Category Archives: Employment

A Sad Encounter with a Psychopath!

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It was a cool and gloomy day in March, just about the beginning of the autumn season in the “land down under”,  when “Isabelle” had to  cross the “Rubicon” and finally called it quits for her job, which she had learned to love and enjoy for so many years.   WHY?  That’s the big question mark!  Yes, why such an abrupt decision to leave her job voluntarily at these precarious times?  

When she confided me about what happened in their workplace for the past several months, that was the only time I understand the rationality of her swift decision to end her career with, and even more so without asking for any entitlements from a large and prestigious banking institution in a developed country like Australia.

At that point in time, giving up her career almost immediately was inevitable.  She had to get out of the “dark hole” as soon as she could so as to get some fresh air, so to speak, as she might get choked.  Unless she rallied all her strength to get out of the “hole’, she would really suffocate.   His “toxic” boss made her remaining days and months in the office miserable. 

This happened after months of discussions and meetings with the concerned parties and likewise after patiently waiting for a resolution from the management and other agencies (e.g. labor and human rights groups) which had been requested to mediate on the said problem.   Unfortunately, the said negotiations were not to Isabelle’s favor.  Obviously,  the said human rights and labor firms merely left the matter to the management for resolution,  making it a mere internal conflict between the employer and employee.   Isabelle got frustrated on this. She couldn’t believe the said action taken by the supposedly “friendly” groups. All along, she thought these groups could help her resolve her problem with management, as part of her last resort quest.   

To provide you a brief history on the subject,   let’s backtrack a little bit on what happened several months before she gave in to the demands of her “monster-like” office colleague/boss.    

Isabelle was enjoying her job in one of the bank’s team offices/departments, even earning awards and the accolade from her previous managers and superiors.  As a matter of fact, she was always chosen as the employee with the highest productivity rating of the said department.    Unfortunately, the said department’s operation was off-shored to one of the developing countries in Asia, for certain reasons.  In view of this, Isabelle’s “good-natured” boss was eventually assigned to Asia to manage the said offshore activities.   Isabelle opted not to join her boss, so she was left in the main office and was absorbed by another department.  The new head of Isabelle’s present team used to be of her grade level,  before he got promoted as the head of the said department.  (Note: Isabelle got even a higher productivity rating than her new “boss”, though they were not teammates before).

Since it was a new job assignment and entirely different from the previous one, Isabelle went through a formal training process and fortunately got to know and familiarize her present job easily.  At that time, even if her position had a higher salary rate in the new department, she didn’t ask for a raise.  She thought it would be prudent to wait for few more months to prove her worth and negotiate later with her new “boss”.

Isabelle’s problem started when their department opened up new and better jobs and all of these were not offered to her.  Thus, on her own volition, Isabelle took the opportunity by signifying interest for the said newly opened job openings. However, without any explanation from her boss, she was not even considered at all for any of the said newly opened positions, even if, to Isabelle’s assessment, she was more than qualified than the new entrants who knew nothing about the job “from Adam”! She felt there was clear discrimination in the hiring process and that a “silent harassment” was inflicted on her.  She got no immediate, concrete and valid answers from her boss, as a matter of fact, during her one-on-one conversation with him,  the latter appeared to have no sympathy with her.  He even told her, straight to her face, that her duties and functions are “petty” and even further belittled her performance.     To Isabelle, the said comments were fabricated lies, uncalled for, and had no basis at all.   She did not expect neither to hear “bad” words nor witness such a “negative” behavior from a supposedly “professional”,  like his “boss”.  From then on, her boss was always “picking on” her for no reason at all.

Due to the humiliations she suffered, Isabelle was no longer happy with her work.  There had been sleepless nights and she could no longer concentrate on her studies at night, being a part-time student.  At that point, reporting to office was very stressful on her part.  Her health was affected that she even developed hypertension due to depression. 

