1. Focus on upskilling the unemployed/graduates for the “new world.”

2. Create part time work for the unemployed - either in the community, within semi state organisations or subsidise companies to take them on.

3. Invest more in start your own business initiatives and in stimulating idea generation within communities.

4. Invest resources both financial and non financial (mentor support/training etc) in small businesses.

5. Focus on key growth areas and provide the necessary supports to exploit these opportunities. (Energy, Technology, Ebusiness.)

6. National Skills Audit.

7. Improve links between college and industry.

Another suggestion was to move away from the focus on “five star” and develop more backpackers holidays.
Sell Ireland for its beauty and its food.
(1,2, and 3 were the most popular suggestions by far.)

1. Attitude shift amongst some of the unemployed. Unfortunately, I believe that there are too many people out there waiting for the apple to fall off the tree. The reality is that the paradigm has shifted from “instant gratification” to “ongoing graft;” if a person wants to find their dream job. Note “dream job/industry” – at this moment it is equally as difficult to find any job, as it is to find a post in your chosen discipline. The unemployed need to work smarter in addition to harder. Target your industry of choice and build a compelling case that this is your area of bliss embracing Web 2.0, to prove beyond all reason doubt that you really want that job.
2. The media needs to up it’s game in the context of providing it’s audience with balanced coverage of the days events. Currently the proliferation of doom and gloom is strangling creativity, enthusiasm and vision and making the dark hole even deeper. Many journalists told me off the record that “positivity and how to” weren’t exactly the most compelling news pieces. This was reflected in the absence of coverage with the exception of one show on the National Airwaves and papers. To reiterate, the media need to realise that people’s minds work similar to computers – Garbage in, Garbage out. How can you expect an enthusiastic, visionary, creative population if all they are being feed with is doom and gloom, which unfortunately is then being recycled within their daily conversations.
3. Greater cohesion amongst all the agencies and social entrepreneurs who are trying to make a difference.

The experience was very rewarding on a personal level. Considering that the average course rating was 9/10 from course attendees, it obviously gave real value to our target audience.
One piece of feedback will always stay with me: “It was the first time since I became unemployed that I didn’t feel invisible.”
That feedback on its own made the journey worthwhile.

Based on the ratings I have received from Motivational Seminars in two Irish venues - average 9/10 in addition to what I believe are the very small numbers at each - over 100 delegates in total at the two venues the question is:

Have we an attitude about attitude?

Are we forgetting that most interviews last a maximum two minutes because of the intimate connection between the way we look, (our physiology) and the way we think (our psychology?) Thus the right attitude which feeds into our physiology, is the pre-requisite for success.

Another key attribute an employer is seeking is willingness to learn - can you prove this beyond all reasonable doubt?

Attitude precedes excellence - take Stanford Business School’s Advisory Committee’s advice without doubt self awareness is the most important quality a leader should develop.

Start taking the trip today and watch your employment opportunities increase!

Where fear reigns of course, hope dies.

Our minds work similar to computer. Same principle GARBAGE IN – GARBAGE OUT.
At the moment peoples psyche are being inundated with negativity that are compounding our fears and insecurities.

So how can we deal with the Fear Factor?

1.Let’s get personal.
The most important step is take personal responsibility for our own trip. We need to become the guardian to our minds, reject the ongoing garbage at source, and desist from adding to the doom and gloom cycle. Once upon a time the conversation was about the value of a house, now it has moved on to the recession. We now need to move on to more positive stories. Can we start to celebrate local success stories – people that are giving it a go. I sometimes wonder do we find more pleasure in pain than in success.

Watch the following for some inspiration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

2. Compelling Vision
At a governmental level, communication is key. People need to know where we are going. Cutbacks are more acceptable when made in the context of moving towards a compelling vision.
Who are we? What is Ireland Inc? Are we moving towards a “Smart Economy?” If so what measures are been taken that gives us confidence that there is light at the end of the darkness.
Einstein once said you cannot solve problems with the thinking that created them, I highly recommend that the Government/political parties work with the great minds that exist in Ireland to agree on a vision.
Indeed another idea is to kick start creativity circles in each parish in Ireland and brainstorm this question “What is Ireland Inc” and feed it back up the line. We have an abundance of talent in this country – it is time we now used it.
At a personal level, be aware that never before in history has there been more of an opportunity to make an impact through the WWW. We are a small country that by leveraging the power of the web can create opportunities for our companies and individuals. Stick to your dreams, build website presence and you may be surprised with the results.

3. Unity Consciousness – we need at a governmental level to move beyond politics – quite simply politics at the moment is failing us. The majority of people don’t have confidence in politicians and this feeling is intensified when we turn the tv on and see more petty squabbling that is bringing us nowhere. Now is not the time for “I am right, you are wrong” strategy. Now is the time to get around the table and work together to sort this mess out. This would send a fantastic message to both the International Community and the public that you do actually mean business. It is important to realise that every petty squabble, every negative comment is picked up on all the decision makers pcs around Europe and the World. To be taken seriously, we must all pull together and move towards a more positive tomorrow.
At an individual level, a high profile civil servant saying no to a pay cut in the current environment again is sending out the wrong message.

Finally one of the positives of the current challenges is that people have got back to speaking to each other – they have more time on their hands, or so it appears. This renewed sense of community can be our building block.

Last week, I buried my great friend Martin at the tender age of forty. The recession will pass, but great friends like Martin are gone forever. It puts the whole thing in perspective. Time to get back to basics and value the valuables in our life.

First and most important step is to commit to focus on the controllables, not the uncontrollables. Yes it is more challenging to get a job but certainly not impossible.

Your focus must be on taking action that will move you closer to recruitment day.

So what can you do?

Initially let me tell you the question that most people can’t answer with any great conviction at an interview -

“Why do you want the job?”

