Posts by lrobbin

By Larry Robbin, Executive Director of Robbin and Associates There are several decisions you need to make as a workforce development professional thinking about your future pathway in the world of work. One factor to consider is what degree of change do you need to make in order to be happier about your career. If…

James was a long term hard-to-employ individual with many barriers to employment. He worked hard in our program and while he had some setbacks, over time he made good progress. We connected him with an employer and everyone celebrated when he got the job offer. However, James did not show up on the first or…

http://www.dol.gov/odep/pdf/20140604BusinessCaseEngagementWhitePaper.pdf

While no method for predicting career success is perfect, this amazing analysis will give you excellent results for forecasting who will succeed in their career. It will surprise you because it looks at things that are not often discussed in our work. The Number One Predictor of Career Success TOP

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/201950

Everyone reading this article has quit a job. But we don’t talk to our job seekers about quitting. Is there one quitting standard that makes it ok for us to quit, but another for our clients that says you must not quit? Do our retention goals create a dual standard or is there something else…

Giving job seekers the list of the most asked interview questions and answers is a recipe for disaster. Employers can tell canned memorized responses and they do not like them anymore than you like a scripted call from a telemarketer. In addition, as someone that has been in over 1000 interviews coaching employers about how…

The Gallup organization has done an outstanding job of measuring and analyzing employee engagement. While this report is about the private sector, there are many valuable lessons to be learned for government and nonprofit organizations. You will be surprised to learn that only 13% of employees are engaged at work! This report is a must…

Stress and burnout are rampant among job seekers, staff and management in these difficult times of protracted job search. Our staff can’t motivate people when they lose their own enthusiasm and job seekers can’t keep facing rejection unless they get their optimism renewed. Rituals of celebration are powerful uplifting practical strategies that put positive energy…

While this article is focused on white collar professionals, I think it also has valuable lessons for other types of job seekers. I would support the information in the article based on my consulting work with companies to improve their hiring processes. I offer training and consulting to help workforce organizations learn the real way…

1. Use mini-groups. You often repeat things to different job seekers in your one-on-one meetings. Saying the same thing to different individuals is a waste of time. Time is also wasted waiting for no shows. Why not schedule two to four people at the same time when you are discussing the same topic? Just pull…

People in workforce development often think of getting grants and donations as the only way to put more money into their budget. I’m going to share with you two ideas that can add income to your program using other strategies. How much does your organization spend on paper, computers, printing, office supplies, repair of equipment…

Wouldn’t it be great if your job seekers could actually see people working in jobs?  It is really true that a picture is worth 1000 words and a video is worth even more.  When your program participants see other people actively working in jobs, it opens up a completely new level of productive conversation.  This…

Workforce personnel stress and burnout is a major barrier to employment.  We can’t serve people well when we are feeling so much pressure.  I have been in this field for over forty-five years and I have never seen so much smoke coming from so many over worked people in our field.  What can we do…

 How the Recession Has Changed the Hiring Decision and What Has to Change in Your Work For information about Larry’s training on this topic contact Robbin and Associates by clicking here. TOP

(Originally published in the NAWDP Advantage) Make More Than One Employment Plan TOP

How Often Do You Get Repeat Business TOP

Imagine a store trying to sell wool underwear and winter coats in the  middle of July at noon in the Mojave dessert. Do you think this is a  ridiculous way to do business? Do you think they need to adjust their  product line to be relevant to their customers? This is an analogy for  workforce…