Shownotes
We have a special announcement: Employment Forward Seniors, a casualty of the pandemic, now finds a new home under the New Directions Career Center as Mature Works.
Joining us are experts Kat Yamaguchi and Jami Phillips from New Directions Career Center. With rich backgrounds in nonprofit program development and job seeker support, they share insights on the unique challenges older job seekers face, such as transferable skills communication, navigating online applications, and balancing life responsibilities.
We discuss the importance of in-person workshops, and the expansion of services to support older adults, including resume building, social media branding, and tech training through programs like Tech Women of Color.
Top Takeaways
New Directions, historically focused on career development for women, now extends its services to include men and older adults, marked by community workshops and one-on-one support.
Older adults face distinct hurdles like conveying transferable skills, juggling life responsibilities, and adapting to online application processes. The center helps address these challenges.
Programs offered include in-person workshops on resume building, social media branding, and entrepreneurship. The center also provides individual career counseling.
By partnering with various organizations, New Directions offers free resources for older job seekers, emphasizing the importance of training, reskilling, and upskilling.
New Directions builds strong relationships with employers and advocates for older candidates, emphasizing flexibility and mutual benefits in hiring older workers.
Key Moments
06:13 Older job seekers have valuable skills.
07:23 Employers should consider part-time and remote work.
13:19 Yearlong process to develop customized programs for seniors.
15:34 Program for job seekers 55+, meet weekly.
25:38 In-person workshops meet job seekers' specific needs.
28:30 Urgent need for training and upskilling.
33:07 Flexibility in work hours benefits both parties.
37:49 Seek client feedback, embrace new work culture.
42:04 Resources for job search across the country.
45:37 Access to programs should not be limited.
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Recorded in Studio C at 511 Studios. A production of Circle270Media Podcast Consultants.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/
Copyright 2024 Carol Ventresca and Brett Johnson
Transcripts
We are Looking Forward Our Qay from Studio C in the 511 Studios that's in the Brewery District, just south of downtown Columbus, Ohio. Hi. This is Brett. Today's podcast is a wonderful announcement. Carol and I worked for many years to support older job seekers through the many programs and services of an organization called Employment Forward Seniors. Well, EFS, as we have actually called it, became a victim of the pandemic. But today, we have 2 very special guests who are taking on this important mission to support older workers under the umbrella of New Directions Career Center. Let's welcome cat Cochrane-Yamaguchi, program director, and Jami Phillips, employment specialist from New Directions.
Brett Johnson [:Thanks for both being here.
Kat Yamaguchi [:No. Thank you. Yes. This is cat Yamaguchi.
Jami Phillips [:And I'm Jami, and we are thrilled to be here today.
Brett Johnson [:Jami's got she's been here Oh. In the studio Oh, once. Once
Carol Ventresca [:or twice. Yeah. But you were also with us, with Yeah. Yeah. That's right. That's right. Which was called the Successful Encore Career.
Brett Johnson [:Exactly. Yeah.
Carol Ventresca [:So we talked about nonprofits and all the work we did at that point. So so Jami's our veteran. cat, welcome.
Kat Yamaguchi [:My Two recordings. Yeah.
Carol Ventresca [:cat, welcome to our studio. We're so glad this is pretty exciting for me. You know, Brett and I put a lot of blood, Brett, and tears into EFS and, I was so excited that your director, Celeste Gamble, and a shout out to her, agreed to start talking about this. So, again, it's a much needed service. I've talked to some other folks in the senior community, and they're all like, yes. We need this. So I think we've got a good start here. So, you know, job searching is a really complicated process and even more so for people who are 50 and over.
Carol Ventresca [:Many of us have not had to apply for a job literally for decades. So imagine our surprise when we are forced to use an online application system or other sort of tech tech kind of stuff in order to get through that that process. We get into the we're gonna get into details on the new program. But first, we wanna hear from both of you. Give us a little bit about your backgrounds and how you came to be part of supporting job seekers all over Ventresca Ohio.
Kat Yamaguchi [:Thanks, Carol. Yes. I've been involved in nonprofit program development and management in Central Ohio for nearly 20 years And primarily, that work experience has been in the space of adult education, including ESOL and GED programs and in workforce development.
Jami Phillips [:And I've been involved with New Directions supporting job seekers for the past 8 years as the employment specialist. I started as a regular volunteer 7 years before that. So and before that, I worked as a recruiter in Central Ohio and built a large network of employer relationships.
Carol Ventresca [:Right. Jami was kind of our contact at Employment Forward Seniors, was at our programs and our career expo and worked had previously worked with one of our our, staff members. So, yeah. So we've got a long, long history of of working with you. So thank you again for coming today.
