The Digital Job Market & The Mature Worker

I am in a few networking groups that I am active with. A couple are professional, one, in particular, is specifically for those of us searching for employment, and the other is one that people may have other barriers to finding employment, aside from just needing one. Other groups I belong to are social, some specifically just to connect casually, others are for social causes.

One main theme I seem to run into is the fact that a large number of us who are searching for meaningful and gainful employment is that we are who are considered to be "the mature worker". The majority of the people in the professional job seeking network group are probably over 40. Each and every single one of these participants are awesome people, who have so many positive talents to share with their potential employers. Here is a short list:

• Experience & Knowledge
• Wisdom & Insight
• Dedication to what they do
• Willing and able to get the job done

While it may seem as if those of us who are "slightly older" may come across as not being as up-to-date on our technical skills, I'd have to say that with the people in my networking group, this is a false assumption. All of us have the technical skills needed to get the jobs done, and if there is a program to be learned, the basis to learn that program is already built in, being ready to learn. The supposition that older workers will take longer to learn new things would also be something to forget about, also. So many of us are at a place in life where personal enrichment and growth is important to us, so we are open to learning new information.

Yet, it seems as if everywhere I look, the number of older workers in need of finding employment is higher than the younger job seekers. Don't get me wrong, I am very glad that our younger people in their 20s and 30s are getting hired. That is excellent! The difficult thing is, according to some studies, ageism does exist to a point. Here is an article talking about how some online job boards have ageism built right into their site:

https://www.npr.org/2017/03/28/521771515/older-workers-find-age-discrimination-built-right-into-some-job-sites

Another thing that seems to work against us, is the fact that so many have been at a position for the last 20 years or longer, and what used to happen in person with pen and paper is now done online, where e-bots chop up your resume. While I understand that this saves a lot of time for employers, robots cannot understand personality, and often, these robots do not understand the verbal nuances properly in a resume. It is not easy to change direction in this manner since so many things have changed, yet, each and every single one of the people I've talked to has updated their computer skills, learned to create professional profiles on job boards, LinkedIn, and sign up for the alerts to get the proper job notifications, and still goes in, to regularly test their skills to ensure that their office and computer savvy is intact. Even with this, so many are not getting the interviews, and when getting the interviews, don't get the job.

For example, I have education for medical unit clerk and experience as a nursing assistant. The robots will send me job alerts for medical assistant. While both words are on my resume, I am not qualified to be a medical assistant, so these alerts are pretty useless for me. This where it would help, if an actual person was looking at my resume, but, for whatever reason, if the e-bot kicks out my resume because it thinks I am a medical assistant, not a unit secretary, my application and resume never got to the correct people.

Myself, personally, I have decided to back off from the healthcare field, since my original passion is all about people and diversity. I love working with people from different cultures, and with governmental type agencies. It is why I pursued an International Relations degree, along with Political Science. While this may seem as it would "over qualify me" as an administrative assistant or office manager, I actually see this as a piece of marketable education, because this helped me get to know those from not just fellow natural born Americans whose native language is English, but those who are naturalized, permanent/long-term residents, and not all of them are native English speakers, and often, American English is their 3rd or 4th language. It has helped me understand the different word choices that other people may use, and able to understand the reference or nuance of why they chose that word rather than another one.

Back on track... Many older workers have taken classes casually or have read books, articles, and more about various interests, and because we tend to understand what we want, we are willing to explore the different topics to research on our own, making us candidates of broader talents to bring to a company. Even with that, when I look into applying for an office manager position, say with a shipping company, they want someone who has had 5 years office experience with another shipping company or warehouse, or preferably a combination of both. Same with the job description with working in an energy company. They want someone who understands the industry. I understand, although so many of us are willing to learn, and it's another welcoming challenge to learn this industry.

It would also be nice, if on the other hand, if these online job boards could allow one to narrow the search, so say if someone is looking to work in Human Resources, rather than sending just anything, if the individual could target the industry they want, that would make it better for everyone, also. This way, the employer also gets the idea that this person wants to work in that type of field, though I might be asking too much.

