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Panhandling MIT Grad Gets Job

After a year on dole, and months into publicity stunt, banker rejoins workforce

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 24, 2008 10:09 AM CST

(Newser) – Out-of-work investment banker Joshua Persky gained a lot of publicity when he hung a sign around his neck reading “EXPERIENCED MIT GRAD FOR HIRE,” and passed out resumes on the streets of Manhattan—but no job offers. His wife and kids left New York to live with family, the Los Angeles Times reports. But Persky kept the faith, and a year later, he’s got a new job.

“By the end of the summer, they were frozen,” Persky, who was laid-off last December, says of would-be employers. When he finally got a job, “it was like a miracle,” his wife says. The couple says they’ve learned to keep hoping, to never give up—and that wearing a sign and begging for a job probably won’t work.

[Images (3)]

[Videos (1)]

Joshua Persky, an unemployed financial engineer, takes a phone call from an interested employer, June 24, 2008, in New York. (AP Photo)

Joshua Persky, left, an unemployed financial engineer, hands out his resume to a passing businessman Tuesday, June 24, 2008 in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Joshua Persky, left, an unemployed financial engineer, advertises himself to passers-by, June 24, 2008 in New York. (AP Photo)

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Persky interviewed on CNN. (CNN)

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Panhandling MIT Grad Gets Job