Information about North Dakota

In N.D., the Road to Economic Recovery

Gallery
Job Seeker Drawn to North Dakota
After five months of fruitless job searching, Ohio-resident Janet Morgan found work in a place she never intended: North Dakota.
» LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY

TOOLBOX
Resize Print E-mail Yahoo! Buzz

COMMENT
127 Comments | View All »
POST A COMMENT
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Log in | Register
Why Do I Have to Log In Again?
Log In Again? CLOSEWe've made some updates to washingtonpost.com's Groups, MyPost and comment pages. We need you to verify your MyPost ID by logging in before you can post to the new pages. We apologize for the inconvenience.



Discussion PolicyYour browser's settings may be preventing you from commenting on and viewing comments about this item. See instructions for fixing the problem.
Discussion Policy CLOSEComments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.

Who's Blogging» Links to this article
Morgan accepted immediately, desperate for the cash and open to adventure. But on the long drive -- as cities gave way to towns, towns gave way to farms, and farms gave way to a vast expanse of nothingness -- she started to wonder whether she had made the wrong decision. Where would she live? Why wasn't her cellphone getting service? Would she find a bowling league to join? Would her children ever travel this far to visit her?

This Story
Fallout: Open Space, Open Jobs: In N.D., the Road to Economic Recovery
Job Seeker Drawn to North Dakota
Fallout: Coping With Recession
She had a job and nothing else.

"I'm half-tempted to call this all a big mistake and turn around," she said.

But she kept driving until finally, at 6:45 a.m. Monday, she arrived in Bismarck and parked her truck in front of a red brick building adjacent to a Super Wal-Mart. She changed into a fancy blouse and black sneakers and reported to work. In a training session, she learned how to answer phone calls from people who had dialed 1-800 numbers to complain about their cereal. Inside her cubicle, one of dozens set in identical rows, she found a sterilized phone that rang with calls from California, Michigan and Ohio.

Anything Is Possible


While Morgan continued her shift, Sarah Johnson sat in her office across downtown Bismarck and sifted through one of the stacks of résumés piled on her desk. North Dakota's talent recruiter, Johnson, 29, had become one of the state's most ardent saleswomen. She grew up in Bismarck, moved away to Minneapolis, tired of the big city and returned home. What others considered North Dakota's flaws, she regarded only as assets. Cold winters made you appreciate dry, beautiful summers. Quietude sometimes allowed you to hear the distant howl of coyotes at night.

In corresponding with dozens of out-of-state job-seekers each day, Morgan repeated her favorite statistics: The state's economy grew by 7.3 percent in 2008. It ranks second to last in housing foreclosures and third to last in average credit card debt. Mining, construction and agriculture all recently surged by at least 10 percent. The government just passed $400 million in tax cuts.

Best of all were the 9,000 jobs -- a number made even more significant in a state where the population barely exceeds 640,000. Johnson had taken to answering most job queries with a variation of the same response: "In North Dakota," she said, "it is pretty much possible to do anything, anywhere."


She opened her e-mail to find the latest barrage of requests from the country's unemployed. A roughneck from Utah wanted an oil job near Williston, population 13,000, and Johnson replied with 57 openings. A banker from Washington state was hoping for a position in accounting, and Johnson sent along 500 possibilities. "There are more," she wrote, "but the search engine stops after it gets this many."

As she worked, Johnson continually updated a list of more than 1,000 people currently interested in moving to North Dakota -- a list that recently had grown by a few hundred names each week. She sent tourism booklets to each person who contacted her, encouraging them to "experience North Dakota," but lately it seemed job-seekers were more apt to recruit her. Some called six times each week. Others took vacations to Bismarck and stopped by her office.

But mostly, they e-mailed -- an unyielding flood of communication that totaled 100 notes per day, each more desperate than the last.

"I need to know what options there are for people trying to start a new life with little to no money," wrote an unemployed construction worker from Wisconsin.

Johnson wheeled her chair back from her desk and spoke her answer aloud. "Well," she said, "you've come to the right place."



< Back 1 2 3 Next >



More ways to share this Article...

DiggFacebookRedditTwittermyspacedel.icio.usNewsTrustStumble It!
» This Story:Read +|Watch +| Comments

Understand more about:
Janet Morgan
Janet MorganNorth Dakota
North DakotaSarah Johnson
Sarah JohnsonBismarck
BismarckOhio
Ohio
Articles
Images
Videos
washingtonpost.com
The web
Guests for the Sunday TV news shows...Johnson, D-Texas. "Fox News Sunday" - Sens. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and...

