Jobing Foundation

I have recently been sitting in quite a number of meetings with educators.  These are the hardy people tasked with the duty of preparing the youth of today to meet the needs of business for tomorrow.  I have regularly heard that the trend is that education is working towards this goal.  Some school districts are starting career assessments as early as 6th grade, while others are conducting work readiness trainings earlier as well.  Many school districts are increasing the requirements for graduation.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 12 of the 20 fastest growing occupations over the next 10 years will require some post-secondary education (at least an associates degree).  At the same time, nearly one out of three high schoolers will drop out before graduation. 

In a report by The Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and the Society for Human Resource Management Are They Really Ready to Work? According to this study, the following required skills are either rated as deficient by employer about new job market entrants:

• writing in English
• mathematics
• comprehension
• written communications
• professionalism/work ethic
• critical thinking/problem solving

The following were rated only adequate in these highly important applied skills:

• information technology application
• diversity
• teamwork/collaboration

I have more questions than answers.  What’s the gap?  Businesses need to get involved in order to ensure that we can mentor and develop the skills needed to sustain the competitiveness of our economy and our workforce.

I recently returned from a class on nonprofit management at Georgetown University in Washington, DC… the heart of this nation’s nonprofits.  To say the least, I’m extremely impressed by the uniqueness of the work being done in this sector.  Overall, we are one of the most generous and socially responsible nation’s in the world.  One of my biggest takeaways from the program is the unfortunate outcome of the tendency of nonprofits to shift their focus… be it ever so slightly towards the direction of the money.  Specifically in the arena of workforce development, the tides are changing because of this.

The old work of workforce development was just about getting someone a job.  Oftentimes a career counselor would look at what that individual had done before or what they wanted to do.  Then, they’d help to find a job that fit those needs.  This focused on the individuals primarily at the lowest income levels and most difficult to place.  Some great nonprofits were built on just helping people with the most basic of job search skills… clothing, resume wriing, job search and interview techniques.  In today’s workforce development funding environment, this is no longer enough.

The shift today is towards demand driven… driving the development of tomorrow’s workers into industries… into professions that are needed by the economic culture.  The Aspen Institute recently published a report on Sector Strategies in Brief that discusses many of these strategies.  Essentially the idea here is that we take a population of individuals that can do the work and train them to fill the needs of business based on upcoming economic trends.  Additionally, many of the government grants that are issued in this area are focused on driving towards the demand driven.  Such as the WIRED grant by the US Department of Labor.  In Colorado, for instance, the WIRED grant funds ($15mm over 3 years) are focusing on innovative ways to develop talent in aerospace, bioscience, energy and information science.   This is not about helping a person just find a job, it’s about shifting to an entire education and training culture.

by Vicki Steere, Executive Director

I often speak with job seekers, especially students, who change their mind on a regular basis answering the question “What do I want to be when I grow up?” This was the focus of the first official Jobing Foundation sponsored event last Thursday the Youth Experience at the LA Jobing.com Career Expo.

I’ve found that it’s really about what do I know about.  First is your frame of reference. If your parents are in the construction industry, your other family members are in construction, and your friends’ parents are in construction, you might likely end up in construction. 

Second, it’s what else have you had exposure to?  For instance, we all think of the four year old saying they want to be a doctor, a fire fighter, a nurse.  These are the easy ones.  Yet companies are moving much faster than this.  And frankly, when we grow up we want to be unique… our own person.  The job title of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) did not exist only a few years ago.  So how do companies recruit for these jobs?  How do we train for jobs that don’t exist yet? 

The first step is to give students — our next generation of job seekers — the opportunity to see what else is out there. 

That is the primary goal of the Youth Experience at the Career Expo.  At the first Youth Experience, we bused in 300 inner city high school and Job Corps students to encourage them to open their eyes to the opportunities.  The event featured several speakers including LA’s Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Brett Farmiloe and Zach Hubbell from Pursue the Passion.  Then, the students were taken on tours of the Career Expo, introducing them to employers that were both hiring teens as well as those that were interested in speaking with them about their futures… and why continuing their educations were so important. 

