Are You Job-Ready? – Part 3
November 29, 2016 You must get along with people Some professions are typically characterized as a “people business.” Certainly anyone who sells for a living falls into that category. Public relations, politics and other fields also require advanced social skills on the part of their practitioners. Yet to my way of thinking virtually every way […]
Are You Job-Ready? – Part 2
November 15, 2016 Great work requires focus and concentration Are you really ready to hold down a responsible job? You need more than technical ability. The ultimate sign of readiness is productivity coupled with excellence. Can you produce value commensurate with the pay you receive? If not, nobody will want to hire you. In any […]
Are You Job-Ready? – Part 1
Time is of the essence. Your success in a trade career depends on several elements. One is mechanical aptitude, coupled with relevant technical education and/or experience. You must be trained or trainable, and able to do the work. In the next several articles I will address another element, which I’ll call “job readiness.” Many of […]
Attitude Vs. Skills
February 19, 2016 Employers can train for skills Getting a job in a skilled trade doesn’t necessarily require a lot of experience. Many trade employers are willing to train people who have a high mechanical IQ but not necessarily proven skills or experience with trade work. In particular, residential service firms tend to be on […]
A Front Door Into The Trades
November 20, 2015 Just knock for a rewarding career. In my last blog I discussed apprenticeship programs and vocational/technical schools as paths into the skilled trades. A third path exists that may be the most accessible of all for talented and ambitious people. Do a little research and identify successful companies in your preferred trade. […]
How Do You Enter a Trade?
November 10, 2015 Apprenticeship has changed from the old days. Following in your father’s footsteps has a long tradition in the skilled trades. Many if not most of today’s trade workers entered the field because that’s what their father or some other family member did for a living. Often Dad owned the business and it […]
Character Counts in the Trades
April 22, 2015 Youthful mistakes can haunt you for life. Many prisons have programs designed to teach inmates a trade that will translate to an honest living when they get released. This is an admirable effort at rehabilitation, but not a place I would recommend for any kind of job training. A prison record is […]
Character Counts For Trade Workers
Service work especially demands a clean background. Life is tough for people who end up in prison. It can be even tougher when they get out and have to fend for themselves when it comes to providing their own food and shelter. Job opportunities are very limited for those with a criminal record. The […]
You can tattoo yourself out of a job
Every generation freaks out its parents! Back in the Roaring Twenties most older folks couldn’t understand their children’s fascination with a new style of music known as jazz – “the devil’s music,” as it was widely called. Those children grew up to be just as shocked when an even more raucous beat came about […]
Trade workers must be drug free
Legal or not, you’ll have to choose between a career and getting high. We live in a society in which use of marijuana and other illegal drugs is widespread. One recent survey showed that about one out of 11 Americans uses illicit drugs regularly. Another says that 38% have tried marijuana at some point. […]