January 2015 Job Numbers: Let the Numbers Speak for Themselves

The job numbers were released this past Friday and while they are starting to improve, it's still important to be cautious. If you look closely, you'll see that the numbers aren't improving much for minorities, the average work week is not 40 hours and, most importantly, the U-6 number is at 11.3%. 

Job Numbers for January 2015

The following number were extracted from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Economic News Release and refer to Tables A1 – A20 and Tables B1, B2, B3, B7, B8 and Summary B.

·         The unemployment rate is 5.7%.

·         The number of unemployed person was 9.0 million.

·         Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for teenagers (18.8%), the jobless rates for adult men (5.3 %), adult women (5.1%), whites (4.9%), blacks (10.3%), Asians (4.0%), and Hispanics (6.7%) showed little or no change.

·         The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was essentially unchanged at 2.8 million. These individuals accounted for 31.5% of the unemployed.

·         The labor force participation rate rose by 0.2 percentage point to 62.9%, following a decline of equal magnitude in the prior month. Total employment, as measured by the household survey, increased by 435,000.

·         The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was essentially unchanged in January at 6.8 million. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.

·         2.2 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, down by 358,000 from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.

·         Among the marginally attached, there were 682,000 discouraged workers in January, down by 155,000 from a year earlier.

·         U-6  - The total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force is 11.3%.

·         Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 257,000 in January. Job gains occurred in retail trade, construction, health care, financial activities, and manufacturing.

·         The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 34.6 hours in January.

·         The average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 12 cents to $24.75.

Job Search Tips for the Young Adult

I was looking at a listing of the top niche job boards the other day and noticed that there were a couple geared towards college interns and recent graduates. They caught my attention not only for the number of young adults who ask me for job search help but also because we have a college senior in the family.

As I looked at the postings listed, I noticed that a few of them were for jobs at young start- up companies and some of those companies didn’t have a web presence. I thought that was an oxymoron since I naturally associate the “young” companies with having a current social footprint or presence. The lack of a social presence was a red flag to me; it’s like a job seeker not having a LinkedIn profile and expecting to find a great job right away. I then went over to Glassdoor.com and looked to see if these companies were represented and if so, did they have any reviews. Sure enough, many of these companies received poor reviews for misinterpreting the job responsibilities or other infractions. Students who were eager to find their place in the workplace, were getting duped.

Maybe students are not as gullible as I was at that age but with the unemployment rate for those in the 20 – 24 age range about 9.8% it was disappointing. I thought about the information I could pass along to my son about some of these companies and here’s what I suggested:

• Use LinkedIn for company feedback. Go into stealth mode (or not) and review the profiles of people who work at these companies. Look into the feedback in groups too.
• Use an organization such as Glassdoor.com to review company feedback. Not only read the comments but look at the charts and statistics as well.
• Ask your college career office for feedback. Ask your family for feedback.
• Look up the company’s on line presence. Are they on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram? Do they have a website?
• Take a look at the company location. Can you drive there? Is there parking? What’s the neighborhood like? Use a map application or if possible, take a drive.
• If you are called for an interview, and you are comfortable with the company, go for it. Ask thorough questions about the company products and services. Ask about the strategic direction and the day to day operations. Ask specific questions about the position. Look at the staff and surroundings. Listen to your gut.

When my son and his friends talk about the tough job market and how some of the companies are bogus or misrepresent the positions I tell them that it was like this when I was entering to workforce too. The key is figuring it out through research and work. I also remind them that an interview is two-sided. You are not only showcasing your skills, knowledge and behaviors for an organization but they need to sell themselves to you, too. In the end, if the company isn’t for you, look at the process as a chance to learn, practice your interviewing skills and move on.

Baby Boomers and the Job Search

Last night at a local community college, I gave Part One of a job search program that I've designed for older adults. The program called, You Lost Your Job, Now What? is designed for people over the age of fifty. Last night we addressed organizing a job search and career assessment. Part Two is all about resume writing and cover letter preparation and Part Three sums everything up with interviewing and networking.

It was a toasty 19 degrees as I slid out the door at 4:30 pm and I thought that of the five people who enrolled, perhaps one or two might show up. The temps were dipping further south and there was no way people would want to head out to the school, park a mile away and then trudge through the ice and snow to a job search class. 

I was wrong. While one man came in early, eleven people trooped in right before the session started. They weren't all local either. They came from different counties and one woman came from another state. Their stories were all different yet all the same. Of the twelve people there, two were former business owners who were having a tough time finding work for companies, one left on his own to knock off a couple of bucket list challenges and the rest were unceremoniously dumped from their former positions while in their fifties and after giving their organizations long-term careers. I could relate; I've been in their shoes. I told them my own story.

The program was great and our objectives were hit. As we wrapped up I asked the group if they wanted to continue with the remaining sessions of the class in February as scheduled or wait to finish in the spring. They all wanted to pick up next week. Why am I not surprised?

