And I say to them, "just go get a job."

Then it occurred to me. She doesn't know what it is like out there.

I was at a networking event last week where a community organization was pitching to the gathered group on how they can help people upskill and prepare to find work. Most of the attendees were people who were in a position to hire these folks or were generally curious and wanted to meet people to explore their own options. I was seated at a table with a board member of this organization as well as two women who run their own businesses. I was impressed by the tenacity and wisdom the two female entrepreneurs displayed. They understood the ups and downs of the marketplace, the need to brand and advertise yourself and your services, and yet they were still concerned about getting their businesses to the next level. They wanted to know what else was out there and how to continue to explore.

However, it was the board member that stopped me in my tracks. She described (mostly, sadly) female friends who were self-proclaimed “bored” and wanting to find something to do with their time. “Just go get a job..I tell them,” she said dismissively, with a shrug of her shoulders and a wave of her hand. “This isn’t that hard,” she stated. “Figure out what you want to do with yourself, and just do it.”

What?! Does she not know what it is like out there?

I could not believe the cavalier attitude, the almost “let them eat cake” approach. The federal government is going on almost a month of being shut down, senior executives are getting reduced from both technology companies and nonprofits, graduating college students are not able to find a job due to AI automating what is left of the old jobs that they used to be funneled into, and people are having a hard time paying their bills. LinkedIn is littered with jobseekers telling their stories about being ghosted in interviews and never landing that next job. People are worried and scared and looking for a way to improve their lot in life. They wish they could “just go get a job.”

“It is actually harder out there than you think, “ I said to her, and she looked at me blankly. “People can’t just go out and get a job. They are trying. The old ways of finding a job aren’t working, AI is making it harder to connect with actual humans, and anyone who isn’t generation Alpha needs training and experience on how to reinvent themselves in the new world working order.” She looked at me like I was from another planet. And then I saw any desire to understand dim from her face, and she turned to the woman sitting next to her and began a new thread of conversation. Conversation over. Ghosted in real time.

I was frustrated. Here was my moment to help people understand. To teach, to support, the have them provide counsel, to provide perspective. But for many, I think, this is too real, it feels too overwhelming, they don’t understand all the moving pieces, and they don’t want to tackle the enormous obstacles in their way to help kickstart change. Or, they are so removed from the problem that they are disinterested and incurious about the struggles that others are experiencing. It was truly a raw and heartbreaking moment of what is reality in our lives now.

I want more for us. I want jobs to be plentiful and the economy to be strong. I want people to find their way to understanding how to get skills if they want (or need) to pivot and reinvent. I want those that have to help those that do not have.

So I decided, walking to my car after that event, that this would be the platform by which I will start to do this. I will use LeadReinventGrow as a place to synthesize and share resources, offer community options to collaborate with each other, educate on the current state of leadership and the workplace, and inspire you to be equipped to “just go get a job” with a clear path to doing so.

Tell me what else you need, and we will make it happen.

#wecandohardthings #youarenotalone