Some Thoughts about Volunteering

Volunteering is an activity that affords you an opportunity to donate your time and talent to your community or an organization of interest to you. It can be a rewarding experience when you make an intelligent choice about where to focus your interest. Here are some suggestions to help you have a meaningful volunteer experience —

• Search for volunteer opportunities in organizations or on projects with commitments to success.
• Avoid volunteering on projects that do not place obligations on participants.
• Avoid volunteering for work where you would normally expect to be paid unless it is pro bono or part of an income producing strategy.
• Free advice may not be taken seriously.
• Overestimating the benefits of volunteering can lead to frustration and disappointment.
• Volunteer effort is influenced by perceived and tangible outcomes.
• Stop volunteering when you lose your enthusiasm.

Why Leave a Project You Feel Passionate About?

This is a question that I have been wrestling with for several months. I have written about what I have learned from facilitating the Searching for Work group in the previous post. What I did not address in that post is why I am walking away from a project I feel passionate about.

It has been a difficult decision to make, but the reason behind the decision is very simple. I chose to form a networking group as an outreach mission of my church to support unemployed people who were actively searching for work. I was confident that I had the interest and experience to lead such a group. However, I made it very clear to the leaders of my church that I needed their support to create an awareness of the program and encourage the unemployed in our congregation and the community to participate. Without sufficient numbers to form a critical mass it would be difficult to sustain meaningful dialogue in this type of group. They promised that support.

For the group to succeed, this support was critical. A sufficient number of people with a common goal were required; so that effective group networking and dialogue could occur, affording participants an opportunity to advance their searches. Unfortunately, only lip service has been given. That lack of support has been a disappointment and has caused much frustration for me.

The result has been that the group remains small, albeit successful. Word about the group’s existence is spread by word of mouth. More people from the community attend than from my congregation. Networking and the flow of information occurs in the group mainly among those who have the common purpose of searching for work. In addition to the small group of people actively searching for work and making progress, there is an equal and sometimes larger group with different agendas. This subgroup puts minimal or no effort into their searches, and therefore makes minimal contributions.

The lack of concern for the plight of the unemployed in my church is both alarming and disheartening. Unemployment is painful! It is painful to both individuals affected and their families. Loss of income, savings, personal property, and the resulting emotional and psychological stress are just the tip of the iceberg. The longer term impact of job loss is also traumatic. Where will the unemployed find work in a slowly recovering economy? Competition for available jobs will increase dramatically, and some people may never return to the type of work they formerly performed. Most will not return to their former compensation levels.

The unemployment problem is enormous, yet for the past year my church has been silent, and has done little to reach out to the congregation and the community to publicize the mission of the Searching for Work group.

My disappointment over this lack of concern has reached a point where I must walk away from the project knowing some good has been accomplished, yet so much more could have been done. It is that simple!

Observations/Lessons Learned from a Group Facilitation Project

I will be finishing my involvement with the Searching for Work group at the end of November. I started the group one year ago as an outreach mission of the Presbyterian Church in Westfield, NJ. My vision was to provide unemployed people who were actively searching for work with tools and techniques they could use to improve their abilities to find work. I believe the program has succeeded in helping those who have put an effort into their searches. A number of people have found employment, several have launched consulting practices, and one has purchased a franchise business. Others are struggling for a variety of reasons — lack of effort among them.

I have learned much from this experience that has expanded my knowledge of the process of searching for work. In summary —

1. Searching for work continues to be hard work requiring an extraordinary amount of dedication and effort that is difficult to sustain over time.
2. It is difficult for some people to believe that they can create their future.
3. Searching for work effectively requires vision, planning, resources, exploring opportunities, and aggressively pursuing real work.
4. Without making a serious commitment to creating your future, there is a direct relationship between the incentive to search for work and financial need.
5. Groups formed for a specific purpose must impose rules for joining and participation to achieve group objectives.
6. There is always an excuse for avoiding searching for work.
7. Sharing experiences helps others achieve their goals.

5 Ways to Start Fresh

I recently came across this short article dated January 2002 that I had clipped from the magazine Fast Company.

How do you better the odds that you’ll succeed at a new start? Serial entrepreneur Karnran Elahian has made a life out of starting over. Here are excerpts of his hard-won lessons for starting fresh — and starting smart.

Write a mission statement. You’ll never do work that matters unless you define what matters. Elahian gave himself a sense of purpose by writing a mission statement for his life. He succinctly outlined his big picture goals. Then he mapped out how he would get there.