4 hours ago | washingtonpost.com
EDUCATION IN BRIEF...at jill.kastner@fcps.edu. Author Janet Morgan Stoeke will...

October 4, 2007 | www.washingtonpost.com
Good Deeds -- and Great Fun, Too...son of local musicians J. Robbins and Janet Morgan. Tonight and...

April 27, 2007 | www.washingtonpost.com
Visual Arts Vie for Attention at Dance Club...the Dismemberment Plan and Braid. Callum's mom is Janet Morgan, who...

January 26, 2007 | www.washingtonpost.com
POP MUSIC...support Callum Robbins, son of Channels bassist Janet Morgan and longtime...

April 30, 2007 | www.washingtonpost.com
Nightlife Agenda...not see his second. The son of J. Robbins and Janet Morgan, the...

January 25, 2007 | www.washingtonpost.com
Phony lawyer sentenced in ND to 4 years in prison...in other states. He was charged in North Dakota last year after one...

1 day ago | washingtonpost.com
ND woman in drunken breast-feeding case jailedGRAND FORKS, N.D. -- A North Dakota woman convicted of breast-feeding...

2 days ago | washingtonpost.com
Number of active rigs up by 2...rigs, Oklahoma lost three and Colorado lost one. North Dakota added four,...

1 day ago | washingtonpost.com
Obituaries in the news...for North Dakota. Reagan named Webb the U.S. attorney for North...

3 days ago | washingtonpost.com

Images from Yahoo!
Videos from YouTube
More about:North DakotaOhiopowered by
From Our Partners

Four Days, 100 Events, One Slate Reporter: Let's Do This.
Is It Just Me or Were the Summer TV Shows Worse Than Usual?
What the Casino Gave My Reservation and What It Took Away
What Slate Readers Refuse To Scrimp on During the Recession
Is It Greener To Drive With Your Windows Down or With the A/C On?
I Wish I Could Go Back to a Time When I Hadn't Seen This Movie
The Week's Best Editorial Cartoons
Why Don't Comic-Book Movies Boost Comic-Book Sales?
People who read this also read...
Man who fell while saving cat not expected to live

Keeping Up Appearances After a Layoff Can Be Hard Work

Cargo Ship's Disappearance Confounds European Authorities, Spawns Theories

Md. man gets stuck in 3rd-floor window, dies




Most Viewed Nation Articles
Journalist Joined Marines After 9/11
GOP backs away from end-of-life counseling
Deficit Plays Into Health Reform
In N.D., the Road to Economic Recovery
» Top 35 Nation Articles
» Most Popular on washingtonpost.com
© 2009 The Washington Post Company

Ads by Google
Federal Career Planning
Movie on how to get amazing career. A must-see for teens & young adults
www.planyourfederalcareer.com

Find Your Job Here
Search 1000s Of Listings Online & Get Your Dream Job. Start Today!
www.Job.com

Own a Small Business?
Choose the Right American Express Card for Your Business—Apply Now!
www.AmericanExpress.com/business



Find Your Dream Job Now!

Go
Jobs by SimplyHired
Featured Advertiser Links
Attorney:, Asbestos Lung Cancer, Failed Cochlear Implants>>

Lawyer: Mesothelioma, Fentanyl, Hydroxycut, Pain Pumps>>

Save Up To 75% On Cruises at Vacations To Go>>

Debt destroying your day?New Debt Wise helps you decrease your debt!>>


Ads by Google
Find Your Job Here
Search 1000s Of Listings Online & Get Your Dream Job. Start Today!
www.Job.com

$200K+ Executive Jobs
New employment 60-120 days. We work globally. Call us.
www.CareerChange.com

Gov't Grants For College
Get Federal Aid For Job Training! Free Guide to 1,900 School Programs
Edu.SearchByDegree.com/Jobcorps

News | Politics | Opinions | Business |Local | Sports | Arts & Living | Going Out Guide Jobs | Cars | Real Estate | Rentals | Classifieds SEARCH: washingtonpost.com Web Search Archives
washingtonpost.com: About Us | Work for Us | Advertisers | Site Map | Search Terms | Topics Index | Make us your homepage | Newsletters | Mobile | RSS | Widgets
The Washington Post: Subscribe | Home Delivery Service | Advertisers | PostPoints | e-Replica | Online Photo Store | The Washington Post Store | About The Post | National Weekly
The Washington Post Company: Information and Other Post Co. Websites
© Copyright 1996-2009 The Washington Post Company | User Agreement and Privacy Policy | Rights and Permissions Help | Contact Us
» In N.D., the Road to Economic Recovery
• Fallout: Coping With Recession
• Job Seeker Drawn to North Dakota