Personal Reinvention

by Linda McIntosh, Intern A very interesting article entitled “Pulling off the Ultimate Career Makeover,” from the July 4, 2011, issue of Fortune, emphasizes the importance of personal reinvention in today’s economy, where career changes are becoming the norm. The article highlights the stories of five people in various industries who lost their jobs because of changes in business paradigms or layoffs. Rather than becoming victims to their circumstances, these people took control of their situations and reinvented themselves through “learning by doing.” Their success stories reveal several strategies for changing careers. 1. Pare down your expenses. When David Kahn, former Blockbuster franchise owner, realized that his business model was no longer viable, he downsized his home and vehicle. He recommends going “into survivor mode.” After a short stint as a Subway franchise owner, Kahn founded Yogurt Mountain and owns 35 stores. 2. Reevaluate your skill set. Tom Murray, formerly a strategic development and communications director for a Best Buy subsidiary, charted what he likes to do as well as what he is good at in order to determine his next job move. This exercise released him from being industry specific. He now works for PointB, a consulting firm. 3. Exploit the power of social media. When Mike Merrill was laid off from his job as a sales executive at NetApp, he immediately began reinventing himself through blogging and social media, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Merrill eventually landed his current job as director of marketing for ReachLocal, an internet marketing firm, after an employee saw one of his presentations on social media. 4. Consider contract employment. When the dotcom bubble burst, Mae Tai O’Malley lost her job as an attorney. She began performing legal work on a contract basis and created her own firm, Paragon Legal, which provides project-based legal assignments in other firms. Her business model is reshaping the legal industry. 5. Update your technical skills. When mystery writer Paul Levine realized that the sale of used books on Amazon would severely diminish his royalty income, he accessed Amazon’s “Direct Publishing” page to learn the art of e-publishing. Levine bought the rights to his out-of-print books and now e-publishes both his new works and his formerly published books on the internet. Of all the strategies explored in the article, exploiting the power of social media was the most important strategy for making a career change. The “Social Media as a Career Tool” page on the www.brokebutnotforlong.org website is an excellent resource for personal reinvention. In fact, the website provides a myriad of information about job searching in today’s market. Additionally, they have a newly formed group on LinkedIn.com to engage job seekers in discussion of the use of social media.

Broke But Not Broken

One of my favorite songs of Celia Cruz says, “Alegranse porque nada mas te importa,” which translates as, “Be happy because nothing else matters!” The melody is quite infectious and strikes the soul like an anthem. I have been broke before and maybe a little saddened about the situation, but I knew I could rely on the strong voice of Celia Cruz to get me singing and dancing along to her music. The song is probably an old Cuban classic but I have only heard her sing it. I have had the great fortune to visit the island of Cuba twice; once as an emissary of jazz and once as an Episcopal missionary. While visiting, I could almost feel a sadness in the weight of the humidity but none of them talk about it. I assume they are not allowed to speak freely to the tourists. On the other hand, you can also see the pride and determination of the people by the way they walk down the street. There are many reasons for being broke. For Cubans, theirs is caused by a dictatorship and a trade embargo with the US. This is called situational poverty. They had nothing to do with their predicament (well maybe their ancestors did). Situational poverty is nothing to be ashamed of, nor any other types of poverty for that matter. The loss of a parent, a serious accident or illness, or a spouse’s misuse of funds can place you into situational poverty. The debt or lack of money places you into a lower economic class; but this is generally something that you or your family can overcome in 5-10-20 years. Being born into poverty is called generational poverty which again is really no fault of yours or your families, as each generation generally only rises to the next economic level. There are those who are able to climb out of poverty and go right into an upper economic class but this is not common. As a school teacher, I learned about the strengths and/or skills that come from poverty from a lecture by Ruby Payne. It was entitled, “Understanding Poverty.” Since I lost a parent as a child and experienced situational poverty as a youth, I thought I had a fairly good understanding of what it was like. Also, I have lived and worked in third world countries providing services to the malnourished, illiterate, and destitute. I was familiar with many hardships faced by the impoverished but what I learned was empowering; I learned that you can classify poverty into categories and that often no one is to blame. I also learned that when you are broke, you develop unique skills that the average person wouldn’t know how to do. For example, she said…Would you know how to move all of your belongings with 24 hours notice if you were facing an eviction or seek shelter every nightfall if you were homeless. I do not agree with all of the items Payne addressed in her “hidden rules” but recognized some of them to be true for me. I wanted to share this insight with you in case you are facing difficult financial times. Celia Cruz wrote another wildly successful song titled, “La Vida es Un Carnival,” which translates as–Life is a Carnival. She sings how the bad moments are only for a little while and then they will fade away. Unfortunately, life is full of various travesties ranging from the horrendous to the just plain sad. Therefore, stay strong and be happy because like the song says, nothing else really matters. Sandra Annette Rogers

Our Scoop.it Newspaper on Social Media

Praying Out Loud

Dear Lord,

Thank you for all that you have done to guide us in the creation of our organization.  I’m so grateful to have been successful at incorporating as a nonprofit, registering our service mark, and becoming identified as a tax-exempt charity.  I have never attempted these tasks before, and you led the way.  Most importantly, I am so happy to be in a position to help others help themselves.