When asking the students what they thought about the event, several said that they really didn’t know that there were so many options for them.  Opening their eyes… the first step.

by Vicki Steere, Executive Director

Soon after college, I said “Yes” to another opportunity… To run my own business.  I thought I was prepared with a strong GPA in a top business school.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.  I started on what would be a 13-year journey (to start) of continuous learning.

Entrepreneurism is more than just facts and figures, theories and data.  It is people.  Working alongside of people, managing people, motivating people, selling to people, and growing yourself.  And entrepreneurism is more than running a small business.  I believe everyone can be an entrepreneur — of your own career.  OWN IT!  That’s right.  Own it.  While you interview for a job and offered a position with a company.  The only person that can own your career is you.

The biggest lesson I learned while running a business is that while I had others working for me, ultimately, the responsibility fell on my shoulders.  I learned a lot of things because of this rule.  I became self-taught in numerous technologies that I wouldn’t have attempted otherwise.  I became a skilled public speaker, even though I’m an introvert by nature.  I even learned how to balance the books.  I’m still not very good at my own personal checkbook, but I know debits and credits and how they affect the bottom line like nobody’s business. 

Take this lesson and turn this into your own career situation.  If you own it.  It is yours to manage.  No one gives it to you or takes it away.  You might change jobs, even be laid off.  Yet, the longer term.  Your career is up to you.  Take responsibility.  Learn from your mistakes.  And continually invest in yourself.  Just as if you were a business owner.

by Vicki Steere, Executive Director

Exciting Job… to some that is an oxymoron and then to others its reality.   I am on a personal mission to ensure everyone thinks their job is exciting!  And I believe with every piece of my being that it can be so.  Yes, there are some job titles that may sound more exciting than others to the outsider… an astronaut, a movie actor, a skydiving instructor, a sports agent, or concert promoter.  They may be cool and yet these are not for everyone.  What makes a job exciting is not the limelight, it’s the personal passion.  The belief that the job that I have chosen is right for me and that’s just plain cool.

My personal journey to find my passion was not what some may call “cool”.  Instead, it was a series of just saying yes.  Saying yes to opportunities as they came up.  While I’m a huge proponent of “strategically” planning your own career, I admit… mine just wasn’t that at all. 

My first ‘real’ job (beyond babysitting and dog sitting for the neighbors) was at Sears.  I got the job because I drove my girlfriend to her orientation for her Christmas job.  The Personnel Manager asked me if I’d like to apply also… that they were still hiring.  I said sure and low and behold… I ended up working there part-time for the next 4 years through high school and college.  (My girlfriend quit in 2 weeks.)  I loved the job.  Starting in the Children’s Department I learned valuable lessons on responsibility, respect for a different type of authority, the basics of retailing (which really is a great start for marketing), and grew within the company moving to several departments and eventually became the store’s Security Supervisor… yes, I chased shoplifters.  At that time of my life, it was exciting.  And its because I said yes.

A series of other supplemental part-time jobs throughout my college career were very similar.  I worked in the admissions office of my college, as a waitress, and as a bartender… all exciting for their own reasons.  Each held their own lessons.  Admissions I wrote and helped develop a new brochure for the college, as a waitress I learned valuable lessons in customer service and the true value of a smile (and I now overtip), and as a bartender … well… it was just plain a blast… an art all in itself.  Each one of those jobs was because I said yes.  I was always open to a new way to earn a bit of extra spending money and I just let people know.  I never really looked for any of those jobs.  (Networking 101.)

After college my career changed a bit.  I stayed in retail in management and treasure the experience.  I then went into business with my sister running a temporary employment serivce.  Wow!  The lessons learned there were invaluable.  Entrepreneurism… well that’s all for another post.  Suffice it to say… I SAID YES!  I’m the person I am today for YES.

Jobing Foundation formed with $1 million commitment from Jobing.com

PHOENIX—The Jobing Foundation announced today that it will officially begin providing locally-focused workforce development programs aimed at helping people improve their lives through career development. The Jobing Foundation, a newly formed nonprofit corporation, is dedicated to helping job seekers prepare for and find employment through outreach programs, partnerships, and volunteer activities in eight different states.

