I’M THE ONLY ONE HERE

JOB SEARCH EXERCISE

Joe Mullis, CRS

Lanier County

313 Roquemore Circle

Lakeland, GA 31635

229-482-3686

229-482-2334 (FAX)

dfcs@surfsouth.com

I woke up on 2-8-05 at 4:30 a.m. thinking about what I would cover during Job Search/Skills class that morning. The more I thought about it, the more the Exercise developed. The following is the way my morning and afternoon sessions went:

First, I signed in the number 1 slot of the Sign-In sheet as “One Mullis.” After taking care of paperwork, I inform the class that I am one and the only one here. Yes, there are looks of confusion. I prove my point by showing them the sign-in sheet where I am one and the only one here. We then proceed to the exercise. I inform the class that we will be doing an exercise and everybody gets to play.

I pick someone to start and have them count off. As soon as the first person says, “One,” I stop them and remind them that they cannot be one. WHY? ...Because I am one and the only one here. They laugh and start again, “Two,” “Three,” and so on.

I then inform them that while they are sitting down, they are all employers. Since interests differ, the applicants choose the place they are applying for employment, i.e., day care, medical office, fast food restaurant, etc. I then have them go in chronological order. They sit in front of the class and state who they are (using their number), tell the employers about them self, and why they want to work for their business. After they all have their turn, I rip off a piece of paper and tell them all to secretly write the number of the person they would hire. I take the paper up and see who they picked. In our class, it was unanimous, they all picked Four. We then constructively critique each person’s presentation. I was surprised that they for the most part noticed the same things I was looking for; eye contact, body posture, hands in pockets, cell phone ringing, etc., and the content of what they said. We also discuss dress and appearance. Both classes seemed to pick up a lot of helpful ideas and hints on how to land a job. They all seemed to enjoy sharing personal experiences which benefit the entire class.

Before we end the class, I tell them that I know they all want to know if they can be one next week. And, yes they do. I inform them that yes, they can be one next week, ...but not here. Why?... Because I’m one here, and I’m the only one here.

On the way out, I praised one participate for something and another said, “Does that mean she can be one next week?” Again I say, “Sure, so can you, but not here.” “Why?” By now they know the answer. Because I’m one here and I’m the only one here. Both classes couldn’t wait to get home and tell mama or somebody else about this.

OK, I know this sounds a little weird, ok, a lot weird, but I think there is an underlying, unspoken message here. It would be interesting to let the class define why I am ‘One’ and see what they come up with. I would never do this, however, unless the issue came up.