THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012

MIDDLETON TIMES-TRIBUNE

PAGE 9

Middleton Times-Tribune
by John Stampen

Opinion
ademics, religion, etc. are examples of other interests we bring to our children to see whether they will take them up and make them their own. Interestingly enough I have heard stories of more than a few top athletes who purposely did not encourage their children to follow in their footsteps. Some may have been wary of the pressure put on their kids to live up to what they accomplished, while others werent sure whether the sacrifices required to be successful in their chosen area were worth it. A few years ago I had the opportunity to hear Bjrn Dahle, a legendary world and Olympic champion skier from Norway, speak while at the Birkebeiner ski race in Hayward, WI. Dahle pretty much said that he had to sacrifice a great deal to get to where he was and implied it was perhaps too much and that he didnt necessarily want the same life for his children. He wanted business fail and that is why they are looking for full-time work? the real stigma. Decide whether a consulting/freelance job is what you want. The freedom, ability to make your own decisions, as well as unlimited income, cant be beat. The best time to start a business is in a bad economy. Start at the bottom of the curve; it can only go up from there. Cathleen is then asked by the self-employed for tips on how to find new clients, and she gladly obliges. Scott realizes were having this very open and frank discussion about hiring practices and discrimination against the unemployedon a jobs board, of all places! How odd and bold. We muse about what HR folk would make of it. Many comment that this long-term unemployment thread on LinkedIn is the longest anyone has experienced. Some suggest we change formats to spread the word further. Which is what I am doing with this 4part op-ed column! To get help for ourselves and to get our message across to more people, Scott refers our discussion group other online boards of HR people and to the Workforce Investment Board (WIB), a private-sector advisory and advocacy group whose state education policies and economic development system help small businesses. This just in from an HR Director: Being unemployed definitely has a stigma attached to it, but we need to look at people individually and encourage our managers to do the same. As also stated above, just because someone is employed doesnt necesthem to choose and follow their own interests. In the end I dont think it really matters what path our children choose as long as they find one or more that they enjoy and which challenges them to grow and learn. Our two sons tried on many hats, helmets, and uniforms to varied results before landing on areas where they continue to thrive and grow. What I enjoy is that the places they have landed arent that familiar to me so I have been able to experience/explore these facets of our community as they have dived deeper into them. For example my youngest son just participated in his first play at MHS with the Middleton Drama Club. What I found out? There are many truly talented and entertaining kids in our midst, and more importantly these kids are pretty amazing in the way they support and encourage each other both on sarily mean they are a good employee. And from a talent management consultant: Hiring decisions are made with surprisingly sparse objective criteria. What gets missed in most hiring processes are tools that assess individual values and cultural fit with the organizationfactors far more important than long-term unemployment in a horrific recession. My organization utilizes those tools along with the standard considerations for skill set and employment history to develop a custom behavioral interview and eval-

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and off the stage. I feel very fortunate that my son has fallen in with such a good group of kids and teachers, which they have both also encountered in the exceptional music programs at the high school. We know several other students who have had very enriching experiences in various clubs (yearbook, art, foreign language, Model UN), and teams (debate, sports, and academic) to name a few of the many opportunities available to students in our district. The long-winded point I am trying to make is that there are many different paths our kids can follow. The familiar ones are comfortable to us but might not be to them, and the unfamiliar ones can be quite interesting and exciting for all. It really gives me hope for the future to see what these kids can do when they come to a fork in the road and, as Yogi Berra advises, take it.

A fork in the road

When you come to a fork in the road, take it! Yogi Berra Being a parent and watching your children grow, change, struggle and/or thrive can be quite interesting. Every so often you recognize parts of yourself reflected through their lives. When they show some of your better traits or abilities you are pleased and filled with

pride. However just as likely to appear are parts of your persona that you would just as soon skip a generation or two or ten. Making things more intriguing yet is the fact that each child is also his/her own person with unique talents, challenges and aspirations. When our kids are young we tend to start them out on familiar paths. If we enjoyed particular sports we will likely introduce them to those as soon as or even slightly before they are ready. If music or art is in our background chances are they will be exposed to that initially as well. Reading, dancing, camping, scouting, cooking, skiing, ac-

uation score sheet for each individual that dramatically increases access to objective factors for the decision. Wow, some folks in HR are listening, after all. Perhaps other hiring managers or employment agencies are listening in to this highly charged and nuanced discussion. Collectively, we hope some will drop their assumptions, break the mold and hire one of us Untouchables, then report on their hiring success here or elsewhere.

by Dietrich Gruen

Beyond fixing the broken HR system, we focus on ourselves

In this 4-part series, I excerpt an online conversation between 134 job seekers I met on LinkedIn. Several lament the typical HR process that keeps passing over someone with great experience, voluminous references and demonstrated passion. The search for solutions to the stigma takes a positive constructive turn this week, in Part 3. Scott cheers us on: We can fill that talent gap that employers are complaining about. We are capable, experienced, educated, dynamic, resilient, decisive, determined, and have innovative ideas that are not only based on our employment experiences, but also on our unemployment experiences. Back to Sarah, who started this whole online discussion three months ago: The hiring process has lost the human touch and sensibilities that could improve hiring for all parties involved. Yet it is not fair to demonize them. Myriad issues are at play in this economy and job market. We need a shift in the view of the unemployed/self-employed by the companies themselves, managers, leadership, our peers, elected officials, workforce non-profits and others. Let us set the record straight about the risk & reward of hiring from this segment.

Andrew: In the nonprofit sector, why is it that volunteers seem less likely to get hired than those with paid experience, even when more qualified for the position? Do HR professionals really understand how the nonprofit sector works? Volunteers in most organizations (especially small ones) do the exact same work as paid staff and are simply not receiving payment. I have been unemployed/self-employed for five years. In that time I founded a nonprofit and volunteered for several others. Yet Im told that I lack the experience necessary, when Im actually overqualified. Joni: For those whove owned your own business, seek after teaching jobs, especially for continuing or adult education. The best teachers are those who can offer both theoretical and practical learning. Amy: Teaching is great, but many return to school, institutions are full, Masters degrees abound [note Steve from last week]. That said, if government services reduce [under a new President], is there an opportunity for us to step into the service vacuum? I wonder who would start a business? What would we do? Could those regionally nearby come together, brainstorm a business, use a crowd funding website, and launch viable businesses together? Whats inspiring is that were not letting a stigma define us. Jokesters quip about inventing the Chia Pet, Snuggly, other out-of-thebox ideas for the next big thing. Cathleen: If you go off on your own, better make it work because everyone will think, Did their own

Green X marks trees for removal

As part of the City of Middletons plan for management of the pending Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) invasion, city forester Mark Wegner is preparing for more Ash tree removals this winter. Trees marked with bright green paint are slated for removal. The citys plan is to make these removals sporadic throughout town so that the visual impact is minimized. Next year, the City will plant new and a more diverse tree selection near to where the Ash trees are removed.

BIRTHDAY
Veronica Harrop
Veronica Harrop turned 95 on December 5 and is still very spry! Veronica is hard to beat at canasta - children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren all keep trying to win. Shes a pro at euchre too.

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