Labor Day isn’t a Fun Day Off for Everyone

The Labor Day holiday might offer a pleasant day of relaxation for many Americans, but many others would love to have a job to take a break from! Domestic job disaster continues for veterans: 20.5% of returning vets are out of work. Real numbers include those who have just stopped looking.

In fact, there are tens of thousands of vets who have done multiple deployments and now fight the urge every day to go back overseas because they can’t find meaningful work at home. And for women veterans who are stuck in the middle, 26,000 of them are reporting military sexual assaults, and the numbers of homeless women vets are increasing.

 Addressing the Problem

What can be done? Edge4Vets (developed at the Fordham University Human Resiliency Institute) brings together CEOs and CFOs to mentor young men and women who return from war with no sense of what they’ll do for work in an extremely competitive job market.

Sander Flaum, a veteran himself, whose consulting company Flaum Navigators works with large companies to motivate sales and growth as he himself is a well-known speaker on leadership and management and author of two books on leadership, as well as a mentor for NYC Venture Forum that mentors young entrepreneurs. is passionate about the Edge4Vets program.  He says that the VA can only do so much.

“We sit down with young veterans and teach them to interview and show them how to put together resumes. Sometimes we find we have to teach the etiquette of eating in a board room rather than a mess hall – how to dress for an interview and more. We show them that their military training to pay close attention to detail, perform in high pressure environments is a positive way to brand themselves and boost their confidence,” he says.

 Role-Playing a Job Interview

The goal of mentoring tactics is to use military training attention to capitalize on the strengths the soldiers have gained. Sander describes the way he might role play preparation of a job interview: “Tell me what the mission is – tell me how much time is needed to complete the mission – tell me how to do the mission – and I‘ll get it done. We teach the veterans to use that method to brand themselves to say with confidence, ‘Ma’am/Sir if I can’t get it done in 8 weeks you won’t have to fire me but I’ll resign.”

 Sander’s new book, The Best Thing that Ever Happened to You, specifically deals with the opportunities of mid-career change and rebranding oneself to find a new and better career. Visit: http://www.flaumleadership.com/dev/buy-the-books

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Important News for Supported Employment Professionals!

Tags

customized employment, disability, self-employment, Ticket to Work, webinar

The Ticket to Work program will host a self-employment webinar on August 28, 3:00-4:30 PM EDT

Presented by the Social Security Administration’s team of disability benefits experts, this informative session is ideal for people age 18 through 64 who receive disability benefits and are interested in employment. The webinar provides an overview of the Ticket to Work program and will discuss various tools for achieving financial independence through self-employment. Immediately following this webinar, SSA will host a Facebook question-and-answer session.

Register for the online webinar at: https://chooseworkttw.net/wise/jsp/wise.jsp

The LEAD Center will present a webinar on customized employment and self-employment on August 28, 3:00-4:30 PM EDT

The webinar will focus on reasons and strategies for aligning resources across systems to support the implementation of Discovery, Customized Employment, and Self-Employment. Participants will learn how state agencies can adopt policies and service delivery strategies that support these innovations, as well as how a cross-agency approach to blending and braiding available funds can enhance services for the individual job seeker and enhance return on investment for all agencies.

To register, go to www.leadcenter.org   and click on the link: “Advancing the Use of CE.”

USBLN® 16th Annual Conference & Expo set for September 30-October 3

The USBLN® is the only business-to-business national membership organization, with local affiliates, that focuses on sharing and developing proven strategies for including people with disabilities in the workplace, supply chain, and marketplace. The event will feature over 35 cutting-edge educational sessions, and representatives from corporate America, Business Leadership Networks, disability-owned business enterprises, and non-profit, state, and federal agencies.

Register at:  www.usblnannualconference.org

Source: U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy. http://www.dol.gov/odep

 

 

Enter ‘My American Dream’ Contest!

The National Disability Institute has announced its third-annual My American Dream – Voices of Americans with Disabilities video contest.

The challenge is to create a three minute video that shows the steps the contestant is taking towards their American dream. The grand prize includes $1,000, a digital tablet, and access to a mentor to help fulfill the dream. The deadline for entries is September 10, 2013.

Find out more at http://dream.realeconomicimpact.org.

Building Better Business Relationships

By Van Moody

 Although relationships are a fundamental aspect of the business world, our dealings with co-workers and superiors, as well as clients and customers, are often riddled with strife. Difficult workplace relationships can cause anxiety, burnout, depression and even physical illness.

While it’s easy to blame the other person in a distressed relationship, it’s far more effective to build a mindset that helps us to better understand and control our professional relationships. The following are some suggestions:

* Don’t hide: While secret identities might be fun in the movies, a person who harbors secrets, and hides their fears, and beliefs from others will never be able to enjoy an authentic relationship. Being real and authentic with others and even making yourself vulnerable from time to time can foster tremendous emotional connections, including all-important trust, and forge unbreakable bonds.

* Don’t tweak the truth. Even slightly altering the truth is one of the most destructive forces that can permanently damage a personal or professional relationship. Keep your work relationships transparent and honest to build trust with your superiors, colleagues, and customers.

* Don’t repeat the past. The past should not define a person, and there is no reason to keep looking back. While previous events and actions might be a life lesson, the nature of every journey is to move forward. Don’t repeat actions that did not produce the intended results; instead, focus on new choices that will produce more desirable outcomes.

* Don’t be a “taker.” All relationships involve give and take, so it is important to recognize when each relationship could use more of a giving spirit. When we think about what we can do for others instead of what they can do for us, we get to the heart of successful interactions.

* Don’t forget who and what really matters. The most valuable people aren’t always the most visible. All too often, those taken for granted are lifesavers that silently help us achieve goals, provide encouragement, or offer important insights.

Van Moody is the author of “The People Factor” (an upcoming release by publisher Thomas Nelson) and a motivational speaker. He may be reached online at www.vanmoody.com         This article will appear in the “LIfestyle Tips” insert in the October Employee Assistance Report. For more information, check out the “Employee Assistance Professionals” tab at www.impact-publications.com