Brett Johnson [:Yeah. So Our audience may not have heard, or may not know exactly what New Directions Career Center is. Now, Kat, could you do an overview of the agency, its work, mission, and goals?
Kat Yamaguchi [:Happy to. New Directions was founded in 1980. So we're going into our in through our 44th year of operations. We've always existed to uplift and empower individuals to achieve and maintain self sufficiency through career development. We serve in our core programs, primarily historically, we've served women, but we now in our current, programs serve men through community workshops and 1 on 1 services and in the new mature works program. Our goal is to meet individuals wherever they are in that career journey, and we wanna support them in getting to next. So whatever next looks like to them. In our programs, we do classes, we do workshops, we do 1 on 1 services to answer those questions of who am I? What do I want to do? What are my strengths, my skills, my interests, my values? And how do those things align with the world of work and what opportunities exist in Ventresca Ohio?
Brett Johnson [:I like that. Help you with your next. That's that's that's really empowering to think on your part as well too that you're looking at it from the standpoint everybody's coming in hot and coming in unique, you know. And it's like, okay. Where do you wanna go?
Kat Yamaguchi [:Yes. Everyone's career development journey is very different from from the person next to them. So it's really important to look at those individual situations.
Carol Ventresca [:I remember when the agency started. I was in graduate school Way back when under a different name. So it's had a couple of different iterations on the name and had traditionally started as a place for women going through transitions. At that point in time, many women who had been just stay at home moms were going through marriage changes, divorces, and had to get back into the work Brett into the workforce. And so it was a lot different back then. New Directions has had a really important positive role for women in the community, but your your services have expanded. You're you're taking care of men as well as women, and now you've got older folks. So this is gonna be quite a journey for you too.
Carol Ventresca [:Mhmm. So Jami, let's first discuss if older adult seekers are really different in their needs than younger applicants and what are the critical issues that they face in their employment path? Have those needs grown or changed since the pandemic? I always saw our older adult job seekers having barriers that were very different than other people.
Jami Phillips [:Yes. 100% correct. All applicants may face different needs and some of these are along age lines. 1st, we want to highlight that older job seekers often have many strengths to contribute to employers. Usually, they're coming to an opportunity with a deep resume of work experience, a very strong skill Brett, and the current generation of older job seekers who are baby boomers or older gen xers, there's a tendency to have a very high level of loyalty and commitment to an employer. These strengths can be challenging to communicate to an employer, particularly with the impact of implicit bias related to age. For example, it might be difficult for a job seeker to communicate these transferable skills for a new opportunity, or industry. And sometimes, the older job seekers are coming in with different shift or schedule needs because of life changing responsibilities, I e, maybe they're helping with their own elder parents or they're helping with grand raise grandchildren, whatever the case may be.
Jami Phillips [:Employers who are locked into thinking that 9 to 5 is the only work structure that makes sense, they're missing out on really great candidates, particularly those who can manage doing less than full time schedules because they have coverage through, you know, other insurance resources, Medicare. Perhaps they have hit a point as far as earnings go, but they still wanna contribute. They still wanna keep fresh, and they still like that extra income. So a variety of reasons. You asked about the changes as a result of the pandemic. Some things are different. For example, many employers have moved almost to fully automated for screening applicants. Most interviews, at least initial interviews, are conducted remotely.
Jami Phillips [:The other big change is that, you know, applicant the application process is all online. Many that that can be overwhelming. Right? But the benefit is that along the way, a lot of people become clear about their values and the role and value of the work in their lives. We see this as a strength because they are able to be clear about career development goals with employers, and how that's gonna serve both parties the best.
Carol Ventresca [:You know, it it seems interesting that older workers, older job seekers are having these issues still even though for the last 4 years, the newspaper headlines are employers are looking for qualified candidates. And I have to, apologize to both of you because I'm bombarding you all the time with articles about
Kat Yamaguchi [:They like it. About
Carol Ventresca [:about what's going on out there. And it it just, it it really is a a an opportunity for an employer to gain a valuable person to their workforce. And it's not gonna change the culture. It's not Looking to cost them too much.
Kat Yamaguchi [:Or if it does, it changes it for the better.
Carol Ventresca [:That could be too. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. It so it it was, it's it's wonderful that we have a new opportunity here to help those older workers who are looking again, for a great opportunity.
Brett Johnson [:Yeah. Well, New Directions has supported job speak seekers as we talked about. In our Ventresca Ohio community, now we're 40 years. Come on, 45. Good grief. So New Directions has always been a great partner with other agencies as well, meeting client needs regardless of age, race, gender, and background. But the agencies taken on a larger role creating a specific program for older adults cat. Way has the agency decided to move in this direction? Obviously, the opportunity was there, but you could have easily said no.
