I was reading an article that appeared in an online newspaper called Vox. The article, I spoke to hundreds of American men who still can’t find work, written by Andrew L. Yarrow, took the tack that many men are unemployed because of “society.” As I r
ead the article example after example talked about men who had made bad decisions in their lives and were making little attempt to alter those decisions.
Who is responsible?
The answer to the question in the title is given by Peter Drucker when he says you must take responsibility for your career. He says the corporate ladder no longer exists and the individual must take responsibility and not rely on any particular company. There are ample stories of people who changed their education to improve their positions. This does not mean they got into an Ivy League school and suddenly became successful. I used to be the Chairperson for a program that retrained workers to give them new skill sets in order to become employable. There are hundreds of companies that need “blue collar” workers, yet these jobs go unfilled because, as one man said in the article that he is not “culturally suited for them.”
As Drucker says “You have to take responsibility for knowing yourself, so you can find the right jobs as you develop …” Seek job counseling. It is out there. Seek education, it is out there, often cheaply or even free. Be willing to let go of what you did before, or what you knew. Be willing to learn something new. There are still public libraries with things called “books” that can improve your knowledge. Quite often what is lacking is the willpower.
Granted it helps to have the support of a family or friends in this endeavor. Unfortunately, many men have alienated their support groups. However, there are groups that will offer support, you just have to seek them out. Yes, I understand this can be a difficult road, but deciding to travel down that road is another one of those decisions that must be made.
Originally published on Omega HR Solutions blog.
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