www.LarryRobbin.com

IN THIS ISSUE...
  







Training


UPCOMING 
LARRY ROBBIN PRESENTATIONS
The California Workforce Association Youth Employment Conference will be held in Sacramento CA. on 
January 12, 13 &14.

Larry Robbin will be presenting a special preconference session Through Disconnected Eyes!  This idea packed workshop is based on the feedback of hundreds of disconnected youth about what they want from workforce programs.

Larry will also be presenting The Top Five Complaints Employers Have About Youth Employment Programs! How to Give Employers What They Want From Your Youth Employment Program!


Larry Robbin Training Topics

Larry trains on more than 300 topics. This list features some of the most requested workshops. Click here for the list of training topics. If you do not see what you need, please contact  Larry   to see if he trains on that subject. Larry trains onsite, by telephone or by webinar.

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WHAT ARE YOUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT GOALS FOR 2016?

How will 2016 be different in your life as a workforce development professional?  With 2016 right around the corner, it is a good time to think about what you want to do differently next year.  I asked a number of workforce development professionals what was on their agenda for the new year and here are a few of their responses.
 
"I am going to get a better work/life balance.  I take too much work home either mentally or in paperwork and I need to have more time to really recover and do some other things that I love."
 
"I am going to learn more about how technology can be of help to me on my job.  I am not a very tech savvy person, but I need to know more about technology so I can help my job seekers and make my work more time efficient."
 
"I am going to change careers.  I have been in workforce development a long time and while I like certain parts of it, there are other things I want to do.  I have been putting this off, but 2016 will be the year of career change in my life."
 
What would you put as your quote in this column?  Find some way to make 2016 better than 2015 and welcome in the new year with a plan to make yourself happier and more successful as a workforce development professional!

Your job seekers are being asked illegal questions all the time in interviews.  This is especially true in situations with smaller employers that are not big enough to have a full time human resources specialist or department that keeps up with the legal guidelines for the interview and hiring process.  If you work with employers, this information will be very helpful to them in avoiding a costly lawsuit over illegal interview questions. 
 
Job seekers need to know what is legal as well.  You should discuss this information with them and help them develop strategies to deal with illegal questions.  One approach is obviously to answer the question and not say anything.  Some people will politely refuse to answer the question and inform the employer that it is illegal.  Of course, that strategy will probably cost people the job offer.  But it is up to the job seeker to figure out how they will respond in these situations.  It is up to you as a workforce development professional to educate employers so they can avoid a lawsuit and hire people based on legal criteria.  In some cases it may become necessary to send an email or anonymous letter to the local Legal Action Center letting them know about employers that persist in asking illegal questions.  Job seekers have rights and it is important that they are respected in the hiring process.  To learn more about fourteen often asked illegal interview questions click here.


These are common resume mistakes that can be found in the resumes of all types of job seekers.  I have seen these mistakes in entry level resumes as well in those from people applying for high level corporate jobs.  These mistakes will eliminate the possibility of people getting interviews and being hired.  You need to make sure that the resumes of your job seekers do not contain any of these deadly mistakes.  To learn about the ten resume mistakes that will guarantee people will not get a job offer click here.

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It is hard to believe that this is issue number fifteen of this newsletter!  My wonderful and talented webmaster at Further Evaluation Consulting has put all of the past issues on my website along with a list of the topics covered in each edition.  There are about 100 newsletter entries on the list.  If you want to access this big collection of helpful workforce development articles, resources and links click here.

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As a manager, one of your most important tasks is to keep your team motivated.  This is a complex task.  This important article talks about the various theories of how to motivate your employees.  It also features important information about the various aspects of motivational leadership.  To see this must read articles for managers click here.

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The Workforce Investment Opportunity Act has some important provisions that will have a definite impact on low income youth and adults.  If you are funded through WIOA, you will find this information to be very helpful to you.  To learn more about what WIOA means for low income youth and adults click here.


The Department of Labor has produced a great tool kit that shows employers the many benefits that come with hiring veterans.  Click here to see the toolkit.


If you or any of your colleagues work with employers, you need to know how to go beyond placement to partnership and engagement with employers.  At engagement levels, you and business partners will get a much higher level of benefits from working together.  This toolkit put together by Jobs For the Future will take you through all the steps you need to transform your work with employers to a higher level.  To see the toolkit click here.


Many people including the general public, workforce development professionals and employers often feel uncomfortable around people with disabilities.  People do not know how to act or relate to the individual with disabilities.  This very helpful guide will show you the best practices for disability etiquette.  Click here for the guide.


Not everyone wants to work the typical nine to five day shift.  Some people find other shifts attractive because they fit their bio rhythms or other needs.  Most workforce professionals do not know enough about these jobs that offer non-traditional schedules.  This eye opening article will help you learn about these night owl and early bird jobs that may be a great match for some of your job seekers.  To find out more information about these jobs click here.


Motivational interviewing is a very powerful counseling technique that can help to uncover barriers to employment and help to increase employment motivation in the hard-to-employ.  While this resource is directed at TANF program participants, it actually applies to other types of hard-to-employ individuals as well.  The resource includes a variety of materials to improve your motivational interviewing skills.  To see this set of helpful materials click here.

This excellent report from the National Transitional Jobs Network provides a wide range of strategies and best practices for addressing the employment barriers of people who are homeless.  Because the report covers many of the subgroups of people who are homeless including veterans, youth, seniors, people with disabilities, single parents and people in reentry it will be of interest to anyone that works with those populations regardless of whether or not they are homeless.  The report also includes links to successful programs.  Click here to read the report.

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WHAT HAS LARRY BEEN UP TO LATELY?

It seems like I have been in endless meetings since the last newsletter, but I also had some time to do some training and consulting for some great organizations.  Mai Quach, Employment Program Director, at Lao Family Community Development invited me to present Are You Talking Like Businesses Think? How to Get the Private Sector to Use Your Services! for the staff of her organization.  That workshop is the most popular workshop I do on business services and it has been presented to over 10,000 people across the country.  Cheryl Riley, Program Manager at the Yuba County One-Stop brought me to her organization to do Career Counseling with the Hard-to-Employ for her staff and her partners.  I developed that workshop to help people make the shift from a jobs focus to careers which is part of the mandate of WIOA.  Then I met with the program managers to consult with them on the topic Is Your Workforce Program the State-of-the-Art?  This is a very challenging consulting session because it asks program leaders to compare their organization to the state-of-the-art workforce program.  Jayrl Perkins, Employment Program Manager, at the Kansas Department of Children and Families which administers welfare-to-work programs in the state brought me to Wichita to train his statewide staff and their partners with the workshop Are You Talking Like Businesses Think? How to Get the Private Sector to Use Your Services!  The next day I met with his managers and managers from partner organizations to consult with them on the topics How to Measure and Improve Business Customer Satisfaction with Your Services and How to Go From Placement to Engagement with the Private Sector.  I went from Wichita to Chicago to present at the National Youth Development Symposium which is sponsored by the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals.  I presented a new workshop Through Disconnected Eyes to a packed room of workforce professionals.

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QUOTE OF THE MONTH

This is some good advice for job seekers.

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great ones make you feel that you too can become great.

- Mark Twain
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