No One is Unemployable + Three Steps To Overcoming Any Employment Barrier

The idea that “no one is unemployable” is not about describing the reality around you. It is about prescribing the spirit in which you work and cultivating a mindset that maximizes your creativity and willingness as you approach each candidate and each opportunity.

We have all heard that envisioning our success and writing down and speaking out our goals helps make them a reality. In the same way, embracing the idea that “no one is unemployable” is a step toward more success for you and the people you serve. Dare to tell a colleague that you believe “no one is unemployable” and two reasons why, then watch yourself prove it over and over. Write it down and post it in your workspace, then see what it does for you and the people you serve!

When I began my work as a Career Developer, the unemployment rate for residents in my area fluctuated between 17% and 21%. If this were not challenging enough, my job was to help people on welfare with children, living in shelters who had myriad barriers from addiction to mental illness to criminal history, or all of the above. What was I to do? These individuals were going to have a hard time finding work in the best economy, and with that unemployment rate, forget it! 

So, what did I do? I stopped checking the unemployment rate. It did not change the rate (I assume), but it did give me a fighting chance to cultivate a more helpful mindset. One that said: I do not need a thousand jobs today.

Just three opportunities for Sandra, three great ideas for Debra, three promising leads for Tina. It was not my job to monitor and bemoan the unemployment rate, but to help the women standing in front of me.

So, I chose to believe that “no one is unemployable,” despite their circumstance or the current economy.

You may have heard the saying from Henry Ford, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t – you’re right.” Our actions and results are based on our beliefs. If we believe it can be done, we are more likely to do it. If we believe that “no one is unemployable,” our work is more likely to show it. Simple. In fact, I’ve been known to say, “Those who believe it can’t be done really need to get out of the way of those who are doing it.”

Cultivating a New Mindset

When a professional tells me they are working with someone who is unemployable, my first question is always whether the candidate has worked before. Strangely, in all but one case, the answer has been yes. I have actually had workforce development professionals try to convince me they are working with someone who is unemployable, and that person is currently employed!

So, it is not that they are unemployable, just that we are at a loss to help them. I understand, and I suggest that we begin by cultivating a new mindset, fortified with hopeful, innovative, and practical approaches for specific employment challenges. I recommend my books—No One Is Unemployable and “The 6 Reasons You’ll Get the Job—and articles as sources of fresh ideas for serving tough candidates. 

Are you convinced or at least willing to try for the next month to cultivate the mindset that “no one is unemployable”?

Here is another reason to give it a go. Chances are, it is not your job to decide who is and is not employable. I am guessing that no one has asked you to make this determination. The employer decides, and the candidate’s belief about their own employability plays a big role too. Those two perspectives are mightily important, but you are not on the list! Our positive belief in a candidate can do wonders, while our negative belief stunts our own creativity and willingness, and hinders our candidates’ possibilities of success.

Our mindset becomes their barrier. Ouch! And too often, we were wrong anyhow. The ones we thought would land fast do not, and the ones we thought would not get hired, do so. Perhaps it is a good thing our job is not to decide who is and is not employable! I know that I am not very good at it. However, many of us are very good at helping the people we serve to find and/or succeed in work that works for them, no matter where they come from…and that is our job. 

Have I ever met someone who is unemployable? No.

People are created too uniquely and with too much natural talent to believe that, and the workforce requires all types of people. I have, however, worked with candidates so full of fear or so convinced of their own failure that they sabotaged a process which might otherwise work for them. I have worked with people whose lives were in such chaos at the time that they could not begin to focus on, let alone succeed at, work. Some have since succeeded, others have not. Yet. I have worked with people who did not succeed with me, but did with another Career Developer down the hall. 

So, I believe “no one is unemployable.” That’s my mindset and I am sticking to it. I cultivate this mindset as a vital part of my qualification to do this work. It guides my learning, my growth, and every candidate interaction. It allows me to meet each new candidate with hope, innovation, and practicality, and little by little it becomes not just my mindset, but the reality all around me. So, say it with me… 

“No one is unemployable.”

 

#1: Identify the Barrier.

