Big Turnout For McDonald's Hiring Day
UPDATED 04/19/11 6:38 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) – McDonald's was taking applications for 50,000 job openings at a one day only national hiring day on Tuesday.
As CBS 2's Susanna Song reports, long lines formed inside the McDonald's at 3245 W. North Ave. in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. Just between 10 and 11 a.m., hundreds of applicants filed in and out – some of them even sitting down for interviews.
"We were expecting a lot, but I think it's been more than what we expected," owner Carmen DeCarrier said.
CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez reports she hasn't seen lines like that since they had those Teeny Beanie Babies in the Happy Meals in the late 90s.
The North Avenue McDonald's plans to hire between 12 and 15 new employees, meaning most of those who showed up to apply for jobs on Tuesday will be turned away.
"I think we're having a lot of young folks who just want to help out at home because their parents don't have a job and they don't want to stick around at home," DeCarrier said. "They have small siblings they want to help out."
Statewide, there are about 2,500 open positions for the approximately 450 McDonald's franchises in Illinois.
The fast food giant is looking for part-time and full-time employees, and the positions range from behind-the-counter workers to managers. The applications for openings are set for Tuesday alone.
McDonald's vice president and general manager Monica Boyle said on CBS 2 Tuesday morning that despite the struggling economy, business at McDonald's is booming.
"They are new positions, and our business is growing very rapidly, and so 50,000 jobs across the U.S. is really about four people for every restaurant that we aim to hire today," Boyle said, "because our business is growing, so we need people to satisfy our customers."
McDonald's says more than 75 percent of its current managers started in entry-level positions and worked their way up.
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Maria Torres of Humboldt Park came to apply for a job, having been unemployed for three years.
She said she would be willing to do, "I don't know – whatever they put me to do – helping everybody here, cooking, cleaning, serving."
Her daughter, Melissa Ribot, also applied at the same time.
"I'm looking for cashier, like to serve people; delivering orders, things like that – whatever they put me to, basically, and hopefully, I'll move up."
Franchise owner John DeCarrier was impressed by the crowd that came to his McDonald's.
"This is an amazing turnout, amazing turnout," DeCarrier said. "We were going to get a big turnout, especially here in this restaurant, but this far exceeds our expectations."
DeCarrier echoed Boyle's comments about business at McDonald's.
"Our business is booming," he said. "We're having great sales and we know that we're about to enter the summer season."
DeCarrier started working at McDonald's at the age of 16, and worked his way up to buying a franchise.
Before you walk in to apply, McDonald's officials advise that interview times vary from restaurant to restaurant.
Click here for more information.