Some people ask me why I chose to be a nonprofit.  The question always prompts me to answer rationally:  to provide free services.  Then they ask why? I say because I like helping people.  The real answer is that I am a Christian serving the Lord.  I’m not used to answering first to you, Lord, so please forgive me.  I’m  conditioned, as a teacher, to be cautious with my beliefs when giving explanations.

Thank you lord for giving me this opportunity on this blog  to reach thousands of readers.  Help me to provide the information that they need to find a job and financial security.  Help me to learn more about adaptive technology for persons with disabilities, as well as to inform my audience of the tools they can use to assist them on the job if they have an employment handicap.

In God’s name I pray, amen.
 

Sandra Annette Rogers

Note: Originally posted on April 14, 2010.

What Happened to the F2F Jobs?

Technology didn’t replace face-to-face service related jobs, so where did they go?  For example, what happened to the full-service gasoline station attendants?  Where are the doormen/women at the hotels?  How come I can’t  find a sales person or a cashier in a department store?  Obviously, businesses cut back on these service-related jobs but at whose expense?

I understand that machinery and/or technology replaced many skilled workers; however, this really hasn’t affected the service industry.  They may say that high prices or lack of sales has caused them to cut back on face-to-face client services.  In contrast, I propose that the reduction of service-related jobs has actually caused financial losses.  If you’re a certain age, you may not be familiar with the above mentioned services, as these jobs have disappeared in the last decade.

In my humble opinion, the gasoline stations should bring back the full-service attendants.  I realize that many customers would probably not want to pay higher gas prices.  However, as a single woman, I used to rely on the full-service attendants to check my car before I went on a trip.  I didn’t mind paying the extra money for gas since it gave me a peace of mind.  Also, if I was dressed nicely and didn’t want to get my hands dirty, then I’d go to the full-service station.

My 87 year-old mother has to pump her own gas!  The service-related job industry should consider not only the elderly but also persons with disabilities and bring back the jobs that provide face-to-face assistance to those in need.  Instead of charging more for gas, they could rethink the way that a gas station attendant gets paid.  For example, attendants could work for tips and get paid the low service wage akin to a waiter.  For quality assurance, the major gasoline service stations could conduct market research to find the best way to serve the customer.

Providing gas station attendants could help reduce highway accidents because drivers generally don’t keep their tires properly inflated.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), “Underinflated tires impact a driver’s ability to control a vehicle against skidding, blowouts, and other tire failures.  While not a leading cause of highway accidents and fatalities, a NHTSA study shows that, in 1999, underinflated tires contributed to 247, or 0.8 percent, of 32,061 fatalities and 23,100, or 0.8 percent, of almost 3 million injuries. In addition, NHTSA estimates that 41 vehicular-related deaths occur annually because of blowouts alone from underinflated tires.”

Secondly, I wish that hotels would bring back the doorman or bell hop.  I traveled for work and found myself encumbered with luggage and a computer bag when trying to open the hotel door.  Most hotels, at the very least, have a remote door at the entrance, but many hotels do not.  It should be a basic service that hotels provide to visitors.  Hotels often provide perks and privileges afforded to frequent travelers like a free bottle of water or free wi-fi.  Perhaps they should think about providing the basic customer service of opening the door for clients!

Sometimes I’d wait at the hotel door with my hands full until someone exited before I’d enter the building because I didn’t want to place my items on the floor in order to open the door.  As for the handicapped, many hotels have a large button to push for the door to open but many do not.  It’d be nice to have a door man/woman or bell hop to greet you as you enter.  In addition, I’m sure this would help with the safety and security of the visitors and hotel businesses.

Thirdly, I don’t know how many times that I have put clothes down and walked out of a department store because there were so many customers in line with only one cashier.  Nowadays, when you go into a regular department store it’s like a ghost town.  I have to search for a salesperson.  Generally, there’s one cashier/salesperson in charge of several sections of the store.  This can’t be good for sales!  I’m certain that this is fueling the online shopping experience.  If you can’t find something in a store and don’t see a salesperson around, you’ll probably go elsewhere or online.  The sales assistant job will be replaced by online shopping if retailers continue to function with only a few employees on the sales floor.  Having a salesperson available in each department store could increase the number of items sold.

In conclusion, service-related jobs are an important part of our society, not only for convenience or the sake of satisfaction, but also for meeting the needs of the elderly, providing accommodations for persons with disabilities,  and for overall safety.   Furthermore, it would aid the economy by adding jobs and increasing sales!  I acknowledge the promotion of “green jobs” to simultaneously rebuild our economy and save the planet.  However, let’s not forget about the basic service-related jobs that should provide the necessary face-to-face interactions with customers.  Imagine the job growth if every gasoline service station had an attendant or every hotel no matter how small had a doorman.  Wouldn’t retail sales increase at stores if they had at least one salesperson at every department?  Think about it!