“The Jobing Foundation’s mission is focused on helping people find better job and career opportunities so they can improve their lives,” said Vicki Steere, Foundation Executive Director. “The economic development of our communities depends on ensuring that we have a skilled and trained workforce to meet the growing demands of business. We believe that there is a delicate balance. Our programs will be designed to help people take a look into their future, educate them to become better job seekers, and help steer them towards those careers that both fit their personal passion and fulfill the needs of tomorrow’s business.”

Chartered with a donation from Jobing.com, the Jobing Foundation will serve as its primary corporate social responsibility channel through innovative new community programs, providing resources to nonprofit and community organizations, and a unique volunteer program within the communities Jobing.com serves. Jobing.com has made a grant commitment of $1 million dollars for the Foundation to pursue its mission and launch initial programs. Additionally, Jobing.com employees are dedicating two days of their paid-employee time per calendar year as Foundation volunteers.

Inaugural Foundation programs include Jobing.com product donations to community organizations to help connect more job seekers to employment; a speaker’s bureau focused on educating both the current and future workforce about career options, education, and planning for their future; and support of a Job Shadow Day, providing students with the opportunity to experience a positive work environment first-hand.

“This is a very proud moment for all of us at Jobing.com,” said Jobing.com Founder and CEO Aaron Matos. “Our success as an organization is a direct result of our strong commitment to the communities we serve. The Jobing Foundation will ensure that we continue to share our success with those communities through a variety of support, specifically focused on workforce development, which closely aligns with our mission of connecting organizations with great local people. We believe that when we focus our social responsibility efforts towards mission-driven activities, we can have a greater impact as well as make an investment in our local Jobing Communities’ workforce.”

A core value at Jobing.com since its founding has been community spirit, and Matos says supporting non-profit and community organizations has been part of its regular business activities from day one. “In addition to donations and other support, Jobing.com staff have given hundreds of hours of volunteer service and provided countless free community workshops to help job seekers in all of the communities we serve,” he said.

About The Jobing Foundation Executive Director

Prior to this new role with the Jobing Foundation, Vicki Steere served as Senior Director of Community Relations for Jobing.com in Denver. She has an extensive background in human resources and recruiting that includes starting two successful businesses in that field. Vicki regularly speaks at workforce centers and educational organizations to job seekers on a variety of job search topics, and to employers on recruitment and retention topics. She graduated with honors from the University of Denver with a bachelor’s in management and earned an MBA from Grand Canyon University. Her extensive community involvement includes serving on the board for the Society of Human Resource Management Colorado State Council, the Colorado Healthcare Association for Human Resource Management, DenverWorks, and the Denver Employment Alliance, and was formerly the president for the Colorado Staffing Association and a former chair of the Colorado Business Leadership Network (a consortium of organizations placing people with disabilities). Her employment articles have been published in both local and national publications, and she is a two-time finalist for the Denver Business Journal’s Outstanding Women in Business Awards.

About Jobing.com

A three-time Inc. 500™ fastest-growing company, Jobing.com is a leading media provider of locally-focused recruiting, online job search and talent management solutions designed to connect local employers and job seekers. Jobing.com’s portfolio of products include, among others: the largest locally-focused job search web site; Career Expo job fairs; JobingVideo; JobingCareerCenter and Go Jobing magazine. Jobing.com is a privately held, employee-owned company, funded by investors Great Hill Partners and JMI Equity. The company currently serves communities in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Wisconsin. For more information visit www.Jobing.com.

A career is made up of a series of successes and of course failures.  It is growth, it is change, it is self discovery, and it is in a constant state of change.  My career is no different.  Over the years, my personal path has taken me down many roads that I did not expect, anticipate or plan.  It has all lead me to find my personal passion.  I have been given the privilege to help others find their personal passion with the Jobing Foundation.  We’re building programs to affect people’s lives… from becoming better at the job search process to showing students what its really like to work in a variety of career opportunities.  To maybe, just maybe, find their passions earlier.

And I believe everyone has that ability… to use personal strengths, experience, and skills to either find a new job or grow within the job that will lead to more.  And that definition of “more” is different for each individual.  It’s not easy and certainly not a bed of roses every single day.  It’s a personal journey.