A young college graduate’s mother works nearby and told him about our employment center. He is catholic and graduated from college a few years ago, but has not held a college-level job since graduation. I told him God would help Him, so he needs to pray and ask for help. God cares about the details of his life and cares about what he cares about. I also told him we would help him, so he’ll work on his resume and watch some workshops online before coming back next week for more help on finishing his resume, developing a “me in 30” (30-second summary of achievements and what job he is looking for) and how to expand and network to find a job. I will plan to teach him 15-10-2 (identify 15 resources, identify10 contacts, and hold 2 face-to-face or phone meetings. He walked out with greater confidence and hope. We both felt the Spirit of God and that he will receive heavenly help in his job search.
Another mid-career job seeker and I had a great discussion. He has two graduate degrees and some excellent technology management experience. He is an active member of the church. We enjoyed talking faith and how confidence comes from God. I enjoyed his spirit and his noticing and caring for others besides himself. We discussed resume tweaks, and “me in 30” refinements. He expressed a desire to practice answering interview questions, which we did. I could tell that his confidence and hope were higher after our visit. I think his taking action by meeting with me demonstrated his faith—he received an interview request the day after we met (this is over one year into his job search, so the timing is the Lord’s not his or mine). He was then asked back for a second interview. There are great tips for second interviews that we covered, so we will both be praying that he does well in that interview this week.
We met in the basement of the church today, due to carpet being replaced, one of the last steps to an extensive remodel of the whole building. Glued on carpet means special, meaning noisy, machines remove the old carpet, so we met in the basement. Unfortunately, the noise moved with us. The remodelers replaced a railing in the basement by cutting and then welding new steel. Noise and sparks created quite a show for us and the 9 job seekers, the bulk of them Haitian immigrants who we helped put together resumes. The job seekers all walked away happy and as friends of ours. We adjusted to our environment. We also told the Haitians the most important thing is to learn English. They were very grateful for our help. Words of appreciation boost everyone who hears or says them.
Sheila felt inspired to bring extra copies of info sheets and resources for immigrants. We needed all of them. We ate lunch at 3:45 because it was so busy and we were not in our normal offices. I hauled the inkjet printer down from our office area, so we could print resumes for our Haitian friends.
We’re always reminded when helping people find work just how close to the spirit employment is. People without work can feel lost, abandoned, and lose their confidence. Even the most resilient can get worn down by a long job search, ghosting, and rejection. More than what we can give them, God and Jesus Christ can fill them with love and hope; we get to participate as messengers for him. We often feel like we’re working on the front lines for Him and feel blessed as a result: we can impart hope, confidence, and love from heaven to our job seekers.
Sheila comforted a friend of the church who attends regularly. The remodel workers drove their trucks and trailers in the backlot over the garden plot he cultivated and cares for, destroying many of the plants. They are planning to plant grass there. Sheila was really good at expressing empathy for him—I could tell her empathy was well-received and provided some comfort. One of the ways we assist the Savior and act as His hands on earth is expressing empathy and love as He would. Those of us who witnessed Sheila do that felt the Savior’s love.
Sports analogy of the day: Job seekers see a lot of curveballs. Life doesn’t always go smoothly (slow fastballs down the middle of the plate) for any of us, but it can be especially rough on those without employment. Part of our job is not to have them seek more middle of the plate fastballs, but to teach them how to hit the curveball, and how to do it better and more quickly with divine help.