Take a Chance on the Unemployed

The results of a United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection poll were just released and they are surprising to read.  Americans appear to have mixed thoughts about helping their fellow Americans. For a country that prides itself on its generosity, this survey may indicate how secretly selfish we may be.  If a discussion is to continue about the future of a social safety net, there must also be a discussion about what to do with those utilizing that safety net.  It’s time to talk about hiring the unemployed.

Let’s face it; hiring any new employee is always risky.  A candidate can tell you anything she wants as to why she is leaving her current organization (no room for growth, seeking more challenging work, etc.) in an effort to shed the best light on herself.  That’s obvious.  Yet, for all you know, her boss was on the verge of firing her for a consistent lack of productivity.  Although your organization tries to establish a process to mitigate hiring risks, it’s never a perfect formula and your process may likely never uncover that she was a poor performer, but you’ll hire her anyway because of her eager attitude and impressive titles.

If the circular file is not an official part of the selection process for unemployed resumes, being unemployed surely holds a negative bias in our collective brains.  It is often equated to being lazy, lacking drive or having a preference to ‘mooch’ off the system.  These are just a few characterizations and judging by the reaction of the audience at Republican debates in response to jabs by the candidates at the unemployed, many 

Americans agree with them. 

It’s time to throw out the stereotypes!

Today’s “unemployed generation” is NOT lazy.  It’s frustrating to hear those who talk about a friend of a friend who once “loved being unemployed for 8 months.” I don’t love it and reading stories like these lead me to believe there are millions of others who don’t either.  I, like the millions of others, have gone from a credit score in the 800s to complete ruin through bankruptcy and foreclosure.  We have applied to the online ads, attended the networking events, used social media and crafted multiple iterations of our resume based on each new blogger’s opinion.  There are even those of us attempting to gain additional skills.  We’re eager and ready to get back to work.

I can attest first-hand to the determination of the unemployed as a participant in the Chicago Career Tech program—a retraining program that includes both classroom training and hands-on learning experience, initiated by former Mayor Richard M. Daley and supported by the business and non-profit communities of Chicago.  My colleagues in this program are just like me and we all hang our hopes to  this program to give us the valuable skills needed to meet the demand of today’s workforce.

At first we were encouraged by the words of Shelley Stern, Citizenship Director for the Microsoft Corporation and Chair of the CCT Board of Directors, who recounted how CCT was born out of a realization by the business community that many jobs, including at Microsoft, were going unfilled over the past few years, despite high unemployment.  This was not due to a lack of labor, clearly, but rather a lack of necessary skills on the part of that unemployed labor.  This program seeks to supplement the already valuable skills possessed by the unemployed for high-demand industries.

Despite the efforts of CCT and our new skills obtained, we continue to find it difficult to land a position.  The rejection continues for a lot of previous participants and despair is setting in.  We ARE trying and we ARE being interviewed, but we continue to be told that we do not have enough or the “right” experience.

Instead of a discussion about removing or reducing the social safety net, thereby creating a deeper problem, let’s talk about how we all can help Americans get back to work.

Here are my challenges:  First, I challenge the President and Congress to re-enact the tax cuts to businesses for hiring the unemployed. Although we are no longer in an official Recession, there are millions of Americans who have been unemployed longer than 8 months.  That’s an awfully long time to go without work when there are bills to pay and mouths to feed.  This may help alleviate long-term joblessness.  If it doesn’t, businesses can no longer complain that they pay too much in taxes, if they pay them at all.

Next, I challenge the Republican nominees to do more than talk.  They are out there each day shaking hands with the unemployed.  Has one of them offered to put them in contact with their influential friends who are likely to be hiring managers with open positions?  If they want us to vote for them and believe they are the one to get the country back to work, start showing us you have experience doing it.

Third, I challenge business owners, HR managers, hiring managers and decision-makers to re-think the old notion that someone who has been unemployed is lazy or unproductive.  Take the risk; you may be pleasantly surprised with the results!

