Good Comes First with Mark S. Babbitt

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Mark Babbitt and his coauthor Chris Edmonds wrote their latest book, Good Comes First, to challenge companies to lead by doing what’s right for employees and not the status quo. You want to find a company that practices “good” ahead of the agenda as a job seeker, right? Mark is my featured guest on today’s show.

And I share an episode of “#JobSeekerNation” and my co-host, Jack Kelly, and our guest, Nickquolette Barrett. We discuss the things we learned about employers and workers since the beginning of the pandemic.

Included in this episode is a short clip of another podcast and web show where I was a guest called “Who Ya Know – Job Networking Show.” A big thanks to Trevor Houston, Foster Williams, and Mark Elder for hosting my appearance and asking great questions.

You are more than welcome to join the discussion. Here are three ways you can:

– Call and leave a voicemail at 708-365-9822, or text your comments to the same number

– Go to TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com, press the “Send Voicemail” button on the right side of your screen and leave a message

– Send email feedback to [email protected]

More about Mark:

Mark Babbit, CEO of YouTern and President of WorkIQ, says you have an opportunity to find work you care about. Mark has been on the podcast several times over the years. He is constantly working on making the workplace better for everyone. He has been featured in Forbes and The Wall Street Journal, and many other news outlets.

Conversation highlights:

Company cultures haven’t changed. Mark and Chris became more frustrated that we were sending people out into the job market only to have them become disappointed and frustrated and, and they couldn’t find the right culture for them.
People are leaving good jobs because they’re not good for them or their souls or their values.
It’s good for job candidates to ask, “Why is this position open?” Companies often are not honest about their answer so the candidate can decide what’s best for them.
A quote from our conversation, “One of the things that we do and I, and we realize it’s risky given that I am. And so is my coauthor, an old white guy is we, we call today’s business leaders out on the carpet, and we say they are afflicted with “Boomer Male Syndrome (BMS), and that they’re leading how they led in 1979.”
Mark says that leaders need to start defining what their values are and not just saying, “…oh, well, one of our values is integrity.” Well, what does that mean? They’re 19 different answers to the define integrity question. Probably pretty important to define what that means.
He talks about how Human Resources hasn’t practiced or enforced diversity, inclusion, and equity. He says that “…HR has been guilty of this for decades. We don’t fix our diversity problem. We start yet another program that’s going to take on the issue. It doesn’t do anything, but it makes us look good.”

About Mark Anthony Dyson

I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers!" I offer compassionate career and job search advice as I hack and re-imagine the job search process. You need to be "the prescription to an employer's job description." You must be solution-oriented and work in positions in companies where you are the remedy. Your job search must be a lifestyle, and your career must be in front of you constantly. You can no longer shed your aspirations at the change seasons. There are strengths you have that need constant use and development. Be sure you sign up to download my E-Book, "421 Modern Job Search Tips 2021!" You can find my career advice and work in media outlets such as Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Glassdoor, and many other outlets.

by Mark Anthony Dyson

How Black Professionals Overcome Their Job Search Challenges

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I am fortunate to have Tristan Layfield on the show to talk more about today’s job search and how it is experienced through Black Professionals’ lives. Many of the long-standing challenges for Black professionals are exacerbated by the COVID pandemic and the civil uprising last summer. This is one way to keep the momentum and exposure of equality issues resolved in the new workplace.

You are more than welcome to join the discussion. Here are three ways you can:

– Call and leave a voicemail at 708-365-9822, or text your comments to the same number

– Go to TheVoiceofJobSeekers.com, press the “Send Voicemail” button on the right side of your screen and leave a message

– Send email feedback to [email protected]

Let me tell you more about Tristan:

He is the founder of LayfieldResume.com, a service helping professionals with resumes, cover letters, career coaching, and the like. He is a LinkedIn Top Voice for 2020 in job search and careers and featured in Black Enterprise and The Muse.

Here are a few of our discussion highlights:

✊🏾 A large percentage of Black workers are essential workers and at greater risk of exposure.

✊🏾 1 of 5 Black workers can work from home, much lower than other groups

✊🏾 Black people will need to strategize differently when it comes to finding a diverse company.

✊🏾 Understand better at applying effective strategies so it will feel like progress

✊🏾 Developing networks, mentors, boosters, and sponsors can optimize a job search.

✊🏾 Many times Black people are not connected well to corporate connections.

✊🏾 Relationships are essential to creating resources from networking.

✊🏾 We discuss whether or not if it’s worth working for companies that exclude Black or Brown people.

✊🏾 Employers should spend more money recruiting Black by going where Blacks are, such as HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities).

If you haven’t read my Medium column exclusively about the plight of the black professional job search experience, go here to read.

About Mark Anthony Dyson

by Mark Anthony Dyson

The Epilog of My Talk at UNG on Unconscious Bias

You may not realize you have unconscious bias.

All of us have unconscious biases affecting the way we react to one another fairly and justly. I’ve witnessed it from time to time and even more so recently. I have had clients throughout the years confronted with biases about a) color b) age or c) ethnicity.

Because I have been talking about issues impacting negatively on ex-offenders, people of color, women, disabled, and other groups, I have garnered more attention. Since speaking to groups treated like 2nd class citizens, my show’s downloads have decreased.

Good. I do not pander to or wander from my goal: to be The Voice of (ALL) Job Seekers.

Don’t over react. Race is a big part of the discussion and doesn’t mean you’re a racist based on recognizing unconscious biases.

I was asked to come to the University of North Georgia to talk about “Unconscious Bias” due to my Facebook postings on diversity and inclusion. I have been studying and noticing how microaggressions (the result of unconscious bias) emasculate job seekers. Many young people (especially of the aforementioned) who are assaulted with hurtful assumptions way before his/her first job interview.

I recorded an excerpt from my talk at the University of North Georgia on unconscious bias. I wish I had a day to bring training to a complete circle, but grateful to introduce the idea of promoting amicable and respectful dialogue around the affect of bias.

Here is the link to the show and notes. You can also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here.

I am open in talking more about this subject (like all of my articles) offline. If you want to contact me, please call me at 708-365-9822. If you would like for me to present at your organization or college, email me at [email protected]. I will gladly consider facilitating a discussion on this topic in any format you’d like.