To overcome a barrier, we must accurately identify it. This means thinking like the employer and defining barriers as broadly as they do, because they decide what is a barrier. It also means dealing with fear and issues the candidate believes are a barrier, even if you do not think they will be a problem. In Part 2 below, I will introduce a technique for quickly and accurately thinking like the employer so you can identify barriers (and strengths!).

#2: Get Some Perspective (on the Barrier).

This means understanding the perspectives of the two key parties in this process: the employer and the candidate. Understanding the employer’s perspective about the issue helps ensure that the solutions developed will satisfy them. Understanding the candidate’s perspective allows you to maintain the partnership, persuade when helpful, and collaborate to develop solutions that are true and sustainable by them. This will be covered Part 3 below.

#3: Develop Effective Solutions.

The key here is to develop solutions that are true and sustainable by the candidate and satisfying to the employer. To satisfy the employer, a solution must reduce their concern and allow the candidate to prove they can meet the employer’s needs. In Part 4 below, I will introduce five solutions tools for overcoming any barrier, how to choose and implement them, as well techniques for turning barriers into selling points!

*As always, we recommend passing this expertise (the 3 steps) on to candidates for use in their current and future career development, rather than you doing all the work. This is a better use of your time, creates more volition on their part, and increases their success and career resilience.

For clarity, we think of barriers in two categories: (1) general and (2) specific.

1. General barriers

These give most employers pause when hiring for any position, from janitor to CEO. They include being late, being rude, having been fired or quit, having filed a worker’s compensation claim (especially for neck, back, stress or harassment), having a criminal record, and more.

2. Specific barriers

These barriers pertain directly to the qualifications for the work the candidate is pursuing, such as lacking experience with a specific software program or not having a license/certificate needed to do the job.

From the very beginning and throughout the process with each candidate, we can identify and overcome general barriers. As their career direction becomes clear and they transition into the job search, we can apply this process to specific barriers, unique to the jobs they are pursuing.

Types of Barriers

Another helpful framework to use in getting our minds around the many and various barriers our candidates face is to think in terms of personal barriers, candidate base barriers, and systemic barriers.

Personal Barriers

Some barriers touch on sensitive information, such as domestic violence, sexual preference, body odor, or gender issues. These, along with any others the candidate is sensitive about such as age or criminal history, should be dealt with in a personal, one-on-one manner. Clearly, we must manage our time. However, even if many of our candidates face the same sensitive issue and we have developed partnerships and resources to overcome them (see below), individual solutions to these barriers are often developed and almost always applied one-on-one.

Candidate Base Barriers

When the same barrier is faced by 30% or more of the people we serve, we should consider developing partnerships, solutions and resources that can be easily accessed or applied for many candidates. These issues may include lack of interview clothing, disabilities, criminal history, single parenthood, age, and more. Depending on the sensitivity of the issue, the perspective of our candidates and how we structure our services, solutions for these barriers can be developed and applied in groups (with great advantage to us and candidates), or one-on-one.

Systematic Barriers

These barriers may result in personal barriers for many people we serve, and although we can offer “band-aids”, the real solutions are developed through systemic, community-wide or even legislative change. These issues may include an ineffective public transportation system, lack of shelter beds or drug/rehab programs in your area, a rampant and damaging employer bias in your local job market, lack of jobs, and more. 

To be effective in our work, we and our candidates must proceed in developing personal solutions (Part 4 will give you lots of ideas). Meanwhile, we may also decide to facilitate systemic change. If you think this is too much work or not worth the effort, at least identify someone who is already doing it, or a person who does this naturally, joyfully and well, and support them.

Go for it! Whether your specialty is working with people in a highly individualized way, or your average day makes big changes that affect many, approach overcoming barriers with purpose and creativity! Apply these tips and dig into the three sections below.

What is a "barrier to employment"?

When I began my work in this field, my understanding of barriers, and therefore my definition, was quite limited and included lack of experience, lack of specific education or training, having been fired in the past, and a few others. Within mere days of being on the job, my understanding deepened, and my definition grew to include more and more. A barrier to employment is “anything that may be used to screen a candidate out.” Barriers include no work history, too much work history, being older, and even a successful career with a single company for many years. They include too little, too much, or lack of specific education. 

