As many of you are aware, I spend my Fridays from 1 to 3 p.m. debating the older gentlemen who I share space with on the opinion pages of the Recorder. In our most recent encounter, we got into a discussion about jobs and the economy, particularly unemployment benefits.
U.S. lawmakers were hammering out a budget deal that did not include extending unemployment benefits for those who had already been unemployed for more than 99 weeks. My “Friday Friend” basically called this a travesty. I called it about time.
No offense, but if you’ve gone without a job since February of 2012, it’s probably you. You either don’t have the education, the skill set or, to be frank, you’re just too damn lazy to get off your rear end, stop watching Real Housewives/Preachers of whatever city that has a predominantly Black population to go out and get a job.
I submit to you the jobs are there, albeit not as many as there used to be, but they are there. The problem is the job seekers. I have found the three biggest mistakes to finding work are education, lack in soft skills and just plain old gumption.
Let’s start with education. The facts are pretty simple, the more educated you are, the less likely you are to be unemployed. According to the good folks at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, here are the unemployment rates based on education level.
– Doctoral Degree – 2.5 percent
– Professional Degree – 2.1 percent
– Master’s Degree – 3.5 percent
– Bachelor’s Degree – 4.5 percent
– Associate’s Degree – 6.2 percent
– Some college – 7.7 percent
– High school diploma – 8.3 percent
– Less than a high school diploma – 12.4 percent
So step one, get an education and some skills.
Step two, know how to present yourself for an interview. I talk to a lot of business people who tell me one of the biggest problems they have with potential employees is they are lacking in the “soft skills” like knowing how to interview. Showing up with saggy pants, facial tattoos and speaking English like it’s your second language is probably not going to land you that executive position at Eli Lilly.
It probably wouldn’t hurt you to be able to pass a drug test. And before you go to an interview, how much research about the company did you do?
And then there’s step three. I call it initiative. You can’t teach it. Either you have it or you don’t. If you’re not striving for better, then where you are is where you will stay.
Yes, I know I will get a ton of e-mails from people telling me how they know someone who is told they are overqualified, or they really can’t find a job in their field. I understand that. That is why I used data that show even highly educated folks can find themselves out of work. I have been there. But I wasn’t there long because I had an education, great soft skills and took some initiative instead of 99 weeks of unemployment.
Abdul-Hakim Shabazz is an attorney, political commentator and publisher of IndyPolitics.org. You can email comments to him at abdul@indypolitics.org.
