“Timing is everything” – that is if you know what you are waiting for…

 “In the landscape of time, there are few locations less comfortable than that of one who waits for some person or event to arrive at some unknown moment in the future.” Robert Grudin

They say timing is everything but for many of us we then get caught in a rut waiting for that one great sign that says now is the time.  Worst still few really know what said sign would be and as such opportunities are lost while we wait.  Movement is always good, even if at a minimum it is a lateral transfer, for it allows for growth through exposure.

In relationships we let an abusive situation fester; allowing it to consume us until we cannot even recognize ourselves.  We keep watering long after a plant is dead.  Work situation is no different.  Many of us stay in jobs too long, stuck in yesteryear, when staying in one job for a lifetime was viewed as a sign of stability.   Alas no more.

Today we are constantly reminded that it is an employer’s market.  That as long as the pool of "possible employees" is as big as it is that you are well served to stay where you are.   Where the Great Depression created a population of great savers who were frugal almost to a fault, the Great Recession created people who are fearful but unfortunately our generation did not get the memo on frugality either.  There is a downside to our kind of fear.  Our fear stifles growth. 

The economy itself has all but recovered but the jobs market missed the gravy train.  The employees who were not retrenched during 2008 and 2009 recession years have held onto their jobs as if their very lives depended on it.  Having been woven into the web of lies that says you need your job more than you employer needs your skill-set.  If you are buying into the story that there aren't enough jobs to go round then you support the insignificant pay increase, which each year falls well short of the cost of living adjustment. 

I would like to cry foul to that train of thought.  There is absolutely no way anyone who has been out of work for a stretch of time can come in and step into my shoes without there being significant decrease in productivity for a period.  Yes, I do concede that everyone is replaceable in the long run but, fundamentally the longer someone works on something the more proficient they are.  Whatever happened to a "bird in hand is worth two in the bush".  

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report there were over 4.0 million job openings at the last business day of March. This speaks volumes of the opportunities that are available.  If you feel you are currently not qualified for the jobs on that are available maybe a career change and/or training would not be a bad idea.  Whatever the action you might end up taking, any has to be better than none.  It is important to acknowledge that there are times when value increases with transfer, meaning it is easier to get a significant pay increase by taking your knowledge elsewhere than it is by trying to prove to your current boss that you are “worth your weight in gold”. 

The biases that divide us

According to psychologists having biases can be a healthy thing but for tangible benefits "keeping them in check requires a delicate balance of self-awareness".  Asking the majority of us to "balance our self-awareness" is a tall order since most go through life without the slightest inkling who we really are.  And for those of us who actually embark on the quest for self-realization the journey itself can be more cumbersome than we are willing to commit.

I believe some of us unknowing default to our biases as we seek a comfort zone or a known quantity/quality.  But for others it is our weaknesses that lead us to use biases as a crutch.  We hide behind our self-proclaim principles, never venturing out to view the world from a different vantage point if not only to confirm that the grace is truly greener where we reside.

Everyone complains that economy and/or the country as a whole is not going in the right direction.  A quest for the exact nature of the problem is no easy feat since our view of what is missing or going wrong is fundamentally affected by our own personal biases.  Now for the man on the street it may be as simple as not having a job or worse still being homeless.  For the small business owner it might be the perceived imposition of Obama Care or the possible increase to minimum wage rate.  For the Fortune 500 companies it might the inability to bring in tax-free the trillions of dollars earned in foreign countries.

For each sector the problems are real and depending on individual perceptions and biases the gravity of the each can be life shattering.   It is easier, albeit selfish, to only worry about the things that affect you directly.  Since Main Street does not have the necessary funds to afford single-minded lobbyist who fight relentlessly to keep their issues on the forefront of policy discussions in Washington, their needs will forever be a line items that only appear during election time.

As we approach the mid-term election season take ownership of your own future.  Do not rely on media to make decisions for you.  Every news channel has its own biases and it is in understanding what these biases are that one is able to separate truth from propaganda.  Fox News will always favor the republican view, while MSNBC is the democrat equivalent.  CNN is all about the sensational - their biases are more towards ratings.  That is not say the other two channels do not worry about ratings either.  Ratings are media’s first loyalty and being informative news source to you comes well after their biases have come into play.