Carol Ventresca [:Well, it was because I was crying at their front door.
Brett Johnson [:But but but, you know, not every opportunity needs to be said yes. So, you know, how did you come Our you know, you saw that and you went, yeah. We could do this. What was what was the thought process to get that done?
Kat Yamaguchi [:Yeah. Well, as you mentioned, both of you held leadership roles with Employment Forward Seniors. And during the pandemic, EFS, which got renamed to mature works, ended up having to close its doors. And so the board at the time approached new directions to explore what a transfer of the program to us would look like. And we were already a friend of EFS. Way had mutually supported older job seekers over the years. And in our data, we knew that about 20% of our current clients fit into that 50 plus demographic. So we were already serving older adult job seekers.
Kat Yamaguchi [:And so it made a lot of sense for us to to deeply consider this and figure this out. This became official in December of last year, so we completed the program transfer agreement. For us, we really wanted to make sure that this important segment of our workforce could continue to have access to specialized supports and resources, for their career development needs. And so that was our key impetus for moving forward with the program. 2024 is mostly a year that we're seeking to learn what's needed and to build the partnerships so that we can deliver a strong program.
Brett Johnson [:Mhmm. I think it's important to to flush this out to understand why you said yes to it and and you you answered it succinctly this like we were already doing it in any way kind of, you know. Because you hear Forward example, like Life Care Alliance. They have all these other non profits under their wing, but they can explain why. It's a lot of moving parts, but we are we were helping them. We were helping them. We had a relationship with them. We see
Carol Ventresca [:We we already had a a huge kitchen. We could do Right. A few more Exactly. Exactly.
Brett Johnson [:So I think that I wanted to make sure, you know, I'm glad Carol brought this up too. Why you did? Because I think it it adds that level of trust. Anyone coming to you Looking, Way. They know what they're doing.
Carol Ventresca [:Now that's a good point. You know, too, employment for seniors funding at the time was very different than the other agencies. And there are restrictions on counting clients, which we didn't have to deal with because our funding and and funding from New Directions or Jewish Family Services or Ohio Means Jobs, different pots of money so a client could use both services. They knew they we they were not going to be a surprise to us because everybody was 50 and over, but we also knew to get them to new directions because of the level of, counseling that you had that we didn't. And so this is really kind of the best of both worlds. So it's a great point to let folks know they aren't gonna be a surprise to you.
Kat Yamaguchi [:Yeah. That's absolutely right. And I I know I kinda glossed over the timeline here, but we really spent a year working through the details with the with the board, the, Employment Forward Seniors Mature Works Forward in determining, how this made sense, What we could offer? What were things that made sense in the post COVID world to continue from from the old organizational model? And what were things that we were, that we did already that were kind of value add to the programming. The thing we're really excited about is the chance to offer those kind of customized targeted programs specifically for older job seekers. As you've you've already mentioned, there are some unique, opportunities and challenges for older job seekers. And so while we've always served, folks in that demographic, the opportunity to really kinda build something special, it it appealed to us and our board. And so
Carol Ventresca [:And and when you think of it, your older clients may have younger family members who are also in need of your services or vice versa. That often, I would have clients come in and say, my son is only 30 but he really needs help. Can you, you know, what can you do? Well, I couldn't count them, but I could help them. And so
Kat Yamaguchi [:Absolutely. And and we certainly are
Jami Phillips [:We we serve multi generational families. You know? We already
Kat Yamaguchi [:have several how about half of our our clients who come through our programs, come through word-of-mouth from family and friends and neighbors. And that couldn't we couldn't have a better compliment than that. And so, yeah, looking at this as an opportunity to serve whole families is is a really nice way to think about it. Yeah.
Carol Ventresca [:So, we're gonna be posting this just before the kickoff of your new program. So, Jami, tell us about the world of work week for 55 plus job seekers. It's gonna start July 22nd and I'm gonna be there to as the cheerleader in the background, tell us about the program, how they register, all that kind of information.
Jami Phillips [:Carol, thank you for giving the full title because it's a bit of a tongue twister.
Brett Johnson [:We're
Jami Phillips [:all struggling with that at our office as we talk
Kat Yamaguchi [:about it daily.
Carol Ventresca [:Yeah. And and w three is just not gonna help.