The Baby Boomer generation continues to be slammed in the job market although the monthly unemployment numbers tell us an altogether different story. This is the generation that is picking up consulting work or toiling away at two or three jobs to keep the lights on or get their kids through college. I was in a room surrounded by hundreds of years of knowledge, experience, persistence, successes and failures. Organizations view them as money sucking dinosaurs; I view them as heroes. 

I cannot believe that I thought that no one would show up for the training.

The Flap - Blackbird Learning Associates: Quick and Easy Steps to Onboard a New Staff Member...

The Flap - Blackbird Learning Associates: Quick and Easy Steps to Onboard a New Staff Member...: Bing Images I recently received an invitation to attend an onboarding training program.  In a few hours I would learn how to design and...

Quick and Easy Steps to Onboard a New Staff Member

Bing Images

I recently received an invitation to attend an onboarding training program.  In a few hours I would learn how to design and develop a new hire orientation program for my staff.  It said that studies show that 69% of new staff will leave a company within 3+ years if they aren’t oriented properly.  I can vouch to that.

I remember when I accepted an opportunity to work with a large financial company in New York City. I received my new hire letter from the Human Resources Department where my official first day of work was listed. I was excited to begin my career with this new company and looked forward to meeting my manager and team members. I arrived at work and no one had heard of me.  The receptionist didn’t have my name (luckily I brought my new hire letter), there was no one to greet me, I had no office and on top of everything, I learned that my manager was married the previous weekend and off on her two-week honeymoon.  A staff member showed me to a workspace and settled me in front of a video where I would learn about the history of the company.  The next two weeks crawled by with hardly a visitor, a task, an orientation and no one to go to lunch with.  I felt like the new kid in middle school. I wanted to quit. I’d come from a company where I designed and delivered the new hire orientation program so needless to say, when my manager returned, I suggested that perhaps one of my new tasks would be creating a program and process for all future new hires.

Less than three years later (I wonder why) I moved on to a large pharmaceutical company and again there was no onboarding process. I did meet my team members and received an employee handbook so things were looking up. As I was working in the Human Resources department, I again suggested that we design a welcoming program for new hires. Here is a general idea of what we did:

1.    Planned a welcome meeting for the new hire for Day 1 on the job. This meeting would include a bit about company history, values, culture, products and services. It would also include a review of company and HR policies and practices and a tour. 

a.    The receptionist would receive the employee’s name and upon their arrival, the receptionist/security would call a designated HR department member.

b.    The HR department member would welcome the new hire with coffee and after they are settled, give them a tour of the organization along with an organization chart.

c.    Any paperwork and benefit information would be reviewed and acknowledged including policies, confidentiality agreements, employee handbook review, etc.

d.    The HR department would walk the employee to the new department and reintroduce him or her to the hiring manager.

2  Prior to the start date, the HR department would contact the hiring manager to plan the

d  departmental orientation.

a.     The department manager or HR will schedule meetings with various managers and staff members.

b.    Lunch dates with department members and team members would be planned for the first week of work.

c.    Assign a peer to help the new hire acclimate and to introduce him or her to the organization.

d.    Any projects or tasks will be introduced. It also helps to give the employee some satisfying work; something that they can do well and isn’t busy work.

e.    The Department Manager will meet with the new hire again on the last day of the work week to answer any questions and to see how things are going. Other check in meetings should be scheduled as well.

f.     The department manager will also schedule any meetings with internal and external customers.

g.    A workspace will be available and everything tested to make sure it works (hardware, software, passwords, phone, desk supplies, security information, etc.).

Depending on the position, there can be other steps. A friend of mine mentioned that she received an email from her hiring manager as soon as she accepted the employment offer. The informal email simply stated the manager looked forward to working with her and was glad that she accepted the offer to come work for the company.

It’s the little things that make an employee excited about working for a new company, want to give 100% and feel as if they are a part of the team. It benefits the employer too in that they have an engaged, eager staff member. It doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming; a planned, organized onboarding may be all it takes.

You Lost Your Job, Now What?

Losing your job can be painful and even if you disliked it and were looking to leave, it still hurts when you are given the ax. Here are a few tips to get you started on a new career path (after you have reflected, relaxed and stopped beating yourself up).

1. Your Company’s Career Services Office. Take advantage of the training, career assessments and counseling offerings. Ask for and receive advice on the format and style of your resume. Get interviewing tips. No other company or organization will offer this type of high caliber service free of charge. If your former company offers this you are very lucky.

2. Your state or county unemployment office. Make use of the training and make an appointment to talk to a career counselor about any state run or nationally-mandated programs. Research programs offerings such as returning to college, bio-tech to small business development and others. Also, participate in the office’s support groups and volunteer on one of the many committee positions. Look at the Professional Service Groups that most unemployment offices have and attend the meetings. You will be able to network, attend free presentations on job search skills and perhaps add another skill to your resume.