Another suggestion also is to better target the types of jobs, because often, the titles are becoming more fluid. For example, when dealing with IT, Engineering, Architecture, and Construction, so many of the terms used to describe the job title overlap, it's difficult to sort through some of these jobs. So a System Architect would not be looking for someone who designs buildings. As a person who tries to help other people find their forever jobs while searching for mine, this gets to be a trying task, since I would have to dig into the details that I may not quite understand, not being an IT or an Architect.

A suggestion to potential employers looking at those of us who are on the more mature end to hire... Just remember, many of us have children in college or grandchildren we'd like to help. We are smarter than we appear and more able than that. We show up, with the attitude to get the job done, no matter what. My personal approach is to make my supervisor or boss look like a genius and to take care of the problems before it gets to the big desk. It is also our mission, as a more mature adult, to handle the situations that come up, and be professional, courteous, and go above the call of duty.

I'd really love to work with our Native people in any setting, whether it's a liaison between Tribal and State governments, or to help international students succeed in school somehow, since I also have experience in social services and education, although if the right opportunity comes up in a different industry, I would LOVE to take that challenge to explore a new venture. Sometimes, you don't know what you want until you find it, and I hope that our 40+ workers start finding our careers because we are at a place in life where we do not want to job hop. I know I will be happy to land that position, and I think many of my fellow mature job seekers feel the same.

Curious Places 4 Curious People

The West Racine business district is an interesting place. No, I’m not talking about being out in the county. I’m talking about those businesses on Washington Avenue, from West Blvd. to about Blaine Ave. We all know Wilson’s Coffee, Infusino’s carry out, and CVS. We are mourning the loss of Nelson’s Dime Store, which recently closed. But, please don’t mourn too much... There are still gems left in the area, and some of them are one of a kind places, which take you back in local history. Think Mom & Pop stores, unique, and worth your time.

I was out and about today, and dropped off a pair of Chad’s jeans for a new zipper. It’s a place called West Racine Shoe Service, located at 1138 Hayes Ave. They do adjustments, fix heels, repair clothing with patches, etc. It is a very neat store, which will give you the feeling of that nostalgia of the 1950’s with what they have in there, but with a modern interior to keep current. Plus, who doesn’t want to pamper that favorite pair of jeans? I they can do just about anything, from putting new soles on your shoes to cuffs on your leather coat. They have been there since about 1987 at this location, and the original location was on Douglas Ave, and this shoe service has been around for about 100 years. Pretty cool.

Another cool place in the West Racine area, is Snooper’s Paradise, located in the strip on Lathrop Ave. which has fun items in there, many of which are antiques and other unique items, such as nostalgic Coke items. It’s worth looking through, you never know what you might want, until you see it. Here they are in the Journal Times: http://journaltimes.com/snoopers-paradise/image_88bd3a54-2098-5355-9884-c0a9e54db91a.html

Of course, me, being a curious person, loves to check out things. Across the street, is this “new” store called Refined Salvage & Pallet Designs 1137 Hayes Ave. Talk about original items, and they are all talking points. Everything from using old windows to wooden pallets and turn them into planters, coat hangers, and a lot of other cool things. There are items like roofing nail rings, rod iron items, and you never know what you will find there. It is a totally interesting place, and, if you want that one of a kind gift for you or someone else, this place is a definite “go-to” place. Can’t find that perfect something that talks to you? Come back in a few days, or get a gift certificate. You will find that thing. It’s like being able to go to School Days Mall, but in a place that reminds you of specialty items you might find at Olsen’s Mercantile from Little House on the Prairie. It’s a really neat place. To get a sneak peak at what they have, here is an article on Racine County Eye: https://www.racinecountyeye.com/refined-salvage-pallet-designs-west-racine/

I encourage people to rediscover West Racine, and check out the different stores that go down the side streets. The next time you’re out to enjoy coffee from Wilson’s, don’t forget to bring those pieces of clothing or foot wear to get fixed at the West Racine Shoe Service. It’s right around the corner at the stop light from our favorite coffee joint. Since you’re right there, bring your curiosity with you, and check out Refined Salvage & Pallet Designs. It’s really neat, and you won’t be sorry. 