As individuals we owe to our future to take the necessary time to research the candidates on our ballots.  Do not allow your needs to be boxed into one party or the other.  Where a candidate does not speak to any issues that are of concern to you reach out to his local office and ask for their position on the issue.  Ask what they intend to do if elected.  More importantly once elected do not forget to hold their feet to the fire - promises made must be fulfilled.  Be your own lobbyist.

Your professional success and the role your parents play

Just had the opportunity to attend my cousin's daughter's graduation from Embry-Riddle University.  Have seen her grow into an amazing and extremely accomplished young woman on a journey that only she can limit.  Looking at her as she said her "thank you's" to the small gathering of family and friends that had traveled some distance for her graduation,  I found myself especially proud of her, but also of her parents and grandmother too. "Gogo" as she affectionately refers to her grandmother, her "favorite person in the whole world".  As she recited some hilarious college memories, I was blown away by the collective raw commitment that has brought her this far.

As children many of us are not fully aware of the role parents play in our success as adults.  Those of us that have had "hovering parents" or "tiger moms" are often heard complaining, "my mom is intense"; "my dad is psycho".  Before a child has figured out how to hold their own feeding bottle, some parents are already visualizing graduation day.  Our professional success is a life-journey that begins early in life.  Lessons and habits learnt as we grow we draw upon in our adult life.  Habits picked up in the play ground that determine our ability to play well with others; negotiate our turn on the swings later on aide us in the dynamics of adult life.

My school friends and I often joke about how some of the things that the "Dominican nuns" taught us helped strength us.  It is in recounting these memories that I failed to understand parents who are disconnected.  Some parents in Chicago are up in arms with Mayor Rahm Emanuel for closing failing schools, or the latest proposed "turnaround" which involves laying off entire staff for low test scores and replacing them with staff that have a better commitment to children's overall success.  Parents in these schools want status quo.  They do not see anything wrong with the fact that their children are way behind the rest of the nation, and the world on basic reading skills.  Past minimum wage jobs their children will not have the necessary skills to be gainfully employed.

The blatant disconnect between a need to be appropriately educated before you are requesting lawmakers to provide jobs is staggering.  Many of the parents who are expressing displeasure at the path Mayor Emanuel has chosen look to schools as a "babysitting facilities" and not as educational institutions.  The total opposite of my cousin and my aunt who have worried and planned from pregnancy.  We are supposed to want better for our children.  Our choices as parents on primary or secondary schooling for our children has lasting ramifications on where they end up for their tertiary education and life as a whole.  And that is not to say university is the only way for everyone - USA is way behind on vocational training options that Germany offers its high school students.  Which itself is a testament to their lower unemployment numbers.

Unemployment Rates US vs. Europe

It can all be overwhelming to a parent to know where to begin but the foundation is built on simply wanting better for your child.  Holding your child's feet to the fire when things start being difficult later on in life for every experience is but a lesson that serves a future need.

Given up looking for a job - what next?

Along with the drastic drop in USA unemployment numbers from 6.7% to 6.3%, comes many questions on how we came to the number since there is still continued consumer dissatisfaction.  GOP would love to take credit in that saying without the unemployment insurance extension people were forced to go out and look for jobs.  Unfortunately this clearly does not add up.  In the same period that 288,000 jobs were created the 0.4% drop in the unemployment number is approximately 733,000.

Some economist explain the difference in numbers by accounting for discouraged job seekers, others state it is a drop in new people entering the job market.  Which ever way you choose to look at it behind the numbers are real people with real problems.  Congress will have long winding discussions on the statistics behind the decline - juggling whose needs are more worthy of their attention.  Whatever path Congress chooses to take or not take, there remains an unacceptable number of Americans without the appropriate means to provide for themselves and their families.

What is the next step?  Since many would have already signed up for all the regular supplements to lost income one wonders what viable options remain..  What additional life changes does one now need to make?  I hear in conversation how many move in with family as they make their initial lifestyle changes after losing their jobs.  The unemployment insurance is only a fraction of income one would have been receiving.  There are serious and lasting psychological ramifications that are silently endured by many.

The job training programs that are being run are obviously not effective if no tangible results are achieved.  Whether it is individuals feeling too old to go through the much needed career change or it the young new entrants into the job market that lack the required training for our changing economy it is clear more urgent and effective policies are needed instead of the unending and clearly unfruitful debates.