The following appeared in the Roanoke Times New River Valley Current on Tuesday, February 2.

In January, we introduced the concept of the Unserviced Workforce. These workers are stuck because neither the private nor the public sector is adequately servicing these people. Unserviced workers are defined as having good skill sets, but not billable skill sets. They have some form of higher education. They have upside and potential, typically younger, and are looking for a professional-level job. The goal of these people is to move out of this labor sandwich, but they do not know how. They need a roadmap to proactively manage their career. The Perfect Job Seeker is a proven strategy to get you out of the Unserviced Workforce.

The Perfect Job Seeker diversifies his/her time working and managing a career by investing in four buckets – Relationships, Humility, Study and Faith.  The first two buckets are immediate and the others have a longer-term horizon.

First, it’s all about Relationships. Only 1 in 5 of all jobs is advertised. To uncover the other 4 you must establish and nurture a network of contacts that provide information about these hidden jobs. A recent survey found only 6% of job seekers secure jobs through online resources. Relationships are king.

Practice Humility or someone else will do it for you. Unrealistic expectations and entitlements have created many bitter job seekers. In this economy, everyone is affected regardless of academic pedigrees, past accomplishments, or tenure and seniority. For a period of time, one may have to become under-employed and take on multiple jobs. Simply put, there are jobs available, if a person wants to do them.

More long-term solutions used by a Perfect Job Seeker to stay out of the Unserviced Workforce include continuing your education through formal or informal Study. The high school diploma or college degree from years ago now may be outdated. Acquiring new skills is essential to placing oneself in a fountain of opportunities. Again, there are jobs available, if a person wants to obtain the skills needed to perform the jobs.

Take a leap of Faith and start a business.  This does not have to be a full-time gig. Internet and home-based businesses plus franchise opportunities all offer the ability to create multiple revenue streams. At no other time in U.S. history has the barriers to entry in starting a business been so low.

Ultimately, using the Perfect Job Seeker model for guiding your career will not only help you navigate through this economic recession, but it will also prepare you for the next recession. Diversify your career planning and job search activities. Invest time in relationships. Humble yourself and take jobs beneath you. Commit to lifelong learning. Think about how to create a small business.

Using the Perfect Job Seeker recipe will keep you out of the Unserviced Workforce.

For more information, visit the www.perfectjobseeker.com and www.unserivcedworkforce.com.

The foremost authority on the Creative Class and workforce planning by region, Richard Florida, was recently interviewed on BigThink.com. As practitioners working on helping job seekers and regions, would be wise to implement what he is saying and help the Unserviced Workforce. Florida also is planning a new book late spring called the Great Reset.

The following is a guest post from Willie Jester. Follow Identify Reality on Twitter.

Tiger Woods is a business. The business success was undeniable. The business foundation is his golfing ability. The other attributes he brings to the business are integrity, focus, work ethic, looks, morals, family. His business totally derailed on a few of these. Now what? Identify the Reality, Accept the Reality and Own the Reality. What does that mean?  It means this, time does not stop.  As CEO of his business, he gets the key decision makers to the table. In this case, there is only one and that is his wife. All the facts are laid on the table. All that are known and all that are lingering out there waiting to drop. All of it, every single thing. Nothing is left off the table.

With EVERYTHING on the table (complete candor), the key decision makers have to do exactly that. Make a decision.  If everything is NOT on the table…the company will continue to fail and fall…as is clear and obvious in the current state.

What decisions have to be made? With everything now on the table, both decision makers have it all in front of them. Now, they must determine the goals of the business. Does he want a business any more? Is she going to continue to be a partner in the business?  These are yes or no questions. There are no “yes, but” answers. Business is hard, life is hard. There is a spiritual goal, there is a relationship goal, there is a parenting goal, there is a golf goal, there is a sponsorship goal, there is a family goal. Whatever the goals are, there is a path to achieving them.  Those paths have to be the focus. You can’t focus on the goal, you focus on path to the goal. “Your Focus is the Focus!” Each person has to buy into the plan. Hence, “must weigh in to buy in”. Tiger saying he wants to be a better father is like saying he wants to win more golf tournaments. The difference is there was a plan for golf, x hours of practice, x hours of training, x number of tournaments, x number of wins. All measurable results.  Successful business has a path for all goals, focus on the path to the goals and measurable results on the path.

With core management agreeing on the goals, the next layer of management is brought to the table. The “candid table”. The direction and goals are clear, now time to work out the path details. This group is vitally important to managing the path to the goals. The trainer, the coach, the nanny, the spokesperson, the caddy, the pilot, the sponsors, and any other “business division” that has a clearly stated goal or part of the stated goals. They all play a part in the path and the focus. Again, they must “weigh in to buy in”. They must also know their input is important, respected and free of retaliation.

The paths worked out are clear with measurable results. There is no double speak, nothing vague, it is clear, concise, understood and agreed upon. Every single person in the organization must be able to be awakened in the middle of the night, half asleep, one eye opened and explain clearly and decisively what the overall goal(s) of the business is and specifically what role they play in the organization.

What is so vital to Identifying Reality is the freedom that it brings. Until it is all out…Tiger and his business will never be free. Rush Limbaugh had his reality moment when he went through his pain issues. He came clean, identified the reality, had a goal to come back and focused on the plan to do it. Where is he today? Enjoying the greatest success of his career. Arguably he dominates the competition as much as Woods dominated his. People can say all they want about Rush, but his business can’t be touched. He can look them in the eye and say yep, did that, got anything other than name calling to through at me? Tiger has control over his life right now just as he did 10+ years ago. The decisions are in front of him. If Tiger chooses, he will dominate again. As the CEO, he holds the cards, no one else does.

If you do not face the reality of your business now, you will face it later and under less desirable terms. You cannot run from reality. This is very difficult to do. When you are part of the company, you are too attached in so many ways to make the bigger decisions. The earlier in the process, the smaller the decisions are. The later in the process the larger the decisions are. You have free will to make that decision as well.  The sooner you face the reality, the better. Ask Neville Chamberlain, ask Michael Vick, ask Enron, ask Circuit City, ask Tiger Woods.

For more commentary on the Unserviced Workforce and get your official Unserviced Workforce diagram.

WISH: For talented people external to the region to personally move to the RNR, move their businesses to the region, or start businesses in the RNR.

Step 1 (NOW) – Positively build the RNR as one region online through a variety of tactics in a variety of communities and media.

Step 2 (Mid-Term Goal) - Promote and assist organizations (Ex. NCTC, Smart Way Bus, 81 Reaosns to Connect) that increase the number of people living in the Roanoke MSA and working in the Blacksburg MSA and vice versa. This will work toward combining and eventually merging the two MSAs.

Step 3 (Long-Term Goal) – Create one unified economic development organization in the RNR.