To remedy the situation, Isabelle was still sane enough to report the matter to their Human Resource (HR) Office and raised her grievances on bullying, discrimination and harassment.  But just the same, there was no positive outcome. Isabelle felt something strange; it was as if her “boss” seemed to have maneuvered everything against her.

Isabelle attempted to speak again with her boss, however, the matter got worse.  Her boss gave a “deaf ear” on her viewpoints and complaints.  At this time, Isabelle had the courage to raise the issue about her salary emphasizing that she was the only one receiving a low grade salary compared to her peers in the office.  Was it because she was the only South East Asian in the group?  It was further expressed to him that the situation is disadvantageous on her part and that her salary is no longer commensurate to her duties and qualifications. 

In view of this, she was called to a meeting by one of the bank’s senior officers and her boss,   and she thought that was a good chance to narrate her story with the presence of a “third party”.  Much to her dismay, both the senior manager and her boss accused her of allegedly breaching the office code of conduct and warned her of a possibility of putting her for disciplinary action.  Isabelle couldn’t believe what was happening; the senior manager was siding with his boss, she simply couldn’t fathom the fact!

So, Isabelle being left alone with no “strong fortress” to lean on reported the matter again to HR but the same was not investigated.   So, she went to the Human Rights Commission and submitted a formal complaint against her boss. It took a while for the Human Rights group to respond to the issues raised.   As mentioned in the earlier part of this blog,  the matter was not resolved on their part,  instead it was remanded back to bank’s management.

For Isabelle, going back to the office was no longer an alternative. She thought the option to quit was the best solution at that point in time, considering her deteriorating health situation and embattled peer relationship.  It was getting nowhere, his boss had been imposing burdensome and unfair demands from her,  i.e., to go extra miles out of her way, so to speak.   She never thought she would meet such an exceptional unreasonable person in her entire life.   Isabelle felt this kind of boss is psychologically sick and perhaps not worthy of her or even anyone’s respect and service.  She was sad though leaving the bank, but what was weird she didn’t understand why the senior management allowed inappropriate behavior, a “psychopath” like his boss, to flourish in their workplace.

Even if she is a devout believer in God, Isabelle started to question why God allowed this to happen to her.    But because of her strong faith in HIM,   Isabelle was able to stand up and amazingly, she felt relief when she finally decided to leave.  Isabelle did not pursue anymore the option of filing a case against her boss.  Such option would be costly on her part, she would not be able to afford a legal battle with a “giant” in the industry.  At present, Isabelle is happy and contented; she diverted her attention to other fields of interests and recently obtained a scholarship cash grant from a reputable school because of  her academic excellence achievement.

Isabelle decided to share her story as part of her awareness campaign that there are emerging and thriving bosses and peers out there in workplaces who will bully, harass or discriminate a person in one way or another.  These people have no compassion and are indeed pathological liars, getting what they want out of their peers/staff/employees. 

You see, a good boss should be someone who is “human”, a human being who recognizes that everyone has weaknesses and that said weaknesses can be changed into strengths and opportunities.  In the case of Isabelle, there was not even an iota of compelling reason for her to be treated like what she encountered.   My guess was, probably her boss perceived her as a threat! What do you think?

But as they say, bullying has been a national past time of “egocentric” people these days and that is a sad fact.  Next time guys, beware of these people and learn from Isabelle’s experience on how to “wake them up”, when it’s your turn!

Here are 10 traits of psychopaths (sourced from the web) which according to Isabelle his former boss was exactly like them.  Surely, his toxic boss is a certified   “copy cat”:  

1. They tend to exploit and trick others for self-advancement.

2. They have used lies and deception to get their way.

3. They have used ingratiation to get their way.

4. They tend to manipulate others for selfish reasons.

5. They tend not to feel regretful and apologetic after having done wrong.

6. They tend not to worry about whether their behavior is ethical.

7. They tend to be lacking in empathy and crassly unaware of the distress they can cause others.

8. They tend to take a pretty dim view of humanity, attributing nasty motives and selfishness.

9. They tend to be hungry for admiration.

10. They tend to want to be the centre of attention.

Note: Courtesy of Office Politics by Oliver James (Vermillion)

Caregiving: An Underrated Job?

