Who among us has not needed a second chance in life? Have you been extended that grace? In my life I have been given chance after chance and have needed that opportunity to fail and to learn from those failures. When prisoners are released they are told that they cannot carry a fire arm and will not be eligible to vote but most times are not warned of the invisible barriers that exist in finding a job, housing or transportation. For example, you are good enough to buy a car but you cannot sell cars for a career. You must
I was a hardcore rule follower as a child. I didn’t question rules in any form or the adults or organizational or societal factors that put them in place. I was on time, didn’t question when or how things were done in school, on the sports field, in my home, and in my community. I did all the things I was “supposed” to do. In fact, I don’t think I thought much about the why and reason behind much of anything, I just did as I was told. For example, if a school supply list told me I needed 48
“Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At (company), we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You might just be the right candidate for this or other roles.” This was recently included in an actual job posting. I found it posted in an HR group on Facebook and the
I was taught how to recruit, well really screen people for jobs, before I even graduated college. Working for a large insurance company as a summer intern between my junior and senior year, I was given a glimpse into the world of corporate recruiting. It really wasn’t recruiting. Everyone on this corporate “recruiting” team was welcoming to me and they divided the selection process up amongst the “recruiters” to show me how it was done. I was taught that the process of selection, “recruiting” as they called it, was screening people out, not in. Yes, we needed to make a
I could tell before he opened the door to the car that something had gone wrong at school. My ten-year-old gets in the car, sits down, and scowls. I ask him what’s wrong and he doesn’t answer. I ask his sister what is wrong and she says she doesn’t know. I’m afraid to have to tell him that we are now headed to do something that he does not like to do, which is to go to reading lessons. He loves his reading teacher, but he just hates to read. Especially when he is in a bad mood. Sister goes