Internship Luncheon

I finished up my internship at the Victim Witness Office, which is an extension of the District Attorney's Office, inside the Racine County Courthouse. It was an enjoyable experience, where all of the women who work there all had their own strengths to bring, to build a strong team as a collective. I admire them all. To beat that, I did get an awesome letter of recommendation from my immediate supervisor.

Because these are such awesome people, including those from the DA's main office, I brought in lunch for my last day, in hopes that giving them good food that starts with real ingredients and should be nutritious and delicious will show how much I appreciated them as well as my experience.

Bean/Veggie burgers (inspired by Robert Irvine, but adjusted to fit what I had): 2# pinto beans - soaked overnight, picked and cooked, then blended into a very thick paste. 1# brown Jasmine rice, cooked and cooled on a sheet pan. 1 yucca root - peeled, cut & boiled for 10 minutes, 2 medium carrots peeled and cut, 2 medium yellow onions peeled and cut, 1 bulb of garlic pealed: roast these veggies for 30 minutes, and mince in a food processor. Combine all of these in a large bowl, and add 1 TBS sea salt, 1 tsp freshly ground pepper corns, 1/2 cup medium-hot salsa, 3 TBS cilantro, 1 tsp cumin, juice of 2 limes. Mix well, and form into 1/8# patties. Bake on cookie sheet in a 350F for 8 minutes on each side (may be longer for larger patties). Serve on pretzel buns with hot mayo (mayo or salad dressing mixed with sriracha sauce - I do 2/3 dressing & 1/3 sriracha).

Sushi rolls: 5 cups of sushi grade Japanese rice, rinsed until water runs clear, let rest for an hour, w/o water. Add 6 cups of water to rice and a large piece or so of kombu kelp. Add 7 TBS rice vinegar, 6 TBS sugar, and 5 tsp sea salt. Mix well, cook until all liquid is absorbed, covered. Let rest for 10 minutes after cooking. Put into a large pan, and continuously cut, fold, & fluff the rice with a fan, until easy to work with. Roll with sushi seaweed, and feel free to be creative with what to put in the middle. This recipe, I did tofu, asparagus, takuan (Japanese pickled radish) and flavored shiitake mushrooms. I've also used shrimp, cucumber, carrot, egg omelet Japanese style, don't be shy to use what you like. Blanched asparagus, cauliflower, and other veggies are also good.

Anyway, now that I am done, with an awesome letter of recommendation in hand, I am looking for a full time office position where I am responsible for managing databases, give customer service, answering phones to give information and/or referrals, make copies and agendas for meetings, pass necessary information to those who need it, public speaking, taking meeting minutes, etc... I would love an attorney's office, corporations like Coka-Cola, State Departments such as DMV, and I am open to industry. I also have a medical background, also, so a personal injury type law firm would be benefited greatly with my employment. If you know anyplace which is hiring, please let me know! Thank you in advance.

In the mean time, please sign my petition, #LikasLaw4Wisconsin here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/367/880/690/likas-law-4-wisconsin-demand-stiffer-sentencing-4-child-sex-offenders/
 

Homeless & Poverty In Racine: Part 2

My last blog addressed how high the homeless issue is, and how some of the things seemed backward, and how some programs are able to find people shelter, which is good, but, preventing homelessness isn’t something that is being pursued enough, if you ask me.

Here is a recap:

HALO, which is the permanent homeless shelter, needs to be choosy on who they take into the shelter. Those with substance issues, severe enough health problems, and sex offenders cannot be accepted, except for an emergency stunt for 72 hours, and they must live in the dining room overnight, on a thin mat with a sheet and a blanket. Some people end up there up to a month, and people who are in the dining room must be out at 7am, and those in rooms must be out at 9am. These people are not allowed back until 2pm, and are supposed to look for jobs during this time. They say that they serve lunch, but they don’t. The in-house programming leave a lot to be desired, and usually is a lecture about common sense, and not much more. HALO pressured their residents to give up their foodshare cards, but, 95-99% of the food they get fed come from donations, with the most common breakfast being 4 day old bakery items. I’ve heard this from SEVERAL people, not just one or two.