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Did you know that November is the National Family Caregiver Month? I really didn’t have any slightest idea that the entire month of November is dedicated for caregivers until LLS (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) forwarded  an invitation regarding a symposium on related matters with medical practitioners of the Department of Social Work and the New York Hospital Queens (NYQH) attending the said event. The National Caregiver Month was primarily designed to honor the millions of caregivers throughout the globe, especially the women, who have persevered in their duties caring for sick loved ones, for people they don’t know from day one, who are either patients in hospitals, nursing homes or in private homes.

(note that  photos shown herein are  not for reproduction/public consumption,  please)

While I join the call to honor the caregivers worldwide, regardless of the type of services whether it’s  a pro-bono  (esp. among family members) or with a hefty remuneration, this article is limited to focus on people who have sacrificed to leave their homes, migrated to other countries and joined the band wagon of “caregivers” working in developed countries either by choice or by chance. But there are some people who have no choice at all as they have only one thing in mind, to find a job no matter how hard it may seem, so as to earn a living and survive and be successful in the end. Success to some of them  is equated to certain economic variables, specifically that they are able to send money back home for their children’s education related expenses, to support their day to day living expenses, to buy a house of their own, and luxuries in life, among other things. These are the people who have learned to love the job so as to earn a decent living for their family back home, even if at the back of their minds this is not the original profession they’ve studied and longed for.

Caregiving is not new to us. As a matter of fact, our mothers when we’re young and sick were our first “caregivers”, in the strictest sense of the word. Caregivers at present, however, act as the modern day staff nurses and medical assistants, so to speak, who worked hands-on in the field, in the homes of family patients, doing the nitty gritty of the job. Some if not majority, of the caregivers nowadays are professionals in other fields of interests, but have been  trained and certified  to do such jobs.

As narrated by caregivers, their work is not easy especially when taking care of a sick patient at home, much more if the latter is bigger in terms of height and weight, and could no longer attend to his/her personal needs. They have to literally carry or support the patient by themselves in moving or transferring from one place to another There are times that caregivers bear the burden of the sick patient as in physically, not to mention the psychological stress the job placed on them.

In the course of their duty, a caregiver-caregivee relationship is established, whereby both the patient and the caregiver would have to like each other to make the process go smoothly, otherwise, it won’t work. It can be compared to someone who is engaged in a white-collar job and would try to win the affection of his/her boss, creating a rapport between them to have a smooth and friendly working relationship. 

A caregiver acquaintance once candidly shared with me her experience about the job. I understand she practically does everything, in lieu of the family members who are busy attending to their businesses and professional lives, as far as caring for the patient is concerned. She does all what is required of her by the supervising family members who visit their sick loved one from time to time. The “caring” process does not only involve attending to the personal needs of the patient (e.g. food preparation, giving  medicines, running errands, strolling  in parks, getting instructions from the doctor, etc.) but it turned out for her to be a personal commitment to make her patient feel better, in all aspects: emotionally, physically and spiritually. In the same manner, the family entrusted her their sick family member on an honor-system basis. They completely relied on her, as if she was part of the family.

As previously mentioned, caregivers have to have a lot of patience and perseverance, and the heart for it, otherwise, they might end up losing their jobs. There was one time the said caregiver was assigned to an elderly who used to be a high profile career lady in one of the multinational companies in NYC, and who was suffering from a dreadful disease. At first, there was animosity between them as the caregiver had this habit of doing her prayers thru singing while serving and comforting her. The lady patient would ask her to stop doing it which she obliged. But to her surprise, the patient requested her to sing the song which she said she liked it so much and made her feel well. The caregiver had goosebumps and was teary eyed when she heard it from her. She had a wonderful experience with her lady patient as the latter had learned to love what she was doing, despite of the differences in religious convictions. However, the good working relationship was cut short after several months as the lady patient expired. The caregiver thought her patient was happy and prepared to meet her Creator.