Jami Phillips [:Yeah. But we are have designed this for, job seekers 55 and Our, and and let me just say we are not checking IDs at the door. So if someone has not quite hit that magic beautiful number, we're not gonna turn you Way. But it is geared towards individuals who are solidly prepared to enter the job market. In other words, for this program, you have a goal to be working, you have an idea of what type of job or industry that you want to be in, and you could use a partner to support you in getting ready for that. You like learning in person and you like the idea of being in a small, group or cohort, style program, with other fellow job seekers who are on a similar journey as you. So the class will meet an in person at New Directions Career Center location every Way, the week of July 22nd. Class will meet from 10 to 12, and then we also will be offering the opportunity for participants to stay, up until about 2 o'clock in the afternoon if they want to utilize our space to work on materials, if they're working on their resume or what have you.
Jami Phillips [:We have laptops available. Obviously, we have Internet and that they are welcome to stay and continue to work on, in a safe space. All of our classes and workshops can be registered through our Eventbrite page, which is also linked on our website. We are happy to help someone get registered. If they call our office at 614-849-0028, our amazing office manager, Diane, will be happy to help get them enter, enrolled into the program. They can also email us at ndcc at new directions cc.org. Any of those doors, they can use to get in for program registration.
Brett Johnson [:I think oh, I I think it's fantastic that you're doing this in person because more and more thought about this because we talked about this before recording if if, you know, really, when you're trying to find a job, you feel so isolated. And doing this over a week, even via Zoom, you're still isolated because you're not with other people who are in the same path you are. So, at least you know that you have a room of x amount of people that are going the same direction you are. You network. You'd come you know Ideas. Ideas. Ideas. But it's that Brett out of the house.
Brett Johnson [:Get, you know, get there for a couple of Our, and and let let the 5 days work for you. Make it work. And and I think that's a lot of us get stuck in that. I just don't feel like going out. Could we just do it? Zoom is like, no. Get out. Invest the 5 days in yourself and see what you see what magic will happen Forward. They Way feel a little more confident.
Brett Johnson [:Know that you're not alone.
Jami Phillips [:Yeah. I think one of the things that we, I guess, feel most fulfilled with is not only the outcomes, obviously, that our clients secure jobs and employment, but they can bond, like you said, with other like minded people, and they realize I'm not in this by myself. And the support system that we see happening really within that first hour of them being together is amazing. And and I think if if we even accomplished a sense of community and the sense of them feeling confident and motivated and feeling like they they can do this, then then we've done our job.
Kat Yamaguchi [:And frankly, it makes it easier when Jami teaches networking because then she gets to say, and Looking, you're already
Brett Johnson [:You're doing it.
Brett Johnson [:You're already
Jami Phillips [:doing it. Already doing it. Yeah. Exactly.
Carol Ventresca [:You know, that that sort of brings up 2 things. 1, an, someone who's not been in a job search process recently doesn't know what they don't know. So by coming to the center, they are going to see the richness of resources, people available to them. They didn't know I mean, we always used to say employment for seniors was the candle under the under the bushel. People didn't know about us. They didn't know that it was available, and we that someone has that someone has to be, employment ready, knowing what they want to do. So when I started as the director of Employment for Seniors in 2009, we were in the middle of the recession, and people were desperate for jobs. So they would come in and look at me and say, I'll do anything.
Carol Ventresca [:I don't care. Didn't matter whether they were qualified or not. All they were looking at was to make enough money per hour to pay their mortgage. And it it's a really important step that people of any age need to realize in a job search is that an employer is not gonna make that decision for you. You need to come in and really focus on what you are good at doing, what you can do, what you want to do, and and let that lead your your job search. What people get afraid of is that they made a decision and they can't change their mind. So they may come to you with an idea of what they wanna do, but actually investing in themselves, talking about what they are are excited about, what they really wanna do, where their skills are. They may see a whole cadre of other things that are possibilities for
Kat Yamaguchi [:them out there. See those kinda moments happen Mhmm. Every day in our in our programs, I think, where that realization hits of what what are my actual core values. Right. Because oftentimes that's, clouded or you get the noise of what you were always told growing up should be your values and that starts to interfere with us. So, yeah, so that's a wonderful point you're Looking, Carol, is that really there's an opportunity to be flexible in the thinking about it. And there's a difference between there's certainly sometimes a need of, I do need to be making income right now, and this is the thing I'm qualified for. And it's not necessarily in perfect alignment with my goals and where I see myself 2 years down the road.
Kat Yamaguchi [:But this is what I'm gonna do now as part of my plan for what I wanna do over the next few years as I'm I keep moving forward to that next.
Carol Ventresca [:Right. You know, I I used to love Looking with my Studios, and I would always say to them, doesn't matter really what you've done. It's going to give you something to for your next future position. Right.
Kat Yamaguchi [:You'll learn something. You'll build your network. Yes. Exactly.