HOST is the temporary overnight shelter that takes in those who do not qualify for HALO. They were open from November 1, to March 31, and the hours of operation are from 7pm - 7am the next morning. A van is available to transport them out at 7am. They help with providing some items to do laundry, shower, etc. but, I do not know what kind of facilities are available, nor what kind of meals are given, because they did not get back to me on what these services include and how they are delivered.

The Hospitality Center is an awesome thing. You don’t have to be homeless to take part in their program. Those who just need socialization can come, too. They are open Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 7:30am-1pm, and have a clothing bank on Thursday mornings from 10-noon. A mid day meal is served all 4 days, and on Monday and Thursday evenings, a community meal is also offered. This is the largest meal program in the county, maybe even the state. They also offer laundry services, also. It’s an awesome place. But, what do people do on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays? The library isn’t open on Sundays. Plus, it’s a long time from 1pm to 7pm on those cold and frigid evenings in winter.

The Vine Ministries offers job programs for those with various issues. RVM offers job programs for those with records, including felonies, among other services as well. The HOPES Center has counseling and other programs for those who want to get their high school education and other services such as getting the government phones and more. The Workforce Solution Center has mini-courses and in-services on a broad range of courses, and also has programs for higher education programs to look into. Workforce Development also has some networking programs, also. ResCare also is a jobs program, that offers different programs that can go with but may be different from the other work programs. This program is out at the RKCAA.  

There are funds available for things like the Rapid ReHousing, where those with chronic homeless issues can get into a motel or apartment. But, these usually goes to the people who don’t qualify for HALO, and if I understand correctly, they can be on this program for up to 2 years, where they can get help paying rent and utility bills. But, this is in hopes that they will be employed by the end of 2 years. Mind you, these people are the ones who have substance abuse issues or recent criminal records that make them ineligible for HALO.

Now, here are some more links to show how much of a problem this is. Wisconsin is sitting low for job creation. Even if people are employed, many are either underemployed or are at low paying jobs that can’t make the bills. So many do not get employer health coverage.

Here are some statistics from the Department of Labor. It shows where the stats are coming from, with various locations reporting their numbers. While the percentages may look good, they aren’t telling the whole story. If you dig around here, you will find that there are more potential employees than there are jobs available. And, for those who say that we have so many “new jobs” that have been created, this is the Economic Innovation Group which takes a close look at how there have been more jobs that have been closed out, than the new ones that were made, still, for a net loss of the number of jobs. There are people who are still underemployed or underpaid and this doesn’t reflect those numbers.

Here are my suggestions, as much as what they may be worth, and I’m not saying that I’m an expert, but, I do have tons of experience going through so many of these programs to try to better my situation. Some helped more than others, so, I’m going to share my observations.

1) HALO, the homeless shelter is a HUGE space. I highly doubt the space is being fully utilized. The upper levels, which could get self contained by floor, could be used by these other groups of people. So, say the 1st floor is made up of common areas, and the 2nd as the main living areas. The 3rd floor could be for those who have AODA issues. The 4th floor, or the other half of the 3rd, could be for those with recent criminal records and sex offenders who don’t belong being mixed with the rest of the population. This would ensure that all homeless people would be serviced, and those not on the general population would be in self contained floors, so that they would have to be allowed out by staff. This would not only make it less expensive to get all people into a shelter, because the same building is being purposed for a broader spectrum, and would also create more permanent and secure jobs, especially for those going into Social Work. This way, Segue/HOST can still do their ministry for those who have substance abuse, in the convenience of a building that has the means to support that mission. And, we wouldn’t have those who have various issues out loose during the warmer months, when crimes are likely to rise, because they are inside the building and have a structured schedule, and not mingling with everybody else. This would reduce the amount of energy needed, also. I just think that smarter work habits are better for the people.

