THREE STEPS TO OVERCOMING ANY EMPLOYMENT BARRIER
(Step One: Identify the Barrier [Part 2 of 4])
(September/October 2005 Issue)

Having laid the foundation on our three-step process for identifying and overcoming barriers to employment in my last article, I’ll focus here on Step One, Identify the Barrier. Clearly, for barriers to be overcome, they must first be accurately identified.

OVERCOMING BARRIERS
1. Identify the barrier. The Fear Factor
2. Get some perspective on the barrier
3. Develop Effective solutions.

What is a "barrier to employment"? When I began my work in this field, my understanding of barriers, and therefore my definition, was quite limited… lack of experience, lack of specific education or training, having been fired in the past, and a few others. Within mere days of being on the job, my understanding deepened and my definition grew to include more and more. A barrier to employment is "anything that may be used to screen a candidate out." Barriers include no work history, too much work history, and even a successful career with a single company for many years. They include, too little, too much or lack of specific education. It’s the way we look, where we live, how we talk, having too many children or not enough teeth, over-qualification and arrogance, immigrant status and shyness, and so much more. Anything that could result in the candidate not getting the job, is a barrier.

Who decides?
Employers decide what’s a barrier, and screen people out based on it… whether it’s accurate, fair, or even legal! Sometimes they ask questions and allow the candidate to explain, but often not. Employers may screen-out based on assumptions or realities that are illegal or uncomfortable to talk about… without giving the candidate an opportunity to respond!

Candidates may also decide what’s a barrier, and thus screen themselves out… even if the issue is unlikely to be a problem for the employer! I’ve worked with candidates who were sure their age was a barrier, and though I disagreed, it became an issue… they avoided some opportunities, told on or sabotaged themselves, attributed negative outcomes to their age and gave up. It became a barrier. I’ve also worked with older and younger candidates who felt their age wasn’t a barrier. In the end, their clarity, confidence, and willingness to explain (or even bring it up!) made it a non-issue. If a candidate believes something will be a barrier, develop solutions accordingly. We’ll focus on solutions in Part 4.

Identifying Barriers by Thinking Like the Employer
Unless you’ve done a lot of hiring, it may be challenging to "think like the employer." Your focus may lean toward helping people secure, succeed in and develop satisfying careers. Yet, we know the employer must be also satisfied. Here’s a crash course in "thinking like the employer" so you can identify candidate barriers (and strengths!).

Introducing PADMAN!
PADMAN, silly but memorable, is the super hero who helps us (and our candidates) quickly, accurately think like the employer. His name and our "PADMAN Wheel" remind us of the six most important areas of employer focus… and that it all comes down to the bottom line.

Presentation – Will you represent the company image?
Ability - Can you do the job (or learn it in a reasonable length of time)?
Dependability - Will you work in the company’s best interests?
Motivation - Will you help achieve company goals?
Attitude - Will you fit into the company culture?
Network - Will you attract the right people?

These six areas work together as system. Like a tire on a car, a hole in one area causes the whole tire to go flat; it’s useless and you can’t get you where you want to go! In the same way, candidates who get hired have some strength in each area. A candidate who is all but motivated, or has everything but a good presentation is likely to be screened-out. From job title to job title, the amount of weight given to each varies. We’ll explore this more as we seek to understand the employer’s perspective of barriers in the next article. For now, PADMAN is a simple and effective way to think more like the employer and, therefore, identify barriers. Think about it! Every reason an employer hires or fires, or promotes or de-motes, comes down to their concerns and needs in these six areas. Every interview question asked is an employer’s attempt to discover if the candidate will cause them concern and/or meet their needs in these areas. So, identify barriers means thinking like the employer, considering the specific opportunity the candidate is pursuing, and scrutinize them in each of these six areas. This helps identify strengths too!

In my next column we continue Step Two when we look at The Fear Factor.

Elisabeth Harney is co-author with Debra Angel of No One Is Unemployable: Creative Solutions for Overcoming Barriers to Employment, The WorkNet Model of Career Development & Job Placement for People with Barriers and the WorkNet curriculum used across the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. She is the President of WorkNet Solutions - creating hopeful, innovative, practical solutions for employment and career service providers in the U.S. through professional development training, tools for providers and job seekers, and program design and consultation. Contact her at worknetts@aol.com.