Finally, I challenge all Americans to help their fellow unemployed American.  Patriotism isn’t just putting up a flag on holidays and singing the National Anthem at sporting events. Patriotism is also supporting your fellow citizen.  .  FDR wrote: "In our personal ambitions we are individualists. But in our seeking for economic and political progress as a nation, we all go up or else all go down as one people. "

President George W. Bush was criticized for not asking Americans to participate in the “war effort.”  So here’s how you can participate in the “unemployment effort:” Check your company’s website to find out what positions are available.  Post them to Facebook or Twitter (use #jobs, for example).  Forward replies to your HR department. This is just one of many examples easily implemented and that helps move us all forward together.

Help a person, help a family, help the country; gamble on the Unemployed!

Visit Del's website for more information about Reframe Shame.

Hope for the Long-Term Unemployed on WGN

WGN asked a question in September 2011 on their Facebook page about the fallout of long-term unemployment.  Did they experience foreclosure, bankruptcy and other less desirable life events?  I responded!  Since then I have been working with an excellent producer to tell the story of the long-term unemployed.  We didn't, however, just want to tell a story about being unemployed; we wanted to tell a story about how, despite all of the adversity, the long-term unemployed are chugging along and trying to become productive, tax paying citizens once again.  The numbers are still against us; when there are millions of people unemployed and only hundreds of thousands of jobs created, there will inevitably be a deficit.

Many of the unemployed are left wondering what to do.  Retraining may be a viable option, especially if you are being retrained in high growth areas.  If you're unemployed, however, you may not have the cash to pay to retrain.  More and more programs are popping up around the country to help.  One such program, of which I am a member and will be highlighted during the segment, is Chicago Career Tech, a job retraining program initiated by Mayor Richard M. Daley and the business community. 

Check out the story during the WGN news at 9pm on Thursday February 2nd and again during various news broadcasts on Friday the 3rd. 

Unemployed?  What have you been doing to get through it?  Were you long-term unemployed (longer than 8 months) and landed something?  What worked for you?  Share it with us all in the comment section below.

Today's Reframe: Protests and Working Together

Now that the Occupy Wall Street movement has taken off and is garnering huge media attention, the push back has begun.  In fact, it was announced today that a conservative group is trying to counter the OWS movement with a "We're the 53%" movement.

What's interesting about this and other counter-movements and criticism is that they fail to see that they have more in common with the OWS protestors than they think.  Unfortunately, they are blinded and brainwashed by the typical THIS vs. THAT mentality we have been subjected to over the past few decades.

Huh?

The prevailing thought is that these OWS protesters are young and liberal.  Because the media reports it that way, the standard response is for conservatives to say the whole thing is hogwash and dismiss it.  This was not dissimilar from the Tea Party movement and how liberals reacted.  Although you may not have liked the ideas coming from the Tea Party, you had to give them credit for taking on the establishment and making themselves heard.

Now, look a little closer at the demographics from ANY news story about the OWS protests and you'll see that participants are of all ages, races and colors.  I've even seen reports that some identify themselves as Tea Partiers, others as liberals and progressives and yet others and Democrats and Republicans.

Nevermind that craziness, however, we have to paint this picture as us vs. them!

It's also become the standard mentality in the US that protesters are "crazy" and "radical."  It wasn't too long ago in our history that people took to the streets the way they do in Europe, Asia and South America.  Remember fighting for Women's Suffrage?  How about more recently with the Civil Rights protests?

Sadly, all that protesting got in the way of other interests of the wealthy, so protesters have been branded with negative connotations ever since.  Group think helps to quell large outbursts like we see in France or other countries where the right to protest is still sacred.    But I digress...

Luckily for America, those participating in the OWS events are from all walks of life.  And THAT is the power of this movement.  The Tea Partiers and Progressives disagree on many topics, but they agree that the greed and excess--both in government and private enterprise--at the expense of the average American has hit a tipping point and they are going to fight against it...together!  Indeed, it'll be a great moment for Democracy if these two groups can work together to make REAL, powerful change.

For those still confused about what "these people" are out there doing, I'd like to break things down very simply.  A lot of cliches and hyperbolic expressions have been thrown out into the discussion; the result is a message that begins to lose its power and meaning.   Here's my simple description of the matter at hand:

• Business 101 class teaches that the sole responsibilities of a corporation are to make a profit and protect the interests of its shareholders.