A barrier to employment is:

• the way we look, 
• where we live, 
• how we talk, 
• caring for family, 
• returning to work after parenting, 
• if we currently have small children or missing teeth, 
• having a DUI, 
• being over-educated or arrogant, 
• having immigrant status, 
• being shy, 
• transitioning out of the military (especially with an other than honorable discharge), 
• and so much more. 

Anything that could result in the candidate not getting the job is a barrier.

Who decides?

Employers decide what is a barrier, and screen people out based on it, whether it is accurate, fair, or even legal! Sometimes they ask questions and allow the candidate to explain, but often not. Employers may screen people out based on assumptions or realities that are illegal or uncomfortable to talk about, often without giving the candidate an opportunity to respond!

Candidates may also decide what is a barrier, and thus screen themselves out, even if the issue is unlikely to be a problem for the employer! I have worked with candidates who were sure their age was a barrier, and though I disagreed, it became an issue. They avoided some opportunities, told on or sabotaged themselves, attributed negative outcomes to their age, and gave up. It became a barrier. I have also worked with older and younger candidates who felt their age was not a barrier. In the end, their clarity, confidence, and willingness to explain (or even bring it up!) made it a non-issue. If a candidate believes something will be a barrier, develop solutions accordingly. We will focus on solutions in Part 4.

Identifying Barriers by Thinking Like the Employer

Unless you have done a lot of hiring, it may be challenging to “think like the employer.” Your focus may lean toward helping people secure, succeed in, and develop satisfying careers. Yet, we know the employer must be also satisfied. Here is a crash course in “thinking like the employer” so you can identify candidate barriers (and strengths!).

Introducing PADMAN!

PADMAN is the superhero who helps us (and our candidates) quickly and accurately think like the employer. His name, silly but memorable, and our “PADMAN Wheel” reminds us of the six most important areas of employer focus, and that it all comes down to the bottom line. 

• Presentation – Will you represent the company image?
• Ability - Can you do the job (or learn it in a reasonable length of time)?
• Dependability - Will you work in the company’s best interests?
• Motivation - Will you help achieve company goals?
• Attitude - Will you fit into the company culture?
• Network - Will you attract the right people?

These six areas work together as a system. Like a tire on a car, a hole in one area causes the whole tire to go flat; it is useless, and it cannot get you where you want to go! In the same way, candidates who get hired have the required strength in each area. A candidate who is all but motivated or has everything but a good presentation is likely to be screened-out. From job title to job title, the amount of weight given to each area varies. We will explore this more as we seek to understand the employer’s perspective of barriers below. 

For now, PADMAN is a simple and effective way to think more like the employer and therefore identify barriers. Think about it! Every reason an employer hires or fires, or promotes or de-motes, comes down to their concerns and needs in these six areas. Every interview question asked is an employer’s attempt to discover if the candidate will cause them concern and/or meet their needs in these areas. So, identifying barriers means thinking like the employer, considering the specific opportunity the candidate is pursuing, and scrutinizing them in each of these six areas. This helps identify strengths too!

To overcome barriers, we must clearly identify them. This means thinking like the employer so we catch everything they may use to screen-out the candidate. Next, we will focus on understanding the employer’s and candidate’s perspectives on a barrier (Step Two), so we can quickly develop solutions that satisfy both parties (Step Three) and create success for all.

 

Once you have identified a barrier, and before you can develop effective solutions, you must get some perspective on it! Whose perspective? That of the two most important parties in this process: the employer and the candidate. Notice we are not on the list! Our professional opinion is only helpful as it echoes the employer or empathizes with the candidate. Too often, we jump from Step One to Step Three. We see a problem and immediately begin developing solutions.

However, without first clarifying the candidate’s perspective, we risk developing solutions they do not own and use, that are not true of them, or that work only as long as we’re in the room. And, if we fail to get the employer’s perspective, we risk developing solutions that work for us and the candidate but do not satisfy the employer. What a misuse of time! So, here we step aside and facilitate the process by which we and the candidate become clear on their and the employer’s perspectives about the barrier.

Clarifying the Candidate's Perspective

In our experience, candidates tend to feel one of four ways about a barrier. They believe it:

• Can be Overcome

  They agree it is a barrier and think it can be overcome.
  
