Creative Hiring Finds Great People

They don’t put people like me in job descriptions.

I’ve been looking for a job for 2 years. Why? Consulting is my first choice, but unless I’m hired for a project that needs an overachiever, I don’t grow.

I’m like a big oak tree. Well established and rooted in the earth, respected, and even admired. My roots reach out to other trees in support of their growth. It’s always been how I work. I see the sky up there and reach for it.

I like to work with people who see it too.

The reasons for not hiring me are as follows:

• I’m not a developer.
• I’m too experienced or not experienced enough. …

When you don’t know me, but label me anyway, I get the Truth.

When a thing is broken some people want to fix it. When a person is sick some people want to help them heal. Some people are motivated to help any kind of suffering, be it plant, animal or human. They would stop at nothing to make improvements to circumstances affecting their loved ones, even if it means sacrificing a personal want or leaving their comfort zone.

This is what can be. It is not what is. It is too easy to ignore the experiences of others.

The thinking is that if didn’t happen to them, or if they didn’t personally witness it, or if their life experiences and customs barricade them from exploring the greater world, what is happening around them is not real. …

The rule was simple. When you left home, you didn’t return. It was now five years later. I knew the answer would be no.

The year was 1981. Everything I owned fit into my 1971 Toyota Corolla, including a cedar hope chest and my cat with seven toes on each paw, Abby Normal. I was homeless, jobless, alone and had just driven from Ocean City, NJ to a phone booth in Pennsylvania.

There was a small white church in the town I drove to, situated along the Delaware River on the “Pennsy Side” as we used to say. A short drive north would have led me to the Frenchtown bridge over the river to get from Pennsylvania to New Jersey. …

For five weeks I put all client work on hold, went food and sleep deprived, and put on my Jessica Jones shoes and Super Woman mind-set to chase a job that was out of my reach.

Nevertheless, I pursued this job and set up a direct, ongoing dialog with the Universe about my progress. If I saw one of the red cardinals living on our country farm three times, that would mean I got the job. (Spoiler alert — He appeared twice.)

I have been a consultant since the day in 2002 when I was laid off from my job as a Software QA Usability Engineer and hired six hours later as a sub-contractor to test a call center software application for AT&T WorldNet. From that moment on, I powered through any barrier presented to me to learn whatever I needed to complete any job I was hired for. …

by Kim Krause Berg

I am not a flawless Creator.

The last time I threw my life a curve on purpose was in 1994. Unlike a baseball pitcher practicing how to toss a curve ball, this life decision had no practice runs.

I had to win.

They say that when you ask for something you want through prayer, dreams, during meditation or those debates with your guardians and angels during long car rides, it will come to pass when all the pieces are agreed to and there is time to assemble the best outcome.

Or, you can just go get the Golden Retriever puppy you have been wanting and show up at the house with it. …

I was asked this question. “How would you convince 90 engineers to incorporate accessibility in with design and development?” I had to admit that despite the ideas popping into my mind, I didn’t have an answer I liked.

The question nagged at me.

Everyone, unless they are already trained, certified or working in the internet accessibility field, has a limited understanding of what web accessibility is. We learn differently. What would make the most impact on 90 engineers?

How Would I Handle This?

I am the daughter of an electronics engineer. His career began with Philco, during the time of radio and black and white tube TV sets. He is the smartest person I know. Early on I learned to not ask questions, (“You won’t understand the answer”) and to be prepared for all discussions on the topics of politics, the nature of reality, math and computer science, because he was always right and we (being everyone the planet) were wrong. …

Even though there are accessibility standards and guidelines provided by WCAG2.1, companies are not legally bound to apply them in the United States.

However, while the United States debates the merits of website accessibility for the general public and enforcing Title III of the ADA for today’s digital landscape, the number of lawsuits has soared.

There is no official set of website accessibility standards or criteria set forth by the US Department of Justice for businesses to legally comply with, other than Section 508 under Title II. …

You do not need to be a famous motivational coach or speaker to impact someone. Sometimes the most crucial life changes occur when we are simply heard in our most vulnerable moments.

An Authentic Person

If you are a private person, it may feel uncomfortable to share your personal life with other people, especially on social websites such as Facebook and Twitter. For some of us, holding in rough patches and life tragedies is standard operating procedure. Releasing any of it to strangers is unthinkable unless there is an element of trust and an environment where being human is celebrated.

Being a real human is being real. …