3. Your public library. Many offer job search and computer skills training and most if not all, are free. Check out the on-line calendar or call the Adult Services Librarian and ask what they have. Many offer on line job search tools. They also offer a number of other interesting programs and this is another great place to network.

4. Your local community college. Many offer free or low cost job search training or business advice. Talk to a SCORE counselor if you are interested in owning a business. Research government grants for retraining. 

5. Volunteer. Find an interest and get out there. While you are doing something that you enjoy, you can also network and develop new skills.

6. Professional Groups. Almost every profession has a group. Look for one in your area and join it. Usually the local chapters are more reasonable than the national chapters.
7. Social Networking. Create a complete LinkedIn profile and join some career interest groups. Get involved in conversations. Ask and answer questions.

8. About.com, Monster.com and other sites. Look up career advice and look at the templates designed for career- specific resumes and cover letters. There are also plenty of sites for the older job seeker.

9. On-line newspapers and magazines. Almost every day there is an article about job search. Some are full of depressing statistics but others offer great advice and even more resources.

10. Your College or other colleges. Most colleges have links to their career service offices and there’s a lot of good advice about resume templates, fonts, spacing, networking and interviewing tips.

Stop Putting Me Into A Box

White Privilege. It’s a relatively new word whose definition continues to be debated. It “kind of” refers to the white person who was born into all sorts of privileges and opportunities just for being white. The shooting of Mike Brown in Ferguson, MO and choking death of Eric Garner in Staten Island, NY this summer brought it to the forefront.

I’m white. I was born white to two loving, white parents. My dad was in the service so my very young years were spent in Germany mixing it up with other kids whose dads were also in the service. We didn’t know black from white back then even though we were living through the days when color and segregation were going on back home in the USA. Not us though. We just knew that there was a new kid around who made life more fun.

My parents were products of the Great Depression.  They grew up sharing a backyard in the Bronx. My mom was part Irish and part German and my dad came from two German parents. They grew up without a lot of anything and they never, ever muttered or said out loud any prejudiced or racist comments. That was carried down to their kids. We just didn’t grow up that way.

When we moved back to the States we played with kids in the neighborhood. Since we lived near an Army base, there was a mixed bag of kids in the playground and in our classrooms. In grades 1 – 3 we all wanted to ride in the back of the bus to school. That was because that’s where we could feel the best ruts in the road and bounce so high that we could hit our heads on the bus ceiling. We were all one with our bumped heads. My Brownie troop? It was the Heinz 57 of races and religions.

When my dad's job changed when I was in the fourth grade, we moved to another town by the New Jersey shore and our elementary school didn’t have any black kids. About half the kids were Jewish though and here again, our friends and traditions co-mingled.  My middle school and high school years were spent in public schools where the percentage of black, white and Latino students was pretty much evenly split.  It was the first time that I was picked on because I was white and because of the side of town that I lived in. It surprised me but didn’t make me hate or turn me away from the other kids of color. I never carried a chip on my shoulder towards anyone.

I went away to college. As a former military man and then elementary school teacher, my dad didn’t bring in buckets of money and my mom was a stay at home mom.  I worked two jobs each summer so that I could have spending money for school.  I also carried student loans into my working years and I paid them off.

I had a great career as a hard working contributor. I never made bunches of money or shot to the top of the corporation and that was due to my own life choices. I was let go from my company after an impressive (at least to me) career but I’m not going to blame someone or say it is because I am a woman or worse, I am an older, white woman. I lived my corporate life as I lived my personal life as an open, good-hearted person. I saw office politics all the time and frankly cursed myself for not being able to play those games because as everyone knows, those are the games that help a person get ahead.

Growing up and even now I’ve heard people say that they don’t want to work for “the man” or blame “the man” for not allowing them to get ahead. Who is “the man”; does that mean corporate America? I think that's an excuse for laziness. Even though you might not want to conform to the rules of an organization, it may be the only way to survive and thrive. Why would I not even consider creating a life for myself and family because I’d have to work for “him”? Would I rather my kids suffer for it? Because of "the man” I was able to buy a house, car, and take a vacation every now and again.

I understand that children living in impoverished neighborhoods have a tougher time catching a break and I get that times aren’t the same as when I was growing up. We had something in common back then: most of us had both parents at home and education was encouraged. As a former single parent I know about struggling to make ends meet. Still, when I was growing up, chasing the American Dream was activity pursued by everyone, not just by the white people. It seems to me that today, as a nation, we are moving backwards rather than forwards. The media and our government aren’t helping matters either and are stoking the fires of racism and inequality.

White privilege… it sounds so prissy and stuck up and yes, there are people who fall into that category. Because I'm white though, I’ve been told that I have no choice and I’m automatically thrown into that box.  Perhaps the media or whomever came up with the term should select another phrase or better yet, forget the colors and just use the word Americans. Maybe that will allow us to heal and move forward as one.