People Will Drive 30 Minutes To Do These Things, But Not To Work???

People will drive 30 (+) minutes to...

1. Ride a coaster at an amusement park

2. Eat nachos at a baseball game

3. Get drunk at a concert

4. Buy fireworks in Ohio

5. Have expensive coffee with a friend

6. Purchase cheap cigarettes out of state

7. Smuggle cheap cigarettes into the state

8. Visit a relative they don't really like

9. Obtain a lottery ticket in West Virginia

10. Purchase a bike they found on Craigslist

11. Meet a woman they met on Craigslist

12. Participate in a fantasy football draft

13. Swim at a wave pool

14. Ski

15. Mountain Bike

16. Sleep in a tent!!!

The list could go on and on...

BUT, they won't drive 30 minutes to work because it is too far.

One Reason Web-Based Training Beats Classroom Training

We conducted a workforce reentry series in the spring called Spring Into Reentry. A navy rep from Southern California participated in the session. She was planning a job fair at the time. Three employers were on the line...one from the Dallas area and one from Utah. Those two had offices in Southern Cal, and our participant was hooked up with those local offices.

Same participant has a worker releasing and relocating to Pittsburgh soon. Emailed me to find out about transitional housing or short-term housing options. I gave her contact info for two housing reps from the Pittsburgh area to try and develop a plan for her client.

You could never do this type of networking in a traditional classroom when only local participants can attend!!! A good use of the Internet!

What’s Wrong With Being An Insurance Agent?

Talk about a profession that has received a raw deal.  Insurance agent has been on the butt end of more jokes than it has been on job applications.  Remember the scene in Groundhog’s Day?  “Watch that first step! It’s a doooozy!” 

I am currently recruiting Benefit Representatives for one of the world’s largest and most respected supplemental insurance companies, and I cannot find people to fill the positions!  I talk to people all day long who respond to our job postings on the Internet.  After a short phone interview, half of them say, “Eh…I don’t really want to sell insurance.”  First off, I want to ask, “Well, why did you respond to the ad then?”  But what I really want to ask is, “What’s wrong with being an insurance agent?”  This is one of America’s most important professions, but often disregarded.

This will not be a popular statement amongst my law enforcement friends, so I will preface it by saying that I have more respect for police officers, firemen and EMT’s than any other occupations.  With that being said, I receive more protection from my insurance agent than I do from my local police department.  And guess what?  So do you!

Think about it.  If someone breaks into your house and steals all of your jewelry, it is very unlikely that the police will recover and return the property.  Your insurance claim, however, is likely to pay off.  If you are attacked on the street and unable to work, the police might find and arrest your assailant, but there is no guarantee.  If you have been paying your disability premiums, there’s a guarantee that you will not have to go without income while you are out of work.

Seriously, it’s not only time to pay a little more respect to our insurance agents, financial advisors, benefit reps, etc., but it is also time to start rethinking career choices.  This is a respectable and profitable position.  So many people pass on the opportunity.  Meanwhile, I am surrounded daily by blissful human beings working at the supplemental insurance office.  Happy to be working a flexible schedule…thrilled to be making a ton of cash!  Perhaps someone should create a TV show about insurance reps.  Then maybe more of our young people will want to get into this business instead of overpaying for criminal justice degrees with the hope of becoming private investigators.  

What's Wrong With Being The Garbage Man?

When I was a kid, I had a friend named Kirk.  Kirk idolized the garbage men.  He would follow the truck up and down the alley.  On rainy days, he would watch for the garbage truck from his bedroom window.  Kirk thought everything about the garbage men was fascinating.  I think Kirk grew up to be an accountant or something...I really don't know.  I do know that he is not a garbage man.

I can remember the adults in my neighborhood seemed almost envious of the garbage man.  At the ballfield or in the backyard, the dads would say things like, "Who do you have to know to get a job on the garbage truck?" or, "Do you know how much money those guys must make an hour?" 

Garbage man used to be a coveted position.  What happened?  I recently met with a Waste Management recruiter who told me that they are struggling to find drivers or drivers' helpers.  I logged onto the company website (www.wm.com/careers) only to find dozens of vacant positions in and around the Pittsburgh region.  I talked with a friend of mine who runs a staffing agency.  They staff positions at a Waste Management recycling facility.  He told me that they have open positions on a daily basis that they cannot fill.  Now granted, these may not be the most glamorous positions within the company, but they are entry level positions into one of America's largest businesses!

When and how did America become a top down nation?  Remember when you had to start at the bottom and work your way to the top?  Jobs that were once classified as 'good jobs' are now looked down upon.  It's almost as if CEO's and top execs are envied to the degree that everybody thinks they should be one regardless of education, job experience, talent and ability.  This line of thinking has left a void in the value of work.