Don’t look back. Once you embark on a new venture, put all of your focus on the future.. Second guessing only slows you down.

Be your own biggest critic. Relentlessly (ruthlessly) evaluate your performance, paying special attention to your weaknesses. Only then can you shift your course of action so it plays to your strengths.

Celebrate your setbacks. Or, at the very least, learn from them. If you don’t analyze what went wrong and what you’d do differently, then you’ll repeat the same mistake.

Lose like a winner. Failing doesn’t mean you’re a failure. In business as well as in life, the only unforgivable sin is never trying in the first place.

Searching for Work Group Progress Report

The Searching for Work group is at an interesting stage of development. It has evolved into three distinct subgroups that can be described as follows—

The first group consists of individuals who have made decisions to change careers, and have launched new ventures to generate income producing work. They have a sense of direction and are pursuing their objectives. Examples include employment in new fields, starting consulting practices, and purchasing or starting businesses.

The second group is made up of individuals who are searching for employment in the same or closely related field and are making progress exploring opportunities through networking and search firms. They are having little success pursuing online job postings.

The third and most difficult group is individuals who face insurmountable obstacles, resist change, or put little effort into their search. They are having difficulty setting a course of action to deal with their issues and advance their searches.

The first two subgroups are contributing in a major way to the success of the group meetings. They report on their progress, which generates interest and discussion. They have the confidence to raise questions and to speak out on issues. The third subgroup unfortunately, has little progress to report, so it is difficult for the group to help them in a meaningful way. They are hopefully absorbing information, but their contribution to helping the group grow is limited.

Small groups are often complex entities, and the Searching for Work group is a good example. It is made up of people in various stages of their search, and putting varying amounts of effort into their pursuit of employment. There are people with considerable financial concerns who appear desperate and others who seem to be getting by with severance packages and or spouses working. Few believe that they are empowered to create their own future, and are resistant to techniques and processes that would enable them to discover new learning about themselves. For most, allowing themselves the opportunity to dream and create is a luxury they believe they cannot afford. It is outside their comfort zone, so they resort to search strategies that require little creativity and effort — and in this difficult economic time generally lead to unproductive results.

Some people show up for one or two meetings then do not return. Others have been regular attendees for many months. As people get to know one another, they become more willing to participate actively in discussions. We begin each meeting with a devotion period. It has become an increasingly meaningful part of the program and frequently sets the stage for discussions that follow. In recent months, discussions have become more thought provoking and interesting. I leave the meetings encouraged that we are making progress.

An Elevator Speech

An elevator speech is a prepared presentation that grabs attention and says a lot in a few words. An elevator speech is used when you meet someone for the first time, have a very limited amount of time, and want to make an impression. The components of the speech are simple—say who you are, what you do, and what you want—all in about thirty seconds!

Here is one of my elevator speeches—

“Hi, I’m Jim McAdoo and I am a human resources consultant. My current project is moderating a group of people who are searching for work. The group focuses on building personal networks, developing job search skills, and providing mutual support and encouragement.

“This project is important to me, and I am determined to guide it to a successful conclusion as quickly as possible.”

Profiling in the Workplace—What You Need to Know

The recent incident where a black Harvard professor accused an officer of the Cambridge Police Department of racial profiling reminded me that the subject remains controversial, even to the extent of making national headlines. Yet racial profiling is only one example of unfair treatment. Other types of profiling are equally egregious when they have a discriminatory impact on people. It strikes me how prone we are to profiling one another.

Much attention has been given over the years to profiling in the workplace, and the resulting discrimination that may occur. However, not all profiling is bad, and in the employment process it can actually have a positive impact on those searching for work. I think it is important to define several terms to understand the disparate effect profiling may have on people.

Webster’s dictionary defines the word profile as “a set of characteristics or qualities that identify a type or category of person or thing.” In psychology, it refers to “a description of behavioral and personality traits of a person compared with accepted norms or standards.” The Encarta dictionary defines profiling as the “analysis and classification of something based on personal information such as: ethnicity, shopping habits, or behavior patterns, used e.g. in criminal investigations or product advertising.” Both words are used in an evaluation process.

Profiling in the workplace is inappropriate when bias enters the process. Encarta defines bias as”an unfair preference for or dislike of something.” The Thesaurus compares the word to “prejudice, unfairness, or foregone conclusion.” Bias is illegal and becomes workplace discrimination when it results unfair or unfavorable treatment due to race, religion, national origin, disability or veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics such as age sex, and color.

