Past Five

What about the Oil Worker?

President Obama's State of the Union speech emphasized the need for creating renewable energy jobs in the near future. While I understand more sustainable energy sources will create jobs and new economic opportunities, what will happen to the non-renewable energy workforce?

With the administration focusing their resources and time on renewable energy instead of traditional energy sources, they are driving up costs and driving out jobs in the oil and coal industry. Many of the skills needed in the traditional energy industry are not transferable to green jobs, thus the coal miner who gets laid off cannot directly jump into one of the many of new jobs the President hopes to create in the solar and wind industries.

These sustainable programs and jobs are extremely costly and will not help the short-term economic problem; instead they will lead to longer term unemployment for the coal and oil worker, people who have fueled America’s growth over the past century.

After the introduction of electricity, the number of house staff fell 25%, replaced, in large part, by appliances. Likewise with the introduction of online shopping, retail employment has dropped dramatically. This is what will happen to the five million workers in the non-renewable energy industry unless the government sponsors a vocational education plan, for example. With this plan, these employees can be trained and taught new skill sets instead of being left in the unemployment line. 

Ultimately we want to see a job increase as soon as possible, but when push comes to shove, will this investment in sustainable energy lead another electricity-layoff disaster?

New Year, New Programs

I agree with Rich Karlgaard’s article America’s 12-Step Program in the latest edition of Forbes Magazine. In this article, Karlgaard acknowledges that the American economy is capable of growing, but in order to do so new policies must be initiated.

Karlgaard outlines a list of 12 growth programs that would boost the economy, ranging from freezing the federal budget at 2008 levels to ending Sarbanes-Oxley and ObamaCare. As a small business owner, I place the highest value on his fifth and eighth bullet points: banning public employee unions and making it easier to start a business.

As Karlgaard states, “[Public employee unions] have driven our states and municipalities to the edge of bankruptcy and have damaged public school performance and student prospects in a time of heated global competition for smart industries and educated workers.” Additionally, these huge unions have continually growing pension problems which threaten the national, state, and local economies, thus forcing governments to use their limited resources on unnecessary pension costs.

Secondly, Karlgaard notes the difficulties in starting a business. In America, we have countless steps, procedures, and regulations that the budding entrepreneur must follow in order to successfully start their business. These unnecessary obstacles lead to deterrence, and that should not be the case. As Karlgaard notes, if we follow the Singapore example where a one-stop website covers all tax, regulatory, and business license issues then that would pave the way for an increase in entrepreneurship and job growth.

Ultimately, the economy isn’t going to get back on track unless President Obama and his administration face the realities of 2011 and begin to implement new programs like these.

The New Job Seeker Sentiment

Are things finally looking up for the national and local economy? Yes. Not only are jobs to pick up in 2011, but local job seeker sentiments are on the rise as well.

While national unemployment claims have remained relatively stagnant with minimal decrease within the past year, the predictions and hopeful economic outlook has directly affected job seekers’ attitudes.

Within the past six months, there has been a dramatic and noticeable shift in the attitudes of recent graduates and experienced professionals. May 2010 graduates and December 2009 graduates were openly pessimistic and cynical about their job search. Equally, experienced professionals were disdainful with a visible lack of hope.

But as analysts predict the market to grow as consumers spend more and businesses begin to hire, job-seekers levels of optimism is growing as well.

Recent December 2010 graduates have been nothing less than optimistic about their future, striving for a job in their chosen career, as opposed to 2009 graduates who accepted any available offer. LaSalle Network has even seen May 2010 grads already looking to switch jobs, thus increasingly more hopeful than six months ago. And many of these May 2010 graduates obtained jobs in their field of choice, predominantly sales, retail, and marketing, yet are looking for a “better” job in the same industry. This was non-existent 12 months ago.

This trend has been consistent among experienced job-seekers as well. Within the past six months, recruiters have seen this candidate pool become increasingly particular about their next career move compared to six months ago. I’ve seen these job seekers even turn down three to four offers, waiting for the best offer to come their way.

With job seeker sentiment at a new high, 2011 may shift from an employer’s world to that of the employee.   

The Importance of Pride

“If a man is called a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and Earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well,” Martin Luther King Jr.

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, I thought it would be appropriate to dedicate this blog post to King’s values of hard work, determination, and pride.

Though King’s quotes were recited almost five decades ago, they still hold true today. Regardless of your job or industry, every employee should always be working to their fullest potential.

Every job whether entry-level or management, temporary or permanent, non-profit or corporate is important and affects other people regardless if you are saving a life, writing a financial report, or making the streets cleaner. And yet, while there are hardships and stress in every job, success and achievement, as exemplified by King, will only come from overcoming obstacles. After all, success is never handed to you, it is created by you.

In 2011, every employee whether working as a technician, a secretary, a accountant, a doctor, or a streetsweeper should make it a resolution to A) Go above and beyond their job duties of work and B) Take pride in every task, both large and small. Even if a raise or a promotion is not in close sight, your efforts will be noticed and undoubtedly be acknowledged in some way. And once you realize your importance, pride will come naturally.