It is so important to have a laugh at
ourselves every once in a while. To lighten up and not take ourselves so
seriously. In the spirit of having a little fun, this week’s post is a fairy
tale.
Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away, lived a grossly underemployed Princess named Ella. Princess Ella worked in a big castle as a Housekeeper for only minimum wage. Her hours were long, hard, and did not leave her much room to further her education or participate in professional development activities. The job did not even pay enough money to maintain self-sufficiency and she received food assistance from the kingdom’s assistance office.
On top of Ella’s frustration at the lack of opportunity her castle had, Ella’s boss was an evil queen named Elvira. The evil queen often yelled orders at Ella and did not show respect for her. Elvira was known for her notorious management style that did not use leadership principles to inspire and form a team environment amongst Ella and the other house keepers.
Many days Ella found herself sweeping
the floors and day dreaming about a new career at the same time. “Someday my career will come…” Ella would
say to herself.
One day Ella came to work and all the
housekeeping staff was scurrying around like mice because their boss Elvira was
in the building. Elvira decided to have an impromptu meeting with all the
housekeepers. The meeting had an announcement.
“Due
to the new technology in the kingdom, we will no longer need as many
housekeeping staff to clean the castle.
We are letting some of you go,” barked Elvira.
Ella was shocked. She could not hide the
look on her face. “Don’t be so surprised
Ella” yelled Elvira. “You are the
first to go! Take your pink slip and get out!”
Ella left the castle unemployed and
unsure of what to do next. She filed for her unemployment, but did not want to
collect. Ella was seeking to work. At the same time, she did not want to be a
Housekeeper anymore. Ella wanted a new career.
After wandering the streets for a while,
she ended up and the Kingdom-Come Job Center. She walked in the door and the receptionist,
a large green caterpillar, asked her “Who-o-o-o
are you here to see?”
“I
don’t know.” Said Ella. “I lost my job at the castle where I worked as a
Housekeeper, but I don’t want to do that kind of work anymore.”
“Hmmm.”
Said the Caterpillar mysteriously before he vanished!
A moment later, out of the door comes a
friendly workforce development professional bear named Paul Bear. He as a
Career Counselor. He introduced Ella to the different free service activities
she could engage in to look for work. Ella got to work using the Career Center.
She used the computers and tried out some workshops. Ella quickly learned she
was not alone in her experience. She met many people. Some were Happy, others
Bashful. Dwarves, Giants, Princesses, and Witches all had problems just like
Ella. After trying out the services for a few days, Ella asked, “This is TOO HARD! Can someone help me?”
Paul Bear referred her to a program to
help displaced Princesses. The next day, Ella met another workforce development
professional named Mary Bear. Mary Bear talked
with Ella about her past employment and skills. She helped Ella start to
visualize a new career and future. Mary Bear gave Ella some assessments to
determine her interests, aptitudes, and personality type. Next Mary Bear pulled
out some job descriptions from O*Net and employment position announcements from
the internet and showed them to Ella.
“You
see Ella, many of the qualities employers are seeking, you already have. These
are your transferrable skills or soft skills.” Stated Mary Bear.
“But they are TOO SOFT. Employers want real skills, like computer skills. If I can’t do the job, it won’t matter if I am detail- oriented and able to communicate.” Ella lamented.
Hearing her concern, Mary Bear referred
her to a local training provider. Ella
was able to get the class 100% funded through the Dislocated Princess Program.
Ella learned how to use the computer and she also received skills to work in
the high demand field of Magic Care. Within six weeks, Ella was certified in
all Magicsoft programs for the computer, Wand Care, and she also became a
Registered Magician. Not only did Ella gain in-demand skills, but she was able
to network with so many new people. There was a man named Jack who lost his job
climbing beanstalks and an older worker with so many children she didn’t know
what to do. Ella learned the value
government funded services could offer the citizens of the kingdom and was
eager her positive experience with others.
When training concluded, Ella came back to Mary Bear excited. Ella was ready to start her new career. Mary Bear referred her to the Employment Department for immediate referral to a “just right” career. Ella met with the young and excited Employment Placement Specialist named Bobby Bear.
“Don’t worry Ella.” Bobby said. “We’re going to make a first class princess out of you!” As he smiled his extremely white teeth twinkled as he smiled.
Bobby Bear had a connection at Charming
Corporation. He knew that she would be a perfect fit for this company, but she
had to pass their difficult application process. Bobby Bear helped Ella target
her résumé and coached her on interviewing. Sure enough, the CEO of Charming
Corporation, Prince Charming wanted to interview Ella. He could tell by her résumé
that she had the "just-right" skills to work as a Magic Representative.
The next day Ella went for her interview. Prince Charming asked her many behavioral interview questions. Ella gave STAR answers. All seemed to be going well.
Ella held out her foot and Prince
Charming slipped it on. It was perfect match. Ella started work the very next
day, happy that she was not only employed, but has started on a career path,
happily ever after.
Questions, comments, ideas for better workforce development fairy tales? Feel free to post below or send me an email at kcirincione@gmail.com. Until then, happy reading. ~Karen Cirincione
I think you really undersell the value of "soft" skills as, in my experience, they ARE the skills employers want...read Anthony Carnevale...
ReplyDeleteSo true Chris. It doesn't matter what your trade or occupation. Employers want the full package including hard and soft skills. Workforce Development professionals understand, but many times job seekers do not understand this. Thank you for reading and commenting.
ReplyDeleteI agree that soft skills are essential and more-difficult to teach a new employee than technical skills, but the technical skills are easier to quickly document on a resume and could often be what gets the interview. That discussion and the follow-up with references are good ways to show your soft skills, but you need the interview first.
ReplyDeleteShelly, I agree, Job seekers focus on the technical skills on the resume to get the interview, but to keep a job they need to have soft skills. The magic happens when people have a just right combination of hard and soft. When employers say that they are not finding what they are looking for in a candidate, even if they have resumes of many qualified people is that just right sweet spot where the hard and soft come together.
ReplyDeleteGreat "fairytale!" It's extremely important for job seekers, especially college students preparing for the workforce, to understand that it takes a combination of both hard and soft skills to be a competitive applicant and successful employee.
ReplyDeleteExactly, Sondra. Sometimes the education of the job seeker to understand this is the hardest job of all. I think hard skills get the job, but soft skills keep the job!
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