2) This could be another outlet for job training, so that Social Workers going through Gateway could have an in-house clinical to go through, to create an environment where on the job training would be a part of the program for all those involved. This would be better for not just the regular staff who are there to work, but, for the students and those going through addictions, too. It would be a win-win situation all the way around. Some of this plan could utilize taking people down to the Hospitality Center, Library, etc.

3) Speaking of work experience, one theme seemed to come up with every single one of my experiences, whether we are talking about ResCare, RVM, Workforce Development, or the Dress for Success program, that networking is the key to finding that job. The numbers vary a little bit, but paint the same picture. Only 10-25% of all available jobs are listed online. The rest, is through word of mouth, on who knows who. So, while you only have a 10-25% chance of finding a job searching online, this also means that you have 75-90% chance of finding a job through networking. So, HALO could use the main level, in the dining room, to host a weekly networking session there. Temp agencies, job developers, farmers, and other places that always are looking for people could be coming in, to offer their services and/or hiring events there at HALO, around the meal preps.

4) Many of the people do not know how to cook, especially with the limited supply of food that is available to the residents of HALO. Which, gives the idea of not only hosting the food service students from Gateway to actually come in, to offer some tips and hints on how to cook, or maybe get some experience in food service before they go out into the real world. Another idea? How about a Chopped or Iron Chef contests, courtesy of people around Racine, or a new cooking concept of “Pauper’s Kitchen”? I’m sure the residents wouldn’t mind being judges on who did the better job. It could be a community project, to better help those in need. With the sense of community, maybe those with substance abuse as well as those with criminal backgrounds could feel more in tune to not go back to old ways.

5) Because of the fact that those who are not fresh out from incarceration, and those with AODA issues are in need of detox, therapy, group, or other type of treatment, rather than putting these people up into apartments just to fall back into their old habits would need a longer stay at a permanent shelter, therefore, better able to do extended treatment, the rapid rehousing project would be better used for those who are homeless w/o other issues, who are much closer to be able to be employable than doing it the opposite way of putting up alcoholics who aren’t done with their recovery journey in, which is backwards to put them up, first. This would be a much more efficient way, w/o wasting money on those who are not ready for a real life yet.

6) With these in place, get one of those huge mansions that are up for sale as a permanent site, and use it as a halfway house for those who may be too independent for HALO, but not ready to be on their own yet, to ease into the daily grind by being in a home setting with stable staff available to coach them into what is the proper way to run a household. Again, win all the way, because higher jobs are being created for those who work at these shelters, as opposed to minimum wage jobs that could go to those who are exiting the homeless situation.

That is MY assessment, and take it for what it’s worth, it makes logical sense to me, and practical, as opposed to running around like chickens with their heads cut off just to spin tires into the ground. This would be a better program set up that would create permanent jobs that will move into the future, in hopes that this will prevent more homelessness because the need for maintenance, administrative, social work, living skills, etc positions would be created to help alleviate the situation of replacing homeless people with those becoming homeless due to lack of jobs. With these in place, we can keep creating jobs, to give more to prevent homelessness. With these people in a permanent situation, the focus can be on real job creation and homeless prevention, rather than to start helping at the bottom w/o the safety net of those on the margin to just become homeless and keep repeating the cycle.

*For those of you who are listening, I am in need of a permanent job as an administrative assistant, secretary, office worker, etc. My skills include professional writing, multicultural communication, office equipment, Microsoft office, filing, and I am currently in an internship at the Racine County Courthouse, in the Victim-Witness Office, an extension of the District Attorney’s Office. I enjoy my work there. I’d prefer full time, but, part time is good too, if it has the potential to move into full time. Thank you in advance!*

#LikasLawForWisconsin - #YouthVoiceInitiative

 

Here is my cross-posted Homeless Part 1 blogs:

 

Blogger: http://likaslaments.blogspot.com/2017/03/homelessness-in-racine-serious-problem.html

 

Wordpress: https://likamarie.wordpress.com/2017/03/02/homelessness-in-racine-a-serious-problem/

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/notes/lika...