Caregiving is not just a job. Some say it’s one of the odd and dirty jobs. It may be quite true as at times it would require some “too personal care” related stuffs, although there’s nothing wrong with it, depending on one’s perspective.  On the other hand and in reality, caregiving is a job that is fulfilling and gratifying just like what the earlier mentioned caregiver had experienced. She served as an instrument of God to make her patient prepare for her death while she was bedridden. It was a spiritual journey for both the caregiver and the patient. From the caregivers standpoint, this is primarily one of the wondrous things which lighten their physical and emotional burden kept inside when they  make someone happy and feel better, even only for a while.   Apart from the said psychological satisfaction,  she was also able to send and complete her kids schooling, and  continue to support their needs including her extended families, from her earnings as caregiver.

In view of the vital roles played by caregivers throughout the globe, I would like to echo any calls for Government and politicians to formulate policies and enact laws which would protect the health care of caregivers and their patients as well. As you may know, caregiving demands several hours of duty per day. In fact, some would stay in the patient’s home 24/7. As previously mentioned, caregivers’ work includes substantial emotional and physical strain and it is but prudent for them to be given such valuable recognition. 

How about making “caregiving” a full pledge profession, just like other medical related field of studies such as Nursing?  Some professionals who have decided to be caregivers actually go to a training center or a specialized vocational schools to study about caregiving basics or probably “caregiving 101”, if any, but it’s not enough. How about creating a new curriculum for a Bachelor’s Degree in Caregiving? How about that?

So, for all the caregivers worldwide, this is “myusefultips” way of greeting you a happy caregivers month, even tho the greeting’s late! Better late than never, right?

Each Country Faces Brain Drain – Now, What?

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The Brain Drain phenomenon may have probably occurred even before the British Royal Society first coined the term to describe the flight of its intellectuals from England to the Americas. This would involve scientists and inventors like Joseph Priestly and Alexander Graham Bell who both originated from England but came to US to explore opportunities and expand their horizons But that was long ago when the world was still quite primitive and education system was scarce. However, with the present developments, particularly in science and technology and where education system can be offered anywhere, the brain drain issue may no longer be applicable. So, what's the current fuzz all about? Why do governments have to worry as of late about emigration of some of its skilled and talented citizens to seek greener pastures in other countries? Why waste enormous amounts of money discussing and doing research papers on the subject? There are various reasons why these people decide to leave and migrate, one of which is that they possibly want to utilize and hone their abilities to the full extent which their home country failed to offer, plain and simple. And I see nothing wrong with this. As Clark Gable had said in the movie, Gone with the Wind, “Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn”! May I say this famous movie script once again, candidly my dear readers, “I don't give a damn” on the opinion of some economic experts and policy makers that brain drain poses a threat to a country's economic development.

Coming from a country where unemployment rate is high and where talented people are underutilized primarily due to a massive over supply of high-skilled and educated manpower, the movement of “brains” from one country to another would have no adverse effect at all on the development of the home country's economy. I have not read of any impact studies undertaken by multilateral institutions like the World Bank that is comprehensive empirical enough to support that the departure of highly educated individuals has contributed to the poor economic performance of their home lands. What's hovering over the web instead are white papers, policy briefs,  and technical working documents undertaken by these institutions in collaboration with certain Governments indicating, among others, that many of educated workers in least developed countries in Africa, Asia, Central America and the Caribbean are flocking to rich developed countries transferring their technical know-how which allegedly can be bad to their native lands' economic growth.