  

• Cannot be Overcome

  They agree it is a barrier but think it cannot be overcome.
  
  

• Is the Employer’s Problem

  Whether they agree or not does not matter, because they believe it is not their problem. 
  
  

• Is Unaware

  They either do not realize the issue exists or do not think it is a barrier to employment.

Do not assume you know the candidate’s perspective! Too often we are wrong because we assume people think like we do. It is a misuse of time. Watch, listen, and ask the candidate what they think about the fact that this issue may keep them from getting the job, negotiating a higher salary, getting promoted, moving into leadership, etc.

In assessing the candidate’s perspective, I like to suggest a range of options to validate whatever theirs is. “What do you think of that? Does it surprise you that it is even an issue, are you irked that the employer would use it, or does it seem reasonable that we will just have to overcome it? Where are you at with this?” We also use our Overcoming Barriers Card Sort Game to identify and overcome barriers, including allowing the candidate to identify their perspective on each barrier they face.

However you do it, get a clear and accurate sense of the candidate’s perspective about the specific issue. This gives you a starting point for clarifying the employer’s perspective (if needed) and developing solutions that will work for the candidate. Here is what to do it the candidate believes the barrier:

• Can Be Overcome 

  Great! Simply clarify the employer’s perspective as needed and proceed with developing solutions.
  
  

• Cannot Be Overcome

  We have never encountered a barrier that could not be overcome to allow the candidate to job search and work anyhow. Chances are there are people in your community with the same issues who are successful today. But, if the candidate feels it, it is real. When a candidate thinks they face a barrier that cannot be overcome, they may become overwhelmed, hopeless, or disengaged. You may see disconnection, sabotage, or depression.
  
  Try introducing them to someone who faces similar barriers (age, gender, work history, ex-offender, etc.) and has reached similar goals (working, running their own business, in leadership, etc.). Once they see that the barrier can be overcome, proceed with developing solutions.

• Is the Employer’s Problem

  
  To a great extent, if the employer thinks it is a barrier, it is a barrier because it can keep the candidate from getting hired (exceptions include if the employer is being discriminatory or behaving illegally).
  
  There are two ways to move a candidate forward if this is their perspective. Educate them on the employer’s perspective so they can decide whether to adjust their own outlook (we use our card sort game and PADMAN so it is not personal). If they adjust, develop solutions accordingly. If after learning the employer’s perspective they are unwilling to adjust, they should identify and pursue employer’s who do not consider the issue a barrier (see Change Where You Look in Part 4 below).

• Is Unaware

  Part of our job is to alert candidates to what may hold them back and help them develop solutions. If they seem unaware, let the candidate know that you stepped into the employer’s shoes and noticed something that may cause problems, and ask permission to share it so you can collaborate and brainstorm to develop solutions. Once they become aware, get their perspective on it (one of the three above) and proceed.

Think Concern and Need

To be hired, a candidate must both reduce the employer’s concerns about them and prove they can meet the employer’s needs. If they reduce the employer’s concerns but cannot meet the needs, they are not a risk, but they are not worth the money. If they can meet the employer’s needs but concerns remain, the employer will likely find someone else. Reduce the concern and meet the need.

Think PADMAN!

PADMAN reminds us of the six most important areas of employer focus (that is, concerns and needs). Any interview question, any reason an employer hires or fires, promotes or demotes, comes down to their concerns and needs in these six key areas:

• Presentation,
• Attitude,
• Dependability,
• Motivation,
• Ability,
• and Network (see Part 2 above).

Think Bottom Line

Employers take everything down to the bottom line, and if the candidate wants to be hired, they should too. Barriers are barriers not merely because the employer does not like people who are late, have criminal history, are highly educated, have been fired, filed a worker’s comp claim on their last job, etc., but because these things may negatively impact the bottom line. They are barriers (i.e., the employer will use them to screen out) because they can cost money! 

Imagine a job seeker who is regularly late and sometimes does not show up. If the employer finds out, they may screen them out, but why? Because the employer is concerned that they will have to pay another worker overtime, divert higher paid staff, or bring in an expensive temp. If they do not spend this extra money, they risk reducing productivity or being unable to satisfy customers.

