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Employment: Recruiter-Seasonal

By Entry-level Recruiter

Removing The Stigma (RTS) is looking for a hardworking, motivated, and results-oriented individual to add to our team as a Recruiter. The primary purpose of a Recruiter is to guide candidate placement for RTS. This part-time, seasonal position requires strong attention to detail, sound decision-making, and strong interpersonal skills.
This is an exciting role that is a perfect position for a retiree in human resources, college students, or a recent college graduate looking to start a career in recruiting, gaining experience, and supporting the efforts of a start-up nonprofit organization.

About Removing The Stigma

Since the official inception of Removing the Stigma (RTS) in 2013, it has taken small but powerful steps to bring a voice to stigma, mental illness, and suicide by engaging the community and being a resource for education, advocacy, and peer support. It is RTS’s vision that all people, from every walk of life, experience and realize the hope of being mentally and emotionally well.
Duties & Responsibilities

Conduct weekly phone calls to candidates to generate an active pipeline
Recruit and place candidates with a sense of urgency
Actively recruit, Interview, screen, and assess candidates to determine skill set and potential fit for positions
Initiate/conduct and maximize searches using a variety of social media and networking
Communicate regularly with potential candidates, applicants, and the hiring manager to inform them of the process and status
Proactively recruit by utilizing job fairs, email campaigns, and job boards to maintain “on-deck” candidates
Utilize staffing software and/or MS Excel to manage and track the status of candidates
Performs other related duties & responsibilities as assigned

Education & Experience

Working toward or having a two-year Associate Degree in Business or Human Resources
Experience with interviewing
Basic understanding of basic human resources functions surrounding interviewing, hiring, terminating, compensation guidelines, workers’ compensation, and unemployment
Knowledge of the nonprofit industry is preferred but no
t required

Required Skills

MS Office skills including Word and Excel
Google Workspace
Strong verbal and written communication skills
Good customer service skills
Ability to work independently and maintain a high level of productivity

Job Type: Part-Time/Seasonal

Pay:$15.00 per hour

Benefits: None

Schedule:

Flexible
2-3-hour shift
Day and/or evening shift (shifts can vary)
Monday – Saturday
Work Location: In-person and remote

The Cleveland Observer Student Media Challenge

The Cleveland Observer is looking to form a student news desk. This college-level news desk team will report on topics students are facing and will initially focus on mental health. The content will focus on reporting stories in the community through a solutions lens. The team will convene in September, meet biweekly through November, and monthly from December through the final cohort meeting in May 2024.

Students are required to create rigorous enterprise-level content which will be due on the 15th of the month. A weekly news brief (content to be assigned) will also be required every week for the duration of the project.

Why the focus on mental health?

Young people have always been especially vulnerable to mental health issues, and the pandemic has only intensified the breadth and depth of their suffering. The nation has seen an uptick in both traditional mental health issues—anxiety, depression, trauma,  suicide, assault, PTSD, and loneliness—as well as mental health issues that arise through other social determinants of health—racism, neglect, food insecurity, housing instability, economic instability, and community violence.

Participants will engage with other students and/or the broader community to gather and share information and resources.

What are we looking to do within these nine months?

  • Solutions Journalism Training
  • Class visits
  • Blogs and social media posts
  • Create video content
  • Increase community engagement by convening a group of students to discuss mental health concerns
  • Report how our communities in this area address mental health challenges.

Students must commit to the entire length of the project. They will be paid a $2,000.00 stipend. If you or someone you know is interested in signing up, or for further information, scan the QR code above!

Understanding The Workplace Performance Appraisal

By Sheila Ferguson

DeChandra Ritter is new to the workforce. She just earned a Bachelor’s Degree last spring and is now completing her first year as an outreach worker. Dee thought she was doing everything correctly. Throughout the year, she followed the prescribed procedures, responded positively to her clients, and kept timely records. Sadly, her first performance appraisal was disappointing. It made Dee question herself and her career choice. No matter where you are in your career, there is more to learn about achieving better results on your annual performance appraisal.

