I try, whenever possible, to meet with the men or women participating in our programs at the Hamilton County Jail and Community Corrections to talk to them about my own life experience and learn from them how to make our programs better. About a decade ago I began my own journey of recovery from drugs and alcohol and through my 10+ years of active addiction, I have experienced involvement with the justice system, homelessness, and several other significant consequences as a result of my own behavior.
I was asked in the last class when sharing my experience, “how did you set goals to get to where you are today? …” The answer was “I didn’t…” I set goals based on where I wanted to be tomorrow. In the short-term back when at the starting line the finish line looked like what to outsiders may appear simple. Goals looked like, “go to the eye doctor,” “get any car,” and “eat full meals.” I had to accomplish those foundational objectives before I could even imagine things like a career path. Questions immediately re-focused to what jobs are the best fit for someone immediately when they get out of jail, rather than where they want to be in 10 years.
This served as a solid reminder, based on my personal and professional experience, that career resources focused exclusively on where a career journey ends (ie… accountant, CEO, manager, engineer or (insert industry here)), rather than where it begins and the journey itself, do a disservice to the reality that (for some students, and for most underemployed and/or marginalized adult job seekers) the finish line is always moving. My own story, the stories of many of my friends, and the stories of the people we serve, show intimately how important it is to emphasize that the pathway to economic vitality, when done right, has a finish line that is likely always moving. It also has a diverse myriad entry points that can lead to the same objective.
This summer, Invest Hamilton County is going to use “job to job” and skills data, in coordination with Lightcast, to build what we’re calling a “Community Career Ladder.” We will study approximately 50 “entry-level” or “destination” high-demand occupations within the community to build a tool that shows people where the job they have/get today can help them go tomorrow. For the “entry-level” we will show users three steps forward and for “destination” we will show the most frequent/aligned previous three steps. The interactive dashboard will live within Invest’s Career Coach tool and be another tool in the toolbelt to help people see the skills and value gained from whatever starting point or finish line they have on their personal horizon.
When talking with anyone in our lives looking for career guidance and insight, “How I got to where I am today,” matters… but what is even more relevant is, “where do you want to be tomorrow?” and “this is how I got to that destination.” I believe that a great life is one where you can reach any finish line, look up with pride, reflect and say, “now what’s next? …” We should build tools and resources that empower that flexibility in life’s journey.