Imagine a job seeker with extensive education but little practical experience. This is considered a barrier, but why? Because the employer does not know that the person can do the job, may be concerned that they value knowledge over performance, may have to pay more to hire or retain the worker because of their education, and may lose the worker to a better offer and have to rehire. All of this costs money!

Remember that this process is much more about the candidate and the employer than it is about us. We are here to facilitate, educate, and match!

Clarifying the Employer's Perspective

We recommend starting with the candidate’s perspective and sharing the employer’s perspective as needed. Some candidates will be aware of the employer’s perspective, for others it will be new and even shocking.

One of the keys to getting hired, being a great worker, and developing a career is understanding the employer’s perspective. Over the last 20 years, we have not only learned the employer’s perspective, but also figured out how to teach it to candidates. The key is to understand the potentially negative impact of an issue on the employer’s bottom line. Here is how we get there.

WorkNet's Five Solution Tools

Using our five solution tools and teaching your candidate how to use them, allows you to focus and your candidates to cultivate skills vital for success on the job. If it is helpful, use the acronym SOLAR to quickly remember all five.

 

S - Learn a New Skill

In the job search process, little things make a big difference. If a candidate shakes hands poorly, interrupts, asks too many or not enough questions, sits, stands or walks wrong, does not maintain eye contact, arrives late, etc., they may not get the job. Many of these skills can be taught before the candidate interacts with employers. If they learn the skill adequately, employers do not need to know the candidate did not dress for success, ask questions, or send a thank you note before.

Often, we must role model, and actively teach these new skills as quickly as possible. Remember, telling is not teaching. Our teaching process is to tell, show, watch, praise, correct, repeat! If the candidate is still learning a skill needed to do the job, they may verbally acknowledge this to the employer. 

Note: Unless your program/services are designed to teach them, we recommend accessing a resource to teach vocational and bigger skills. Collaborate with another organization and stay focused on your goal.

O - Adjust an Outlook

Sometimes, the problem is not (or not just) the issue, it is the candidate’s outlook about the issue. They are sure their age, work history, lack or plethora of education, ex-offender status, family name, race, gender, or something else is holding them back. There may be truth in this, and the other four solution tools can help, but first the candidate should be challenged to adjust their outlook so they do not sabotage the process.

The key is to help them see the “WIIFM?” (what’s in it for me) to adjust. People adjust their outlook only when they see how it hinders them from getting what they want. Help them see that they can have only the outlook (no one will hire me because, everyone I know who, employers never/always...) or the goal (a job, promotion, leadership opportunities, more money), but not both, then have them decide which is more important. 

If it is more important to keep the outlook, which for many will be safe and familiar (if not growth-promoting), they will not adjust. At this point, I recommend connecting them with the resource of someone who faces similar “barriers” and is reaching similar goals, such as a female felon who owns a successful business or company man whose job was eliminated and forced him to successfully reinvent himself at 50-something. They can say in moments what you cannot in weeks and may get the candidate to adjust. If they remain stuck, you might change where they look to focus on opportunities they think they can get.

L - Change Where You Look for Work

This is a quick way to overcome barriers! Often, we do not think of it, because we are so busy molding the candidate into our own image (or that of an acceptable career professional) that we do not think of it, or it feels like a sell-out. Consider it! The idea is to find employers who will not be put off by the issue, or are even looking for the candidate’s attitude, image, whatever! There is a place in the workforce for everyone, and we get to help them find it!

There are basically three ways to “change” where you look: 

1. Change the skills group used (moving away from or toward certain titles and roles),
2. Change the field they work in (considering work environments, interests, company culture), or 
3. Change another issue for which we use the catch-all phrase values (image, geography, pay, schedule, etc.)

When choosing jobs, there is value staying in a field where the candidate has knowledge and contacts and in maintaining the title and using the skills they already have. So, identify what must change and endeavor to maintain the rest, unless the candidate wants to change them too.

A - Develop a Good Answer

Some barriers must be explained to the employer, especially negative past events or patterns like 

• having been fired, 
• relocating often, 
• decrease in pay, 
• poor reasons for leaving, 
• job/field hopping, 
• lack of education, 
• having filed a worker’s compensation claim, 
• criminal history, 
• chronic illness, 
• and more. 