Brett Johnson [:Yeah. Job searching has made some dramatic changes over the past few years. Virtual interviewing, as we mentioned just a little bit ago. The logistics of working remotely, that that concept, how resumes are created and read and and types of skills employers need today. I'm gonna throw this back at you, Jami. Is this new program gonna address these kind of issues?
Jami Phillips [:Yes. Okay. On all of those. Okay. Again, because as you said, so much has changed. The good news is that it it I think a lot more good has come than than bad because when this pandemic started, no one was an expert. Nobody had navigated this. And so everybody's been looking to some, you know, people that they trust.
Jami Phillips [:How did you do it? What's working? What's not? And so I see it as being more positive than negative, I guess. Forward and and we want to continue to share this wisdom with all of our clients, as they come along. And, honestly, they teach us along the way too. So we don't we don't have all the answers, but, you know, it it goes back and forth.
Brett Johnson [:I can I can see where, you know, the working remotely, coming from some, you know, an age group that, was had a very structured work life? Let's put it that way that you you were in at 8:30, you left at 5 and then all of a sudden, now, you have an employer Looking, no, you can you can work from home 2 days a week. To understand that, well, that doesn't necessarily mean that you're not kind of under the clock as well. You know, they're they're they they they wanna know you're there working but they're just giving you the luxury of being able to do it from home. And I I can imagine that can be a bit confusing about how do how do you work from home sort of thing to figure that out.
Jami Phillips [:I think we all struggled with that initially. You know, it was like, what do I do? You know? And so Right. If anything, I feel like work from home has meant longer hours than what we traditionally
Brett Johnson [:Yeah.
Jami Phillips [:Did because I know myself, I Our that computer on at 6:30, 7 o'clock in the Looking, and there are nights when I still hear it hanging away and it's 7, 7:30 at night. Oh, let me just that's a quick email I can
Brett Johnson [:Right.
Jami Phillips [:Get out tonight. So, yeah, I think that there's been a lot of changes. And so anything, it's been more challenging to set a routine very different from what we were traditionally used to doing. Right? I mean, you went to work and rarely did you check your email after hours once you No. You were done.
Brett Johnson [:You were done.
Jami Phillips [:You were done.
Brett Johnson [:You were done.
Jami Phillips [:And so I think it's we've become more accessible or allowed ourselves to become more accessible. So there comes we have a whole topic on healthy boundaries, and time is one of the things that we talk about and how you need to set those boundaries for yourself because it's hard to not cross those lines. Yeah.
Kat Yamaguchi [:So I do wanna Way, we had talked about the value of this week being in person. And so just to highlight in our suite of program offerings, we do, workshops on Zoom. We call them workshop Wednesdays. And so I think we felt we already had opportunities for people who like, for for whom life is busy and that's the easiest way for them to engage or connect in for programs. We sort of already have an area where they can hop in for a 1 hour Zoom on strengthening your resume or interview do's and don'ts, those kind of topics. And so for this particular week, we really felt like that intensity of being together in person, for the full week was meeting a need that our current suite of offerings was not going to meet for this particular group of job seekers. And so just to go back to your original question, Brett, about those topics during the week, we are doing workshops on things like preparing that pitch for potential employers, the resume, LinkedIn, social media brand material. Like, this is a, I think, a real challenge for any job seeker now is to really be thoughtful about what is out there in the, social media verse, the employers could find about me and what kind of image am I putting forward or brand am I putting Forward.
Kat Yamaguchi [:But to so getting support in doing that and figuring that out. We have we will have a little segment on exploring entrepreneurship. And we know increasingly, this was the article you had just sent over, Carol, that, that older job seekers are also looking for, additional streams of income that might not be your typical w two kind of, opportunity. And so we have a a panel that's going to talk about entrepreneurship, the the do's and don'ts, the, possibilities, and also the things to be savvy about and aware of, as part of that. And then looking at those job seeking tools like LinkedIn, Indeed, all those kinds of Ohio Means Jobs platforms that exist exist now as part of that job search process. That it isn't the, pull out the newspaper and find find your pen and circle Circle.
Carol Ventresca [:Circle the
Kat Yamaguchi [:opportunities that you want to pursue. So Get
Carol Ventresca [:on the telephone. Start calling.
Kat Yamaguchi [:Yes. And y'all have some memories of that. So this, this week is is, packed full of of those kind of things. And so that's why we said really not necessarily that you know exactly what you wanna do, but you have some clear sense of the opportunity you're looking for and, feel ready for those next steps. Outside of this week, we do have individual career counseling opportunities, things like that. So someone's really more in the place of, I have no idea what I wanna do. I I don't even know. Do I wanna work? Do I wanna work at, like, just 10 hours? We, you know, like, just are still in the exploration phase.
Kat Yamaguchi [:In other areas of our program operations, we feel like we can support those job seekers as well.
