Last weekend, I headed up to a job fair in San Francisco to promote Job4Joe to employers and job training representatives. There, I met Jakob, a long-term unemployed marketing professional. He told me story after story about how he was dismissed, how the job market is racist. . . all that jazz.

He also said, “We should kill the résumé. What good is a piece of paper, anyway?”

In a way, he was right. Résumés are mere pieces of paper with nothing more than ink printed on them, just as a college degree and a cover letter are. Nevertheless, I told him that résumés are needed because they provide a quantitative aspect to the current process. What stood out to me was his perseverance to get himself back into the game. No one would ever tell a long-term unemployed ... Read More »]]>

Last weekend, I headed up to a job fair in San Francisco to promote Job4Joe to employers and job training representatives. There, I met Jakob, a long-term unemployed marketing professional. He told me story after story about how he was dismissed, how the job market is racist. . . all that jazz.

He also said, “We should kill the résumé. What good is a piece of paper, anyway?”

In a way, he was right. Résumés are mere pieces of paper with nothing more than ink printed on them, just as a college degree and a cover letter are. Nevertheless, I told him that résumés are needed because they provide a quantitative aspect to the current process. What stood out to me was his perseverance to get himself back into the game. No one would ever tell a long-term unemployed person, “You’ll get a job tomorrow.” It’s not true. There are reasons behind why people are unemployed for such a long time, and the best that they can do is promote what’s innate in themselves: the holy trinity of intelligence, perseverance, and resourcefulness.

Of course, a bit of creativity is the icing on top.

http://www.fins.com/Finance/Articles/SBB0001424052970204781804577272044012778530/Ten-Dumb-Things-People-Have-Said-During-Job-Interviews?reflink=djm_emailfinshouse_mar2012_wsjpa

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/secrets-toyour-success/10-job-search-rules-break-170226231.html

For the past five days, I have spent my mornings at JobTrain executing a Job4Joe pilot program. This program entailed me teaching seven curious, strong, and persevering JobTrain students from all walks of life how to integrate Job4Joe into their job search. All either were attending or have completed the Office Skills Adult Vocational Class at JobTrain, and all were interested in the art of video pitching. On Thursday and Friday, the program culminated with the recording of their 30 to 60 second pitches, which I am to show JobTrain staff and employers in the following weeks.

One of the students whom I collaborated with told me that “big things come in small packages”. It is a resonating statement that characterizes not only her, being a distinct and energetic woman, but also me, being a young ... Read More »]]> “Big things come in small packages.”

For the past five days, I have spent my mornings at JobTrain executing a Job4Joe pilot program. This program entailed me teaching seven curious, strong, and persevering JobTrain students from all walks of life how to integrate Job4Joe into their job search. All either were attending or have completed the Office Skills Adult Vocational Class at JobTrain, and all were interested in the art of video pitching. On Thursday and Friday, the program culminated with the recording of their 30 to 60 second pitches, which I am to show JobTrain staff and employers in the following weeks.

One of the students whom I collaborated with told me that “big things come in small packages”. It is a resonating statement that characterizes not only her, being a distinct and energetic woman, but also me, being a young high school student who is learning the ropes of being an teenage-adult entrepreneur (whichever one you think I look like). What troubles me is that not everyone realizes that statement– I can’t even begin to imagine how many individuals like me who lack a college degree or extensive job experience  have their ideas for a bigger and brighter future turned down due to a simple, meaningless number.

One thing that cannot be expressed in words, however, is my gratitude for each and every one of the people who made this possible: the executive staff, the counselors. . . but most of all– the students. I’m unbelievably lucky to have chanced upon an organization with clients who could accept me for exactly who I am– a kid who wants to turn small packages into big things.

Enjoy President’s Day!

For starters, ask your career advisor (if you have one) if there are employers that you can show your video to as a supplement to your job application.

If you don’t have one, the same still goes. Just add the permalink that will lead your employers to your video profile on the materials that you submit to your employers. The permalink should be job4joe.org/members/????

The ???? is the username that you currently own.

For example, my username is job4joe.org/members/joe

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas! Like always, email me at joe@job4joe.org if you need anything.

http://www.trendhunter.com/slideshow/unemployment-blogs#1

The predicament is this: long, tedious résumés and short job fair interactions are still the way to go. However, this way heavily favors those with more educational and financial resources– items that not everyone has. Those who don’t are less inclined to get a degree and have prior work experience, resulting in unemployment that is passed down from generation to generation. Does fortune REALLY favor the bold through this aged market concept?

Through us, you can get your message to employers about who you are and why you deserve a job more than the other applicants. It shouldn’t matter if you have to have a degree or prior experience. You need to show employers ... Read More »]]> I’ve recently received a lot of great questions about the Job4Joe initiative. All of them, interestingly, refer back to the same concern: how are you helping “solve unemployment”?

The predicament is this: long, tedious résumés and short job fair interactions are still the way to go. However, this way heavily favors those with more educational and financial resources– items that not everyone has. Those who don’t are less inclined to get a degree and have prior work experience, resulting in unemployment that is passed down from generation to generation. Does fortune REALLY favor the bold through this aged market concept?

Through us, you can get your message to employers about who you are and why you deserve a job more than the other applicants. It shouldn’t matter if you have to have a degree or prior experience. You need to show employers that you are creative, intelligent, and innovative. You need to show them that you are a human being.

If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to ask! joe@job4joe.org