Most people pause and have to think of an appropriate answer to this question – I expect nothing less than an immediate outpouring of excitement and information that proves to me beyond all reasonable doubt that yes this is the job for you.

Remember if you don’t really want that job in the current environment we have plenty of people who probably do

With this in mind it may be useful to take this timeout to reflect on what you really want?

What occupations satisfy your interest and values?

If the job reflects something that is very important to you or you are very passionate and interested in this area you start to become a very marketable potential employee. If on the other hand although you will be tempted,you will find going for any old job will probably be as difficult as going for the one you want.
Note going for a lower level job in a company which could offer you a career path to your dream job is a good choice if that is all that is available at that time. Get in the door and wow them. It is easier to get up the scale than get in the door.

When you have zoomed in on your area of interest start building a compelling selling message both online on offline.

Online is where there are now many, many opportunities to build your personal brand.
Lateral thinkers have got jobs through their involvement in such sites as Twitter. This microblogging site allows you to post 140 chars at a time on what you are doing at that time.

What you can do and what I have done is to post relevant industry news specific to your area of expertise or indeed highlight information on whats required of the modern employee and so. This can give potential employers an insight into your thinking and style. Also Twitter allows you to follow people – obviously follow those organisations and people who you would like to work with in the future if they follow back you can send them through direct messages ref employment aspirations and so on.

Twitter gives access to a lot of decision makers that just may get excited about your personal brand. Seize the opportunity to impress.

Another obvious strategy but less immediate is to develop your connections on Facebook, Linked in and so on.

Be very careful with your online brand – one jobseeker who had just landed a job with one of the big software companies decided to go online and share the following dilemma with her Twitter following “ just got a job offer with ….. will the fat pay cheque ease the pain of a boring job?” One of the companies reps were online and reported it to HR – job offer rescinded!!

Offline of course it is important that you develop a winning CV that engages the interviewer.
I personally prefer the following layout : Personality Profile – Working Achievements – Educational Achievements – Sports, Interests and Hobbies – Personal Details. Maximum length 2 pages
Remember we are operating in an attention deficit society!

Finally you need to move from the instant gratification paradigm to perseverance.

As a child you realised that every failure was bringing you closer to success that should be your mentality. I would also think you should look at becoming an expert in your field – research suggests that three hours a day for ten years will bring you expert status and all its rewards.

Don’t worry you wont have to wait for a job that long. Believe and control the uncontrollables!

Get creative:

More than ever you need to leverage the creative resources that are at your fingertips to gain competitive edge in the marketplace.

Where are these resources?
1. Your employees. In a modern company, each employee should have to contribute one idea a month on how things can be improved or any other ideas that cross their consciousness. Remember they are your front line staff and are likely to have better and more relevant ideas than you could imagine.
2. Local rentacrowd. With a minimum of fuzz, I believe that in each area a creative rentacrowd could be assembled – this could be used as a resource for existing companies and also with the right facilitation, as a means of generating sustainable ideas for the community. The panel could be drawn from a cross section of the local population.
3. If you really want to tap into that creative spark, visit your local high school or secondary school and brainstorm existing and potential ideas. You will be pleasantly surprised by the outcome. Remember the older we get, the more we suppress our creative juices – Beth and Land’s highlighted that fact in their landmark study so tap into some childish wisdom!

Develop website presence:

Probably an even bigger catastrophe is coming down the line for small businesses who haven’t embraced the new means of communication – what? Generation Y’s populating the market. This generation has been brought up on google and first step in all research/buying projects is turn on the computer! If small businesses don’t move from having a website to developing a presence through SEO, Social Networking etc, they will be out of business.

“Exceptionalise” your service.

The fact is that most people are better off at the moment due to lower cost of living etc – however these people have chose to save, not spend their hard earned income. Your goal must be to provide them with something they just cannot refuse. In this context, I believe you should work to exceptionalise your service. Mirroring past research done in Columbia University where it showed that 88% of Breakthrough companies were the result of exceptional execution of an ordinary idea, not new innovations; companies should break down their service into all the contact points with the customer. Then proceed to set standards for each – finally aim to go beyond the normal standards to provide exceptional service.

Finally times like this are a great time for self reflection – a review of your motivations for being in business. Interestingly Stanford Business School Advisory Committee highlighted self awareness as the most important quality that any leader should develop. The more you journey towards self awareness, the more you will start to realise that you have what it takes to transcend the current circumstances, and find progress in pain. Seize the journey.

His new concept “Drill Down Day” will take place in Galway, Ireland on April 02.

Participants can expect to:
- meet possible new customers (attendance will be circa 40 people)
- get feedback/new ideas for your own business
- meet like-minded people who are trying to fight this recession head-on

Attendance is free of charge, and by invitation only.

For more information email Liam.Horan@slinuatraining.com

1. Learn to laugh and develop your sense of humour.
The Irish are known for their sense of humour. Humour and fun is a great rapport tool and fantastic in negotiations with one big if! If you are funny! We have all had to share airtime with the “Comedian” who just isnt funny - more a deal breaker than maker! Of course having fun is gresat for your general wellbeing. Even if you laughed at your watch for one minute a day, you can flood your nervous system with the pleasure chemical endorphins.
The question is do we take ourselves too seriously?

2. Build rapport effortlessly.
It is rare the Irishman that cant relate to others with a minimum of difficulty. Interpersonal Intelligence, the ability to relate to others is the one of the most highly paid intelligence in the world far exceeding linguistic intelligence in its effect on your bottom line.

3. Learn how to storytell!
Communicating in an attention deficit society is a major challenge. One way to transcend same is to tell stories. Stories have the ability to bypass a persons conscious filtering system and hit the spot as it were! Years ago in old Ireland the norm was for people to sit around the fire and exchange stories.