Welcome to the Prepare To Flourish blog and podcast series
Hello and welcome to the first blog post in the Prepare To Flourish blog and podcast series. This blog and podcast series is designed to help you find not just a job but the right job that suits your needs.
Why we created this series.
It was born out of a commitment to help primary caregivers, who had lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, to return to the workplace. Whilst that commitment remains, we realize that the pandemic has impacted so many people in different situations. So, we hope you can take some benefit from it, no matter what your situation.
There have been hundreds of news reports about how Covid-19 has impacted the workforce, and you may have come across the term “shecession” in the headlines recently. The “shecession” (coined by Dr. C. Nicole Mason -President and Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR)) describes this pandemic as a perfect storm for women and mothers.
In fact, The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that by the close of 2020, there were 5.3 million less women in work. According to Dr. Mason, “Sharp racial disparities persist among women’s unemployment, with rates 67 percent higher for Black women and 73 percent higher for Hispanic women than for white women”. The reasons for these job losses have been widely speculated on. The industries hardest hit by the pandemic are retail and hospitality, predominantly female occupied. With school closures, lack of flexible working, and lack of childcare, many families are left with the difficult decision of one parent leaving their job to homeschool. Since women in the U.S. make 18% less than their male counterparts, according to business.org, so the role logically falls to them.
How we created this series.
Motivated by how the pandemic disproportionately impacted women, we set about finding out how this had touched our local community. Whilst recognizing that the solutions to this include a systematic change in our policies, ways of working, and social norms, we asked ourselves, what can we do to help? What skills do we have to offer?
First, we needed to find out what local jobseekers are experiencing and what support they would find beneficial. We designed surveys and polls to ask these pertinent questions. They told us that the top issue they are having right now is their ability to find the right roles for them. For the majority, employers are not replying to their applications. For others, they don’t get past the interview stage. All of this has resulted in a lack of enthusiasm for looking for a job.
When we asked what type of support they would find beneficial, the survey responses were: interviewing skills, building self-awareness, and confidence-building. However, they also highlighted they do not have the available funds to attend a coaching program to support their job search. So that’s when we decided to do this free blog and podcast series.
What you'll get from this series.
So if the pandemic has impacted your return to the workplace, or you’re simply looking for help to get a new job, you’ve come to the right place! Along the way, we’ll be inviting industry experts to speak to us and share their keys to success in our accompanying podcast.
This series will give you the tools to;
Create Awareness | Network Authentically
Remain Confident | Resume and Cover Letter Clean-Up
Be Resilient | Negotiate With Confidence
Maintain Your Success
We are very excited to launch this blog and podcast series and look forward to sharing our knowledge and experiences with you. Join us for our next segment on creating awareness.
What steps will you take this week to flourish?
Edited by Stephen Flanagan at Talent Attract.
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