The Corporate World is Changing

In the U.S., performance appraisals have been used for over seven decades. In today’s workforce, the annual performance review is steadily disappearing. Worldwide, management consultants and HR Managers are convinced that there is a mismatch between an organization’s goals with worker performance and the bottom line. Today, many Fortune 500 companies no longer do performance ratings. Instead, they focus on better ways to align organizational goals with worker performance. Organizational behaviorists suggest that poorly drafted performance reviews can affect:

  • employee engagement,
  • morale, 
  • motivation, and
  • the bottom line.  

Where Companies Fall Short

Negative reviews harm a worker’s brain health and emotional stability. These types of reviews are reflections of organizational dysfunction. Flawed and unsatisfactory reviews do workers and the organization a disservice. It is a problem when supervisors cite: 

  • Past missteps,

  • Broad generalizations rather than particulars about the job performance of the last year,

  • Ranking you in comparison to the more seasoned workers.

Companies want to keep employees 

To improve staff outcomes, most corporations are committing to talent retention, growth, and high performance. The pathways to success come through weekly coaching, real-time assessment, and problem-solving activities. Since most companies are not overhauling their performance management systems, employees must take action. If your last annual review was successful and you received a 3% raise, you are one of the lucky ones! In these cases, it is likely that your supervisor:

  • Reserved an uninterrupted hour to meet with you on a regular basis.   
  • Created a two-way process of communication. 
  • Gave you a fair and balanced appraisal of your work performance of the last year;
  • Framed the positives first before outlining any needed areas of development; and   
  • Closed the meeting with “doable” strategies for enriching your job performance. 

Self Help

When you know you have performed quality work, do not throw in the towel, storm out, quit, or hold on to rage. Allow yourself to recover by stopping the elevated levels of adrenaline and cortisol coursing through your body, and then activate a plan of self-care. Try: 

  • Venting and talking with family, friends, and trusted colleagues about your feelings.
  • Using meditation and aromatherapy to breathe in and expel tension. 
  • Exercising; and
  • Using positive self-talk and affirmation.

Take action by asking yourself the right questions. Ask: Am I too new and need more time to experience the organizational culture? Will management become angry with me for asking questions? Is it appropriate to file a grievance to gain resolution? Should I just prepare for next year? Either way, you have the right to:

  • Disagree with the review. 
  • State your disagreement, cite your reasons, and ask for a revision that is more favorable and balanced. 
  • Keep a log of accomplishments across the year. 
  • Talk about those elements of your work that you are most proud of.
  • Link your own performance to the company’s mission.
  • Negotiate respectfully, and 
  • Arrive at a joint agreement with your supervisor on those elements to be modified.  Your grievances should be prepared in writing for a response from your Manager’s Supervisor and the Vice President of Human Resources.  

Finally, talk with your human resource director, and learn more about the company’s performance review process. Consider creating a committee aimed at revising the performance appraisal template. Remember, when advocating for yourself, you also support your co-workers and organizational progress.  

Links to Books on Performance Appraisals

Abolishing Performance Appraisals: Why They Backfire and What to Do Instead, 1st Edition by Tom Coens and Mary Jenkins

Catalytic Coaching: The End of the Performance Review by Garold L. Markle 

 

Policy Matters Ohio: State of Working Ohio Report

The work of Policy Matters Ohio has contributed substantially to innovative policy changes that improve the lives of Ohio families and strengthen Ohio communities.

Each Labor Day, we release the State of Working Ohio report, which is chock full of data on how working Ohioans are faring. We also provide policy solutions that will help bring down rising prices; ensure people of all backgrounds have the tools and opportunities to provide for themselves and their families; mandate employers pay people a fair return on their work; and help working people have a collective voice on the job. That report alone provides us with enough numbers to pack “Saturday Stats” for the rest of the year, but here are a few data points we think are most important:

15% v. 6.8%: That was Ohio’s Black unemployment rate last year compared to the white unemployment rate. In good times and in bad, the unemployment rate for Black Ohioans is routinely about double the rate for white Ohioans.

Nearly $5: Employers have cut wages for Black men by nearly $5 per hour since 1979. Black men were paid 91 cents to white men’s $1 in 1979, a shortfall of $2.25 per hour. The data show that since 1979 employers have increased wages for Black and white women (albeit not enough to reflect the value of wealth they create), but they pushed down wages for Black men and by a smaller amount for white men.

