Farmington Hills, Mich., March 19, 2008 – Today, GreenPath, Inc., announced that high demand for its debt, bankruptcy and housing counseling services is causing a regional hiring boom. The not-for-profit financial counseling and education agency will create more than 60 new positions at its Farmington Hills, Mich., headquarters this quarter in an effort to keep up with increasing demand for its services, and another 100-plus positions before the year is through. When filled, these positions will contribute to the 231% increase in staffing the agency will have experienced since Q1 2005. GreenPath’s current need to identify and hire qualified candidates to work in its call and counseling centers demonstrates how current economic challenges are creating extraordinary growth in at least one industry.
“It’s a bit of a different spin on the gloomy local economy and job-loss stories people are hearing — and living — every day,” said Bill Lodge, director of Human Resources, for GreenPath. “Unlike others who are shrinking and eliminating jobs, this economy is creating a great demand at GreenPath for bright, caring and compassionate individuals capable of helping others with their financial difficulties.”
Lodge and other members of the GreenPath leadership team want people to know: GreenPath is hiring degreed, dedicated and articulate individuals for positions with high professional development and growth potential. Applicants cannot have filed for personal bankruptcy in the past ten years and should have no recent collections, charge-offs or major credit concerns.
GreenPath counselors attribute the growing need for their services to general economic concerns including the sub-prime lending factor, ever-increasing foreclosure rates and fears, and the beyond-our-means spending habits many individuals and families picked up during better times. But the need for GreenPath services has been growing at either steady or very high rates for years. In 2007, GreenPath counselors:
- Responded to more than 700,000 calls for help
- Counseled 240,000 people on bankruptcy issues
- Conducted more than 50,000 debt budget and housing counseling sessions
- Provided significantly more bankruptcy counseling and education services than they had the previous year
“The economy is tough right now and we’re seeing more and more people declaring bankruptcy, fearing foreclosure, struggling with making payments on time and charging basic living expenses like gas and groceries,” said Frank Kruse, director of operations for GreenPath. “These factors are fueling our growth as people try to avoid or recover from these worse-case-scenario realities.”
Based on increases in demand for bankruptcy and housing counseling in this first quarter, GreenPath leadership expects 2008 to be a year of significantly more growth.
“Our call volumes are beginning to surpass our capacity,” said Kruse. “The sudden increase in demand for our services has been fueled by resetting Adjustable Rate Mortgages (or ARMs), the constant bad news regarding the economy in general, and by a growing awareness that help is available.”
When hiring counselors, GreenPath requires a degree — typically in business or a behavioral science as well as two years experience in banking, lending or counseling. New grads and those with other work experience are welcome candidates for customer care positions. These frequently lead to promotions to counselor positions.
Individuals interested in applying for positions as bankruptcy and housing counselors or as customer care representatives should send their resumes to:
Marisol Jendrusik
GreenPath, Inc.
38505 Country Club Drive Suite 210
Farmington Hills, MI 48331
Or e-mail mjendrusik@greenpath.com.
Individuals needing confidential and compassionate help can call (866) 648-8122 to speak with someone at no cost.