemic
has done has been to allow
people to work from home.
Those who travel have been
able to bring their desks
with them.
“We’re seeing a lot of
‘work where you play,’”
Hannigan said. “A hotel or
vacation rental has WIFI,
and we’re working remote-
ly. It was like me working
in California. Even though
I was on vacation, I was still
working.”
It could be a growing
facet for Florence as peo-
ple recreate and stay here.
It could also help fill some
of the seasonal job gaps as
people shift between recre-
ation destinations through-
out the year.
“I’m hoping that we do
see that more year-round,”
Hannigan said. “We’ve got
this tremendous, wonder-
ful, creative, free and easy
millennial population that
doesn’t want to buy a house
and settle down. They want
to travel, they want to live
in a tiny house. (The pan-
demic) has opened up a
whole lot of opportunities
to that type of traveler.”
People who bring their
own lodging with them
— travel vans are making
a comeback — could also
help with Florence’s hous-
ing situation. The growing
need for low- and mid-
dle-income housing, both
owned and rented, is ex-
acerbated by the need for
higher paying jobs.
“Which came first, the
chicken or the egg?” Han-
nigan asked. “The housing
or the jobs? The jobs or the
housing? What do we do?”
It’s something she is
talking about with the Flor-
ence Chamber Board.
“Once we move out of
this pandemic into more
of a ‘normal,’ whatever that
might look like, how do we
support the community?
How do we stay relevant
and really meet the needs
of our business communi-
ty and our community as a
whole?” she asked.
For Hannigan, it’s about
both short-term solutions,
in matching current resi-
dents to current job open-
ings, but also to looking to
the future.
As the state continues
to reopen and the federal
government continues to
announce pandemic sup-
port, more businesses will
be offering services as the
economy opens up.
People can learn more
about business opportu-
nities in the Florence area
at florencechamber.com/
build-a-business/.