$0.81: In 2021, women were paid 81 cents to men’s $1. Not only are women paid less than men, but they are also more likely to take on unpaid care work for children or aging loved ones. Though policymakers should do more make sure women are paid a fair return on their work, increased women’s wages are one of the best long-term trends in Ohio’s labor market.

2X: Overall, working people with college degrees are paid nearly twice as much as high school graduates. But those benefits are not spread evenly across race and gender. Earning a college degree provides a larger payoff compared to a high school diploma for white Ohioans than their Black counterparts. Men with only a high school diploma are paid more than women who have some college.

$5: Ohioans represented by unions are paid nearly $5 more an hour than those who are not: $24.75 compared to $19.91.

114.4% v. 12.3%: Since 1979, working Ohioans have increased the value of goods and services produced in our state by 114.4%, but the richest Ohioans and wealthy corporations have captured most of that wealth: Employers have increased wages by only 12.3% during that time.

$51 million: That’s the amount of money Columbus officials gave to wealthy developers and corporations since 2014. Those tax abatements drains resources from Columbus City Schools, which along with underfunding from the state, helped create the conditions for the Columbus Education Association strike, writes State Policy Fellow­ Tanisha Pruitt, Ph.D. (The strike ended with a new contract and a great victory for students, educators and the community!)

15%, Or 1.7 million Ohioans have student loans. Piet van Lier was on TV talking about why President Biden’s cancellation of up to $20,000 in education debt will especially help Ohioans who weren’t born into well-to-do families. Instead of paying off loans, they can buy a home or pay for their own kids’ education. That will make our entire state stronger and more prosperous.

The Inspirational “Friendship Wall” at Cleveland Job Corps Center

By Wally Espada,
Cleveland Job Corps Center

Your mind believes what you tell it, so always tell it positive things.

This thought inspired the Friendship Wall in one of our dormitories at Cleveland Job Corps Center back when COVID-19 showed up.

Most students went back home and connected to the program virtually, while 16 students remained at the Center with no idea at the time that they would be there for over a year and a half without ever leaving.

Staff had to find a way of helping our students maintain a “sound mind and a positive attitude” as we were about to cross over an uncharted path through the onset of this COVID-19 pandemic at the beginning of 2020.

That is when I, Ms. Wally Espada, a Residential Counselor at the time, envisioned a “chalkboard” where our students and staff could express “shout-outs” to everyone who was trying to do things right.

To stay positive amidst the unknown outcome of this lurking menace named COVID-19 was not easy. We were tasked with trying to keep going; to hold on; to let go of all the fears within, and to find a happy place within our Center that would help our students flow with the circumstances that changed life as we knew it prior to COVID-19.

We were trying to stay afloat, to meet each new day and each new challenge, stay safe and healthy, and keep balanced as we learned new ways to do things.

Seeing our students struggle, Residential Counselor, Ms. Janelle Saldana, embraced the vision and helped us bring our wall to fruition.

We were in this together for the long run. Writing on this wall became our daily inspiration.

Your mind believes what you tell it, so always tell it positive things.

Fast forward to when we were able to open our Center again, and all other students returned. They were received with a welcoming Friendship Wall that became a reminder:  “never forget how far we have come.” A reminder of all the times we pushed on, even when we felt we couldn’t, with so many CDC restrictions: wearing masks, social distancing, sanitizing, no fraternizing, and no leaving the Center.

The wall, which is completely covered with positive affirmations, is a constant reminder of our struggles, and how we overcame them.

Today, as we are getting ready to receive yet more students at the Center, we pass the torch to Ms. Veronica Brazil, another residential counselor, who has graciously accepted the challenge, by popular demand of our students, to replicate our Friendship Wall in another dormitory.

All 16 students who created our Friendship Wall have since graduated and moved on to independent living outside of our Center. They pioneered this project and SUCCEEDED.

Today, the Cleveland Job Corps Center is on the move and accepting applications for enrollment.

https://www.jobcorps.gov/center/cleveland-job-corps-center

If you are looking for a better quality of life and willing to dedicate yourself to our life-changing program, Cleveland Job Corps is the place for you!

Careers begin here.

“Your only limit is your mind” … out of the mouths of our youth!

 

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