Profiling is common practice and can be controversial because it affects our everyday actions. It is evident that it can have a negative impact on those searching for work. Good interviewers can become expert at profiling, therefore applicants and candidates must be alert to such practices, and know how to effectively respond.

A proactive response for example, is to control what the interviewer initially knows about you. You do this by carefully preparing your resume, particularly how you describe yourself in a short introductory profile or summary. Choosing references wisely and knowing what they will say can work to your advantage. Astutely sharing information from personality and other types of aptitude tests can help you present the profile information you want the interviewer to know about.

How you deal with profiling is important to your job search success. Here are a few tips—

· Have a realistic understanding of your strengths and weaknesses
· Be aware of what legal discriminatory practices might affect you
· Be aware of personal characteristics that could cause bias toward you
· Be prepared to respond to attempts to profile you in a discriminatory or biased manner
· Become fluent in turning negative statements into positive action or attributes
· Be prepared to describe yourself briefly and interestingly

Is It Enough to Just Think About Ourselves?

The prayer of confession in today’s church service caused me to pause and reflect on how much emphasis I put on the importance of achievements in our weekly Searching for Work group meetings. Perhaps too much so—

I think it is sometimes difficult for those searching for work to recognize that God is with them—even in difficult times. These words reinforce that we are not alone.

“Holy God, sometimes we are so proud of our own achievements that we forget about you. We pay more attention to our goals than to your goals for us. We confess that our lives are more focused on what we do than what you have already done. Forgive us Lord for thinking we can earn your grace. Help us to see that there is more power in what you have given us, than in what we could ever achieve for ourselves.”

Knowing that God is with you is a powerful incentive to continue the struggle of searching for work.

Walking in the Footprints of the Unemployed

Some people who are employed just don’t get it! They just don’t understand how lucky they are to have a job in this time of uncertain employment. I am sure most people are aware of the problem of high unemployment in the U.S. Even though there are signs of the recession easing, the forecast is for unemployment to continue at a high level through the end of 2009. Yet some people go about their work unaffected by the current reality of job insecurity. One thing I have learned is that job security is a contradictory figure of speech—an oxymoron. It is a myth!

Lucky to have a job does not necessarily mean you have to like it. But one thing working people should have learned from the present level of joblessness is a greater appreciation for still being employed. Perhaps they should try walking in the footprints of the unemployed so that they can approach their work with a new perspective,

I would like to share a recent experience to illustrate the type of behavior I am talking about. I was shopping at the meat counter of a highly regarded supermarket, and overheard two counter employees complaining about their jobs. I interrupted their conversation, and said they should feel fortunate to be employed. There response to me was, “if you think this job is so great, you are welcome to come behind the counter and do it.”

Maybe I have become too sensitive to the plight of the unemployed, but how much understanding does it take to recognize that—but for the grace of God go I—maybe taking a few steps in the footprints of the unemployed might help.

A Recruiter’s Viewpoint on Resumes

Resumes are rarely interesting.

Resumes rarely provide much meaningful information about the applicant’s experience.

Honesty is difficult to achieve in a resume or interview.

Applicants say what they think the recruiter wants to hear.

Applicants are rarely interesting. Candidates are frequently interesting.

A recruiter’s interest in an applicant may change based on the amount of flexibility in the job spec. Recruiters screen out applicants and screen in candidates.

Recruiters know more about what they are looking for than applicants know what they are looking for.

Searching for Work - Developing a Winning Strategy

Consider these Guidelines—

Choose the type of work you want to do. It enables you to focus your search effort, and yes, you can be creative.

Develop a search plan. It provides the framework for an organized campaign.

Create meaningful marketing material. It sets you apart from your competition.

Expand your business network. It enables you to stay connected and discover work opportunities.

Avoid searching for job security. It is elusive and difficult to define.

Engage in continuous learning. It helps you remain relevant in the marketplace.

Develop your skills and expand your interests through volunteering. It is an opportunity to share your talents, and may lead to paid employment.

Seek work in the mainstream of a business. That is where your talents have the greatest chance of being recognized and rewarded.

Avoid toxic social environments. They destroy optimism.

Forget about being unemployed. It hinders motivation. Always work at something.

Record your progress. It brings clarity and focus to your search.

Understand that your search is difficult work. Approach it with dedication, vigor, and intelligence.

Recognize a dead end when it occurs, accept failure, and decide what you are going to do about it. Move on—there is always another path to searching for work and achieving success.