Sandra Annette Rogers

The Broke Diet & Exercise

This morning I remembered that I was much slimmer when I was really broke.  This was due to the cost-saving necessity of not driving the car to save on gas expenses.  Hence, I used to walk to the local grocery store, library, and eateries.  If it was raining, I’d put on a raincoat.   When you have to carry everything home, it becomes like a diet regimen of mental and physical exercise that makes you think about your purchases.  To be specific, you learn to purchase the lighter weight and low cost items like fruit and vegetables.  You could try using a backpack; however, I found that the items, like cans and boxes, poke you in the back the whole walk home.  Luckily, grocers provide those nice, sturdy, eco-friendly bags, so you can save the planet and your back at the same time.  I remember when I came home from the Peace Corps in 1988 and used my backpack instead of the plastic grocery bags.  The cashier snidely commented, “What are you trying to do? Save the world?”  Nowadays, everyone at least tries to save the planet.

I used to have paniers, a saddle bag for bicycles, to take the groceries home.  You’ll need a good lock to keep it safe, too!   It’s essential to have a good working bike in order to use it for transportation and quick maneuvering in large cities.  Unfortunately, some cities are not very cyclist-friendly, as they do not provide bike lanes or advisory signs. Once I had a parked car open their door on me when I was cycling past; I responded quickly and somehow avoided hurting myself.  When I lived in Los Angeles,  I used to bicycle from UCLA to Santa Monica Beach for exercise.  I would cut through the Veteran’s Administration buildings near the 405 Freeway and then take a coffee break  at the halfway point.  The coffee break was a real splurge on my broke diet, but it made it taste all the better!  After resting, I’d continue to the beach which was downhill from there.  After relaxing at the beach, it was all up hill to get back home.  I was able to go 12-14 miles on bike with little difficulty because I took breaks.

Furthermore, the broke diet includes using coupons and looking at each high-priced item on your grocery bill to decide if you really need to purchase it next time.  Since coupons are for specific brands, you have to shop/eat different than your normal activity.  I used to be embarrassed to use coupons and would go to the store at odd hours when I thought no one would be shopping.  I usually buy the lower priced store brand than the popular “name” brand products.  After I saw a popular TV comedian using coupons in the check-out line at a grocery store, I had to laugh at myself.  This was when I lived in LA.  It reminded me of the time I saw Johnny Cash shopping at Kmart in Nashville (I used to live there, too).  Saving money with coupons is smart, so don’t let it get you down. I use coupons and customer reward cards whenever I can.

Lastly, the broke diet includes not overeating.  Basically, because you can’t afford it, but also because it’s too depressing to have nothing in the fridge or on the shelves.  Every time I go to my mother’s house to look in the fridge, I think she doesn’t have anything.  She’s a senior citizen who receives Social Security benefits.  When I study the contents of her fridge to make a grocery list, I realize she has it all right there: cheese, eggs, milk, juice, yogurt, bread and butter.  I usually just buy her a bottle of wine, since I know that it’s not a regular part of her broke diet.  My mother’s a vegetarian and generally eats beans and rice along with various canned vegetables.  I’ve gone vegan before due to the broke diet.  Luckily, I had a sibling invite me over for a meat dish and all the leftovers that I wanted.  I realize that many of you may not have that kind of support.  I wish you success on your broke diet and exercise and hope that you find the support that you need during your job hunt.

Your blogger,

Sandra Rogers

Job Hunt Strategies & Resources on BrokeButNotForLong

I founded BrokeButNotForLong, Inc., in 2009 as a nonprofit organization to assist persons with disabilities, veterans, ex offenders, and displaced workers find employment. However, the resources can be used for anyone who is unemployed. Our goal is to provide a reliable website for individuals who are eager to work and have adequate skills but aren't finding employment on commercial Internet sites. Our underlying premise is that as Americans, we are hard-working individuals, determined to get a good job, and do it well, hence our namesake, BrokeButNotForLong.

We focus on social media as a career tool.  For instance, Broke shares reliable employment opportunities and career advice via our website, blog, e-newspaper,and twitter account (@broke4jobs). In addition, we network with businesses through the Mobile Chamber of Commerce to advocate for the hiring of veterans and persons with disabilities.  Moreover, our nonprofit collaborates with other agencies that are veteran focused. For example, we just formed a new alliance with Still Serving Veterans (SSV) to liaise vet-friendly businesses on the Gulf Coast to hire disabled veterans in support of the Wounded Warriors Project.  SSV is a nonprofit agency that works directly with veterans via case management to help them find employment.  

For the past two years, Blogging4Broke has been hosted on a WordPress blog through our Web host, 1and1.com, but the blog provided isn't widget-aware.  I'm a tech savvy individual, therefore,  I really look forward to utilizing all the Blogger wodgets/tools to make this new blog a powerful place for our readers to share their photos, links, ideas, and feedback.  Even though we receive over 6K unique site visitors to that blog on a monthly basis, there has been very little interaction with our guests on it.  My goal is to use Blogger to attract followers and engage in conversations about effective and innovative job hunting. 

I look forward to this new adventure and can't wait to share all of our job-related resources!


Your Blogger,


Sandra Rogers
sandra@brokebutnotforlong.org