Often, an interviewer will ask direct questions about these issues, other times the candidate may choose to acknowledge the unspoken issue.

Get the whole story from the candidate, then help them develop an answer in which they: 

1. welcome the question to set a comfortable tone, 
2. take responsibility for the issue without glossing-over it or blaming, 
3. share their moment of clarity which assures the employer that the issue will not recur, 
4. paint a new picture of their life today so the employer’s concerns are fully reduced, and then 
5. transition to what the employer gains by hiring them so they move from negative to neutral to positive ground and end the answer there. 

Steps 1-4 are designed to reduce the employer’s concerns, while 5 allows the candidate to share how they can meet the employer’s needs for the job and end positively. The candidate should maintain a natural and comfortable presentation while sharing the answer. They should avoid giving too little or too much information, and even invite the employer to ask follow-up questions.

R - Access a Resource

This is another quick way to create solutions. In many cases the employer never needs to know that until recently they did not have reliable transportation, a professional wardrobe, an address or phone number to use in the job search, etc.

In other cases, resources require more time and other tools must be used too. Whether the need is for dental work, counseling, tool belts and work boots, mental health care or make-overs, we’ve always believed that “whatever you need, someone’s got!”

Be creative! Partner to access needed resources for free or barter. Then, be sure the candidate actually accesses the resources, makes good use of them, and thanks the source!

With these five solution tools, we develop individualized, effective solutions for thousands of unique candidates so they can avoid getting screened out #10. These tools are memorable, flexible (clearly within each are hundreds of specifics!), and reliable.

The Best Solution Tools

It Must Work for the Employer!

Remember, solutions are only effective if they satisfy the employer and work for the candidate. With any barrier there are several solutions that would satisfy the employer.

For example, if a candidate is competing for a lower paying job than they have recently held, they may:

1. Share a good answer that reduces employer concerns that they will demand more money, want to advance quickly, or will leave as soon as they get a better offer, and proves they can meet the employer's needs,
2. Learn the skill of marketing their qualifications while downplaying their work/salary history so the employer is not distracted by it,
3. Change where they look to pursue growing companies that want people willing to sacrifice to grow the company and increase their compensation as the company succeeds, or
4. Change where they look to focus on companies that would be glad to have their skills at the lower rate for even 3 to 6 months while they continue job searching.

Imagine a candidate whose image does not match that of the industry/companies they are pursuing. They might:

1. Access a resource to update their wardrobe and learn the new skill of presenting a new image,
2. Change where they look to focus on companies with an image similar to theirs, companies they patronize, or companies pursuing new markets and customer bases, or 
3. Change where they look by focusing on jobs that do not require much customer contact in companies whose image they do not fit, then develop a good answer about why they would be great for the job and will make the company more than they cost, despite the image disconnect. This is riskier, but still an option.

The point is, there is always more than one way to overcome a barrier, and more than one way to satisfy the employer. So, what is the best solution tool to use? Those that make most sense for the candidate as long as it will also satisfy the employer.

It Depends on the Candidate!

For anyone whose goal is not mere job placement, but retention, excellence, advancement, and satisfaction, the best solutions are those that produce long-term results. Effective solutions must be true. They must clearly and honestly represent what the candidate offers today. And, they must be sustainable by the candidate. Those that only work in a mock interview with us, or that the candidate can only ‘pull off’ for the first few weeks on the job are not the long-term solutions we should promote. Candidates must own the solutions and present them as a natural part of who they are today.

So, our candidate who is competing for a lower-paying job than they have recently held has several options (see above), but the best choice is one that works for them. If they have recently picked up a felony, cannot return to their old field and must take whatever they can get, they will need to change where they look, learn to market themselves without getting off the subject, and develop a good answer. 

If they are merely tired of the corporate world and looking to do something more creative and entrepreneurial, they may change where they look to focus on small, growing companies, and develop a good answer to explain that their priority is opportunity and creativity, not immediate income. Understanding what is true of them today will help choose the best tools and develop the most effective solutions.