Carol Ventresca [:One of the things that we actually didn't hit on any of our questions is that, training and reskilling and upskilling, is critical in this age group. Many, again, have been in the same job for decades and they knew what they were doing in that job. They hadn't really put any effort into learning something new or, you know, doing a little bit more than just email and actually putting together an excel spreadsheet and all of those kinds of things. So this week and hearing what other people are doing and what the opportunities are out there, then also having the ability to get some one on one counseling could also open up some an individual's view of, oh, yeah. I could learn to do that. And and there are lots of ways to get that upskilling without it costing anything.
Kat Yamaguchi [:That's right. That, old adage of you can't treat teach an old dog new tricks. We know that's completely debunked. Oh, yeah. Completely false. All the research on brain plasticity is is helping us understand the ways in which we're constantly learning and growing. I do wanna clarify, like, New Directions Career Center, our, our role in our niche in the community is not necessarily doing the concrete skills training.
Brett Johnson [:Right.
Kat Yamaguchi [:But we build strong partnerships so that we can make the connection with the organizations that are doing that, and most of them at no cost. So we have a wonderful partnership. I'm gonna give a shout out right now to Percolas Columbus, for a program called Tech Women of Color, and this is funded through Franklin County. And in this program, we have several individuals who are in the older job seeker category of 55 5 plus of women who have successfully come in, gone through the 15 week training program, gotten certifications in tech and are placed in new fields and new jobs with employers and are just thriving. And so I think there's a lot of evidence out there of the ability to, learn new skills and it's exciting and get into new opportunities.
Carol Ventresca [:Yes. I I whenever an employer said to me, older folks don't know how to use computers, I'm I would always say, you know, we've forgotten more about computers than what you you know. We started the Internet. We developed those PCs. So, yeah, that's not an issue. I I would love to have when our clients would come in with their smartphone and they're doing what was our job postings at the time and they're doing them on their on their smartphone as our older adult counselors who are working with them was were doing it on a computer. It there is no you know, we learn we learn things differently, and employers need to to understand that. So that goes kind of into my next question.
Carol Ventresca [:As I mentioned earlier, employers are complaining they can't find qualified candidates, and yet they have this huge number of people who are looking to either reenter or, reenter the workforce or do something better than than what they're doing now. The other part that came up after the pandemic, employers realized they couldn't retain their people. And so all of a sudden, they're they're realizing they need to put effort and resources in into making sure that their staff are are I don't wanna say happy, but satisfied with their work environment. New Directions has worked with employers for years. Tell us a little bit about that role that you've played with employers, how you help them understand what the issues and the barriers and the challenges are and and how that's going to help in this new program.
Jami Phillips [:Well, yes, Carol. So my role is building and maintaining those relationships with the area, Ventresca Ohio Employers. And a lot of times they will reach out to me, with their needs, to see if I have a candidate that fits an open position that they're looking to fill. So there is a level of trust that I, feel good that I have been able to build with some pretty amazing employers here in Central Ohio. I I want to have those frank conversations with them to Way, you know, they'll say, do you think you have anyone? And I'll say, well, you know, I need to check things out. Are you willing to be flexible on this or are you set on that? And, again, it all depends. Every situation's different depending on the type of organization, the type of position it is. But, if I can say to an employer, Way.
Jami Phillips [:I've got someone, but they can't work that these hours. Do you have some flexibility? Here's the bonus for you. You don't have to pay them as much or they don't need the benefit package or you know, I always try to give them the win that they're getting by what we may have to tweak a little bit. I wanna make sure that any candidate I present to the employer is qualified for the job first and foremost. I'm not gonna send them someone who's not. And with the job seekers permission, I'll have those candid conversations with the employer, what their needs are, and can we make this workable? You know, they're taking care of grandchildren. They need to get them off the bus at 3 o'clock. You know, if they're if this is a remote position, are you willing to let them have that 15, 20 minutes to get them off the bus and get them homework going or whatever the case may be as part of their Way.
Jami Phillips [:You know? They'll sign on a little bit earlier. They'll they're willing to not take a lunch and use that as their lunch. So there has to be some give and take, I think, with some of that. And many employers are are trying to be forward thinking at this point. As you said, you know, they're desperate. They need they need people to fill these positions. They can't continue to go on with skeleton crews. They want to attract top talent and they want other people to talk good about talk great about the organization that they work with to help continue to attract others.
Jami Phillips [:So, the needs of older adults are sometimes universal. You know, you have a younger working mom who may have that same situation
Brett Johnson [:with her own kids. Right? Or daycare doesn't
Jami Phillips [:start till 7 o'clock. There's no way I can be on the job at 7 Way, you know, or so I think that across the board, there are while there are differences, a lot of the needs are very similar, just different, different reasons why.
