Yesterday I was invited to give a lecture to a team of an ultra-Orthodox organization whose goal is to guide ultra-Orthodox people into jobs. Well, I asked the manager. What do you want me to give a lecture about?
"I understand you coach salespeople to improve their results," the manager said.
That's true, I replied. But I didn't understand - how can I help you? The problem is that there are no jobs for the Haredim, and unfortunately I can't help with that, I argued passionately.
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""So that's it, no," the manager said bitterly. "We have quite a few vacancies that are suitable for our sector.".
So everything is wonderful, I said. The chip hasn't fallen on me yet.
""The problem is that the guys who contact us are not willing to take the jobs offered....""
"Probably because they're less than minimum wage or a cleaning job," I declared triumphantly.
""So that's it," he said again. "The Haredi sector is not willing to work in 'regular' or 'junior' jobs. Everyone starts by reciting that 'My uncle is the chairman of Degel's election headquarters,' or 'In my neighborhood I arranged discounted diaper sales for the Avrachims' - and immediately comes the demand for a senior management position. With a generous salary. And a car. Oh, and a cell phone at work.".
Are we like Ethiopians?
""We need help," said the manager. "Come and instruct my employees on how to convince the ultra-Orthodox who come to us that we will find them work - to go to work...""
And with amazing timing and personal foresight, a reader of this column contacted me by email. His name is A.
A. asked if I could help him find a job. "In the field of marketing," he stated.
Why? "Because I'm good at it.".
A moment before I could say a word, he quoted a good friend of his, who he claimed summed up all the problems of the ultra-Orthodox sector: "We are like Ethiopians, he said. We are only offered jobs in cleaning...""
It took me a few seconds to recover and I launched into a long speech, which can be summarized in a short sentence:
Friends, I too do not have an academic degree, I also do not have any famous and connected uncles or fathers, and I also do not 'belong' to a third-generation family in politics or a well-known commercial company. I have worked hard all my life. I started in terribly 'junior' sales positions. I have gained invaluable experience.
And so that you don't think I'm being condescending, here's the full story: The first job I got after leaving the kollel (due to financial difficulties and in consultation with a well-known rabbi) was... carrying peeled vegetables to institutional kitchens, and trying to convince the cooks and chefs to use them, despite the stench emanating from the bags (due to a preservative).
Only after a good few months did I begin to realize that it was better to wash the vegetables, and only then present them to the chefs, which increased sales dramatically, and also brought me a small promotion.
The next day I had a winning line on my resume that had been slowly building.
After three years, I received a small management position in sales, at a completely different company.
And after another two years, I was accepted into the position of VP of Marketing at another company.
And today I am the owner of a business consulting company and a lecturer in the field of training sales and service personnel, after Sisyphean, hard and continuous work, with lots of falls in the middle and lots of small successes and milestones.
Meeting goals is worth more than a degree
Don't go be a cleaner in office buildings. Really. Start your first job in a field that you love and/or think you're good at. That way you can learn the field, gain experience, and attract attention as someone who has done something and succeeded at it (know that a line like: I worked at company X in position Y and after three months I received an award for excellence for meeting goals... - is worth more than a degree or bombastic descriptions of exceptional personal skills).
And you'd be surprised, there are quite a few organizations today that do amazing professional work in finding business entities that are willing/interested in employing Haredim who lack relevant education.
Just go for it.
Get started. And God will help you.
Go to work. Not to work :-).
Wishing you good fortune (and good health!) and hoping that ceasefire number 382/1 Part 56 A will last a little more than two hours this time.
Yours as always,
Micah Sholem.
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