The candidate with the image disconnect also has several choices. If their image is a non-negotiable expression of who they are, they may simply change where they look to focus on companies they already match. If they decide they want a "real job" or discover they can make the money they want in a more traditional company, they may adjust their outlook, access the resource of a professional wardrobe and learn the skill of dressing for success in the business world. Either will work for the employer, so the choice is theirs.

 

Change the Job Target, Not the Candidate!

Changing where you look is a quick and easy way to overcome barriers. For many potential barriers, we can identify a job title, an industry, a company, or a hiring manager for which the issue is not a barrier by creatively avoiding some opportunities and/or actively focusing on others. For example:

• Criminal History - Avoid fields and positions the candidate is legally banned from working in, opportunities that would put them in compromising situations, and companies with policies against hiring people with criminal history. Focus on industries and companies proven to consider ex-offenders #11 (e.g., construction, the trades, corrective services, etc.). Within these fields are opportunities to use a wide variety of skills.
• Job Hopper - You may focus on fields and positions that experience high turn-over and consider 3 to 12 months a reasonable stay. There may be good reasons for the turn-over and it may not be a great job, but it is a place to start.

Try A Combo!

Often combining 2 or 3 of the tools works best or is even necessary. For example: 

• Teaching a candidate the skill of highlighting strengths and minimizing barriers generally requires developing good answers to explain barrier issues when they arise.
• If a candidate has no transportation and accesses the resource of a bus pass, they must also change where they look to focus on companies located near the bus line, and they may want to develop a good answer to reduce employer concerns about them riding the bus. If they have only recently become careless, they may need to adjust their outlook about having to take the bus to work (this ensures the good answer works) and learn to use the system.

Adjusting Outlooks is Often Foundational

How many times have we arranged an appointment or scheduled an interview, and the candidate did not even show up?! Have you ever offered a resource or developed a good answer that they never used?! We like to point fingers at the candidate, but this often happens when we fail to see their perspective.

We arranged for them to access interview clothing, but they do not believe anyone will hire them because of their age, current legal battle with a past employer, visible disability, etc. We developed a good answer to satisfy the employer, but did not account for their fear or doubt, so they sabotaged!

Recognizing where the candidate's outlook is causing problems and encouraging a process by which they adjust it is often the piece that makes the other tools work. Missing it can result in frustration, disconnect in the partnership, and wasted time. If you find that the solutions you develop are going unused, revisit their outlook and start fresh.

Watch Your Default!

We, the workforce and career development professionals, are not the most important people in this process, but we have a job to do. Watch yourself. Chances are you have favorite ways of overcoming candidate barriers, but the best solutions are not those quickest or most convenient for us to develop, but those that work for the candidate and employer.

You may be prone to challenging candidate outlooks (maybe even to think, dress, or behave more like you!), when it is more appropriate to change where they look so they "fit" (perhaps into an environment you wouldn't choose). I know "resource junkies" who have a phone number for every problem and think giving it to the candidate solves the problem. Sometimes a resource is a great way to overcome a barrier, and other times it is simply what's easiest for us. Watch which tools you use by default and be willing to diversify to choose the best tools for each situation.

Good Answers are Great!

Honestly, if I had to choose between only developing a resume with my candidates and only developing good answers, I would choose the good answers. Mostly because it is not possible to get a job with paper (resume, app, references). Paper helps, but no employer reads a resume and calls the person with a job offer. The best thing the candidate can hope for is a phone call or interview.

I would rather help my candidates (who tend not to look great on paper, by the way) prepare good answers, then interact with employers over the phone or in person before they are seen on paper. Good answers get the job. Good answers allow the candidate to be a real person, reduce the concern and prove they can meet the needs. I use all five solution tools, but this may be my favorite (perhaps I need to diversify!). Good answers are a big leap forward in the job search for many of my candidates, and I highly recommend them.

It's Not Just for Candidates!

A final thought on this reliable, versatile toolbox. It's not just for job seekers. We use them in solving all sorts of barriers, from marketing and business development, staffing issues and even personal, relational, and parenting dilemmas. I hope they serve you well. Let me know how you use them, what is working and what is not!

Remember, a barrier to employment is “anything the candidate or employer is willing to use to screen-out the candidate.” If it is a problem, develop a solution. It increases candidate motivation, confidence, and long-term success, and decreases frustration and job search time. A worthy investment!