Carol Ventresca [:And as you said, I think the pandemic sort of pushed all of us into being more open to change. I used to beg employers to consider looking at job sharing. Oftentimes, an older adult wants to work part time, so 20, maybe 30 hours a Way. They don't want a full time job but they also don't want to have to be there 5 days a week. So hired one person to do Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and the other person to do Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and it if you Brett 2 really qualified people, they're gonna work together. They're gonna be be just fine. That job's gonna get done. It's not gonna be a problem.
Carol Ventresca [:But because of the juggle of human resource issues and paperwork and the the notion of a a larger benefits package, they they weren't open to that. But I think that's opening up a little bit. I think
Kat Yamaguchi [:you're right. I think it's shifting now.
Carol Ventresca [:Thank goodness. Thank goodness.
Jami Phillips [:Well and these employers are human beings too. You know, they face the same challenges with the pandemic True. That everybody else did. You know? And and I've talked to some amazing employers who were like, I didn't know what the heck to do. You know? Everybody thought we
Brett Johnson [:should have all the answers, and they were like, we haven't done
Jami Phillips [:this before, so it's anybody's and they were like, we haven't done this before, so it's anybody's
Brett Johnson [:guess. And and some of them will even admit, like, we failed miserably at that.
Jami Phillips [:So we had to go back to the drawing board and we failed miserably at that. So we had to go back to the drawing board and figure out something a better way to do it. And so, again, like I said earlier, I think it's been a great learning process these last 4 years, and we can hope that the lessons that we learned are gonna continue to move forward in in a positive way.
Carol Ventresca [:So part of that is also helping your clients understand their needs, hone in on their needs, and be able to sit and negotiate with an employer. And and, older adults tend to, select themselves out of out of a position because they think they can't either meet the requirements or they don't want full time and it's a full time job and all those different little bits and pieces. But this opportunity to really work with the New Direction staff is going to help an individual not just have a better resume, but really be better in the interviewing and negotiating part of the process.
Jami Phillips [:I think if we can empower them to Right. Advocate for themselves
Carol Ventresca [:Mhmm.
Jami Phillips [:That's huge. And most of them, the clients that we have worked with and we give advice or suggest an idea, they'll come back to us and they'll say, that worked. Like, if you don't ask, you don't get. You can always they can always say no. But how do you know if you don't ask for it? And if they want you bad enough, they're willing to, you know, negotiate with you, if you will. And so, again, I think the older generation, we were raised to listen to what our bosses said and there, you know, there was a hierarchy and not that you shouldn't still respect that. You should 100%, but doesn't have to be the way it used to be. So, why don't we take from some of these younger generations and and what their thinking is and their values are and incorporate that for older job seekers as well.
Carol Ventresca [:As as you said, if it's gonna work for a younger person, it's gonna work for an older person and vice versa. We've heard that a lot in the senior services niche, that what's good for an older person is likely good for a younger Johnson, too. So wonderful. Yeah.
Brett Johnson [:Let's get the crystal ball on the table and think about how this 55 plus program may grow over time. And so, you 2 probably are gonna answer this a little bit differently, but you could plan for the next 2 to 3 years. How do you see new directions supporting older job seekers and and what job search challenges do you think they'll be facing as well? Starting with you, cat.
Kat Yamaguchi [:Well, we're working through this right now with our board. We're entering a new strategic plan in 2025. So I don't wanna prematurely predict all of our plans. However, we are looking to grow this program in a few targeted ways. So first, as you mentioned, Carol, there's already a thriving community of orgs organizations that are serving older adults. And so we're working to broaden our network to include partnerships so that these organizations feel confident and comfortable in sending clients our way. The second focus area we have is that we wanna continue offering programs similar to the world of work throughout the year. And as a small organization, we have that benefit of being able to constantly improve and revise our programs.
Kat Yamaguchi [:So what this looks like in 2025 and beyond is really gonna be influenced by the feedback we get from what we do in July. I think that's one of the benefits of of being small and mighty and nimble as an organization is being able to be, to pivot and to be flexible. We're exploring resources and partnerships to bridge the digital divide. So that's important for us. And we, wanna find a way to make sure that job seekers have access to devices and know how to use them for those career development goals. So that's another area of future growth for us.
