SEQUIM — In a perfect world, Rudy Putz would be fishing 24/7.
But the 73-year-old retiree is blessed with a sense of reality.
So instead of bemoaning seasonal conflicts — and his wife’s raised eyebrows — he’s going after the next-best thing: a job selling sporting goods at Sequim’s new Wal-Mart.
“There’s only so much stuff I can do at home. And much as I’d like to, I can’t fish all the time,” said Putz as he filled out a job application at the Wal-Mart’s hiring center at 91 S. Boyce Road in Carlsborg.
The mega-store at Washington Street and Priest Road, still embroiled in a legal battle and smarting from a year of controversy, is set to open Oct. 27, company officials say.
To get ready for not only a grand opening but a segue into the holiday season, Wal-Mart has brought a team of managers to the log cabin structure in Carlsborg to screen and hire about 300 sales associates, stockers, greeters, office employees and others.
Excellent recruit
Putz is a prototype of an excellent recruit, said Colleen Murphy, training assistant manager transferring from the Port Angeles store to Sequim’s new center.
On Aug. 9, when the hiring headquarters opened, the response was “huge and overwhelming,” Murphy said.
And the applicants have, so far, looked promising.
“There are an incredible number of highly qualified retirees here in Sequim,” Murphy said on Tuesday — about two-thirds of the way through a monthlong recruiting drive.
“Some of them are so talented, I almost feel bad offering them a job.”