KCSpeaks

Lately everyone in workforce development has collectively lost their minds and decided to jump on the magic fun bus of renaming the duck. Ever since the President of the United States decided to call the now named “One-Stop Career Center” an “American Job Center,” people have abandoned all rational thoughts, stopped in their tracks, and started calling the duck the American Job Center.   Do I have a problem with updating and rebranding? No, but am I sure that we are actually doing ourselves a favor with Duck 2.0? No. The reason is that I think that the change happened overnight. It seems like a new trend. Everyone wants to be part of the American Job Center thing the way that everyone wants the newest “Iproduct.”     What was wrong with the old duck? Was the “One Stop Career Center” broken? I’m not sure. How about taking it and making it better? When boxed macaroni and cheese seems boring, do manufacturers start calling it something else? No, they change...

There are things I write about that in this blog that are clearly business. Then there are the cross-over items to the realm of personal development. This is one of those things. It dives deep into what makes people tick. Not only is it the hardest thing for many people, it is not hard. It is soft and “mushy.”     For many people, the hardest thing is not the mechanics of job search or the task at achieving the goal, it’s actually asking for help! I find this to be true for people I know personally and professionally. There are times in everyone’s life when we need help. Fred was a job seeking customer with an IT background participating in the Workforce Investment Act. Part of his employment strategy was to upgrade his skills to include an in-demand IT certification. Fred was feeling pressured to find work and finish his training. Recently, Fred came to the office distressed. The pressure of being unemployed was taking a toll on him as his unemployment benefits were ex...