Jami Phillips [:And I would just agree with everything cat said. And like any other program that we do, we ask them for feedback. We we we rely heavily on surveys for everything that we do, and we look at outcomes. And what do you want? What can we do? And, we we kinda let them tell us what what they're looking for. And then we work within our competencies and and, strengths and and move forward from there. So
Kat Yamaguchi [:And you asked about what challenges might start surfacing in the next few years. And I know AI is the thing on everybody's mind. And what impact is AI gonna have in job search process and also just in the workplace and how employers are using AI. So we are, trying to bring in additional top, like, work for workshop. Let me restart that whole sentence. We're trying to bring in additional workshop topics around AI. For example, in July, our workshop Wednesday topic, which will be sharing information about that. And so I think, we wanna keep learning ourselves.
Kat Yamaguchi [:We don't we're not experts in AI either. So all of those changes, we're learning alongside our job seekers, but that's something that I anticipate we'll need to develop more programming and understanding.
Carol Ventresca [:Well, one of the things I I wanted to, tell the audience to remember that we are going to post a lot of resources, for you, but an important piece of this is we have lots of resources in Ventresca Ohio, but you as an audience member may not be living in Central Ohio. So we will also include some, ways and and ideas for you to think about in your own job search needs and and, where to look for online and in and in your community. There are lots and lots of opportunities and resources across the country. And I really Way to emphasize that nonprofits in our communities play a really important role in helping you in your job search. So don't shortchange those local nonprofits. And and, we'll make sure we get a lot of information out there for all of our audience members, and they can send it to there. They may not be in need of it, but somebody they know may be
Brett Johnson [:in need
Jami Phillips [:of it.
Carol Ventresca [:So that works out really well. Agencies like New Directions have played a really critical role in our community for a long time, supporting job seekers. We always ask our guests if they have any last words of wisdom or ideas or resources or what what do you wanna make sure folks have heard today?
Jami Phillips [:Yep. So many older adults who are job seeking may struggle with seeing what opportunities already exist and they have fears around their abilities to get a new or a different job, our hope and our goal is to support them in overcoming these fears. If you're over 50, if you have an immense amount of experiences that any employer could benefit from, you have strengths, You're clear on what your values are. You're committed to doing a good job. We know this. We can help you find the right pathway Forward. And we say with every single person who walks in our door, we will meet you where you are. You know, the that's Way happens in the group is kind of the overreaching topics and ideas that we share.
Jami Phillips [:But everybody, as we have said, is on their own path or their journey, and that's why we offer our individual one to one services so that we can figure out, okay. I don't need this, but here's what I need, and then we'll take it from there. So we we give them the big picture and then encourage them, once a client, always a client, we say, stay with us. Let us know what what you need in particular, and we'll take it from there. And then, again, another huge compliment to us is when any of our clients goes off and and gets a job or goes to school or whatever they do, and then they come back and they say, I really appreciate the help that I got from you or here's what I've been doing since, but I'm ready for a change again. And they come back to us. And I think that's the biggest compliment that we can that we can receive. They trust us.
Jami Phillips [:We're part of their their support system.
Carol Ventresca [:I should I should have clarified this earlier too. The services are free. 100%. We didn't even mention that, but this workshop is free. They're so, yes, you have to get up early and you have to go to new directions 5 days that week, but it
Kat Yamaguchi [:guess I would put a pause on the word free because it is, like you said, your time and your investment and, in putting the work in. But I for sure, we would don't want cost to be a barrier for being able to access our programs. And I will piggyback a little bit on Jami's comment. One of the other compliments that I think is wonderful is that we do have a lot of clients who once they get to the place of feeling good and earning the income and stuff, we'll we'll make contributions to new directions. But certainly, it's not a requirement. But it really is, I think, a significant, statement about about the value they see in the work. And so, yes, we wanna make sure that anybody can access our our services, who has that goal to move forward. And I guess I would just add on that new directions has been around for 44 years, and so we expect to be around for a long time to come.
Kat Yamaguchi [:So, I would encourage anybody listening the to this to realize that you don't have to take this on alone, and we would be honored to be the partner in the in the job search, job Looking, career development process. And, even if today is not the right moment, but 3 months from now, 6 months from now, 2 years from now, you're you're at that place, we we will be here. So
Carol Ventresca [:Wonderful. You know, I I I just need to stick one more comment in here. And I've known as I said, I've known about New Directions since it started and have incredible and full faith that you all are going to do a phenomenal job with our older job seekers. So I encourage our audience to utilize the services, make connections, find out more about New Directions Career Center. And, again, if you don't need it, somebody you know may need their help.
Brett Johnson [:Yeah. Thank you both for coming today. This has been I'm glad we get to set the table on what's moving forward. This is good. This is really good. Listeners, thank you for joining us, and don't forget to check out our show notes for contact information and resources on our website that Carol mentioned earlier. There'll be a lot of them. Looking forward our way.com is where you can find them, and we're looking forward to hearing your feedback on this and any of our other podcast episodes.
