Building Resiliency For Employability

By Author: Daryl D Green
Total Articles: 48
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Introduction
With 15 million people out of work, most people want to just give up. This article examines how resiliency can separate you from the competition to gain greater employability. In this financial crisis, most people are easily discouraged. According to the Census Bureau, only 55.3% of people between 16 and 29 were employed in 2010, on average (that’s a significant drop from 67.3% in 2000). For a historical perspective, unemployment for this age group was the highest since World War II. Additionally, investors across the world are panicking and believe a new recession is coming. The U.S. economy has grown at an annual rate of .7% in the first half of the year, which is the slowest growth since June 2009. For millions, the economy presents a hopeless picture that compels many to simply give up.

Resiliency Trait
Individuals must have resiliency to overcome today’s mental hurdles. Under the current economic crisis, most people have given up common sense in lieu of gimmicks and scams. If the promises appear too hard to imagine, it’s a good case that it’s not true. Yet, fools shun wise counsel. ...
... In my book, Don’t Be An Old Fool: Common Sense & Gratitude, I mock popular culture that provides solutions that don’t make common sense. When an individual who knows what is right chooses to select the wrong path, he is operating like a fool. Instead of selecting wise counsel, this person seeks advice from individuals who lack wisdom. In this vein, people opt for absurd promises.

Sadly, many people don’t want listen to the fact that it takes resiliency to obtain a good job. For example, parents tell their unemployed college children to “beat the streets” until they find a job. Instead they opt to fill out a few job applications online and send out online resumes to employers. Their hardworking parents find them playing video games every day, asking for their weekly allowance as if they were still in high school. Instead of asking them to do volunteer work or some other rigorous strategy, most parents accept the situation, thereby destroying their child’s mental toughness in the long run.

Resiliency speaks to the mental toughness needed during this downturn. Resiliency can be defined as “an occurrence of rebounding or springing back.” This characteristic is a close cousin to mental toughness, which can be defined as “the character attribute that allows an individual to stay in control while confronting adversity and navigating obstacles in life.” Anchored in these two character builders, individuals have the mental strength to press on through adversity. This mentality can be seen scripturally in Corinthian 4:8, 9: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”

Yet, an economic downturn can tank anyone’s confidence, especially the laid-off and unemployed. Regardless of the situation, things could get much worse. The ultimate defeat is simply giving up. Therefore, it’s important to do something constructive each day. It’s critical to surround yourself with a positive network that encourages an environment of resiliency. In the absence of any outside positive support system, that individual must feed upon his or her own internal compass and positive self-talk to propel himself into a positive future.

Conclusion
As the economy continues to spiral downward, many individuals must rely on their own internal compass. However, any strategy that does not incorporate resiliency is a big mistake. Today’s parents and other supportive adults must allow their children to build resiliency into their character building. It is bad to be “a young fool” but it is much worse to be “an old fool.” Therefore, individuals who can take on today’s financial challenges with resiliency have a decisive advantage over others.

© 2011 by Daryl D. Green

About Dr. Daryl Green:
Dr. Daryl Green provides motivation, guidance, and training for leaders at critical ages and stages of their development. He has over 20 years of management experience and has been noted and quoted by USA Today, Ebony Magazine, and the Associated Press. For more information, you can go to nuleadership.wordpress.com or www.darylgreen.org.