• Government 101 class teaches that our Government is "of the People, by the People, for the People." Our Constitution begins with "We the People..."  Using the word "People" so much seems to make it pretty clear where the focus should be.
  

Political campaigns are increasingly funded by corporations; Money flows en masse from private enterprise to political leaders.  Given the two bullet statements above, it appears that those elected to political office (ie: Government) now look to protect their interests:  Corporations.  Corporations are the "shareholders" of elected officials.  

Throughout the history of the US, we can find many illustrations of leaders who believed the People matter.  They also believed corporations had their place in our society.  For example, Woodrow Wilson said:

"America was established not to create wealth, but to realize a vision, to realize an ideal:  to discover and maintain liberty among men." (and women, too, of course!)

Theodore Roosevelt said:

"Our aim is not to do away with corporations; on the contrary, these big aggregations are an inevitable development of modern industrialism, and the effort to destroy them would be futile unless accomplished in ways that would work the utmost mischief to the entire body politic. We can do nothing of good in the way of regulating and supervising these corporations until we fix clearly in our minds that we are not attacking the corporations, but endeavoring to do away with any evil in them. We are not hostile to them; we are merely determined that they shall be so handled as to subserve the public good. We draw the line against misconduct, not against wealth."

 

I truly believe everyone has an interest in this movement, regardless of political affiliation.  There are so many common interests here for Progressives, Tea Partiers and those in between.   This doesn't need to be another fight, pitting conservatives against liberals.  Nearly everyone agrees things look grim.  If we work together as Americans, everyone will be better for it, especially the USA!

Be a Part of the Solution

Recently I've heard a lot of everyday Americans ponder the question: What can I do to help the unemployed.  There's a good chance that if you're reading this post you are either unemployed or know someone who is.  If you ARE employed and have friends or family members who are unemployed, you likely feel powerless and frustrated seeing your loved ones go through such difficult times.

So, what can you do to help?  I have a few suggestions that do not take a whole lot of effort on your part, but could make a huge impact.

If you live in Chicago, I'd like you to check out the Chicago Career Tech website.  I learned about this organization a few months ago via a WGN news segment.  Being unemployed myself, I contacted them and went through the process.  I'm happy to announce that I've been accepted into their program to earn a certificate in Social Media Marketing! 

The organization offers certification courses (at many city colleges and other accredited institutions) and the chance to work hands-on with a company in the target field to prepare to re-enter the job market with improved, updated skills.  What an opportunity! 

So what can you do?  Well, while you may not be a decision-maker at your organization, you CAN pass this site along to your manager or HR department and encourage them to become a partner with CCT.  It's an amazing and positive PR opportunity for your company to be one of the few being a part of the solution to our terrible unemployment situation in our country!

Hope and Change

Chicago is my hometown and an amazing city!  It was an especially exciting place to live in 2008 with all the buzz of the presidential campaign.   I was personally lucky enough to meet and shake then-senator Obama's hand at the Super Tuesday event at the Hyatt (see photo below.  I'm between Obama and Jesse Jackson) as well as attend the gigantic Grant Park election night acceptance speech.  It was truly an amazing moment for my city, and like a majority of Americans, I was excited about "hope and change.

Sadly, the change that came my way just three days after Obama's inauguration was not what I had expected.  It would be the first time in my life I'd lose my job. 

At first, I wasn't worried; I've worked since the age of 15 and never had trouble landing a job.  After all, I had a Master's degree, including two years of study abroad; ten years of solid professional experience, including international work and a positive, passionate attitude!  What's more is that being the product of a fiscally conservative mother, I maintained little debt and a comfortable nest egg, so even in tough times, I could manage for several months.

Although I was confident about my ability to quickly land back on my feet, the economic free fall of the previous four months put a lot of things into question.  Unemployment rates were quickly rising as mass layoffs were announced daily; the media reported about the complete crash of the housing market, which would affect all other areas of the economy.  My first sent resumes were rejected.  This was like nothing I had experienced.

With more than 8 months of savings and a new President installed, I was hopeful that my unfortunate situation would change quickly.  Boy was I wrong...

The story continues here...