The said findings are actually:

1.Unfair to those learned but underutilized people who exerted too much effort and suffered the pain felt at leaving their homelands, particularly their loved ones, only to start a home and earn a living in a place alien to them. For all we know, these people would even be able to substantially contribute, at the end of the day, in the Government's revenue generation efforts in view of their cash remittances. However, not all of the best and brightest minds who have migrated to other countries are able to land in a job commensurate to their qualifications as some of them are forced to accept relatively lower level occupations just so to earn something for their families, but still they are able to contribute in a way in solving their home country's unemployment problem. Examples are medical doctors who have migrated to an advanced nation and are employed as either nurses or teachers. I hope you still remember Ana in the previous blog article, the underemployed immigrant from Bulgaria who holds a Doctor of Philosophy and a Masters Degree in Engineering in their country's top university. She did not get the stellar job she longed for in the U.S. but she is now a Mathematics teacher, one of the noblest professions, in a prestigious private middle school in Manhattan. Economically and financially, this is still good for them as they are able to earn far better income than in their homelands, thus uplifting their standards of living and making them successful in money terms.

Similarly, there are also situations where brainy and highly skilled people of certain developing and developed countries are not needed and are not actually hired by employers as their salaries and perks demands are not met. Thus, they end up exploring in other countries to try their luck too and later become successful and probably have decided or will decide  to go back to their homelands to establish a business of their own. And this is what I call the visible gains of brain migration.

2.Unfair to those equally talented people who have remained to stay and serve their country and its people. Using the term “brain drain” as one of the causes for a country's economic failure is definitely not pleasing to some of them. It would only affect the self esteem of some of these people and may be unproductive to some extent.

That's what I'm trying to say, that there's nothing for Governments to fret about brain drain and its related variants. Exporting underutilized or untapped local manpower, high profile or not, is one clear effective and successful policy in steering the country's economic development. These successful overseas workforce bring home the bacon, so to speak, in the form of cash remittances to their families and relatives whereby the latter would spend the money for basic necessities and other services, thus helping their home countries economy afloat, fueling consumer spending and shoring up dollar reserves.

What Governments and the CEOs in the private sector could do rather with some of its personnel, especially the talented and scarce professionals (e.g. pilots, volcanologists, seismologists, medical specialists to some, etc.) whose unique knowledge requires regular technical upgrade, is to send them to further studies and trainings abroad to harness their potentials and for them to echo the knowledge gained to its subordinates. What is also imperative is for Governments to find ways and means to create jobs for its people to make them stay and be with their family.

At the back of my mind, I would like to believe that the current brain drain brouhaha could be a mere ploy or one of the scapegoats of some Governments to protect themselves from being accused of inefficiency. Why did I say this? In a country for instance where there are highly educated personnel but politics play a crucial role in tapping managers to head government agencies, you will find some competent bright people who are left untapped to pave the way for the so-called “best and the brightest “ allied to government administrations but have learned to become corrupt and greedy, thus creating an environment of inefficient government officials. We have heard stories that some of this so-called graduates of top-tiered schools have actually participated in squandering the resources of a particular government. And this is where brains are tested and easily corrupted. This kind of scenario is present in all Governments throughout the world, be in third world or industrialized nation, thus it could also happen in the future not only in the public arena but also in the private sector. It's not what you know but whom you know nowadays, which means that, if you have the right and influential connections, you will definitely have the competitive edge over the person who is far better than you.

I know someone previously connected with Government, a  very bright and technically well-equipped person, in fact he is even knowledgeable than his superiors as far as finance and IT related matters are concerned.  He introduced new innovations in the organization despite a measly salary  but because of his  low profile personality and not being affiliated to any political organizations, he was left behind as far as top managerial promotions are concerned.    He resigned from the organization, left the country and looked for his dream job.    Because of his qualifications, he got hired easily and is now happy with his newly found job, not to mention the  fruits of his labor.    What's saddening and ironical about this is that,  his previous Government organization hired a consultant to do the same project (since there was no one left who is well versed enough on the subject) and paid the man a hefty sum of money.  That's what you call stupidity in Government's spending and by the way decisions like this happen too in  private sector's boardrooms.

I would like to point out that given the choice and opportunity, a person would opt to remain in his native land as it brings joy to him/her to serve one's country. In situations, however ,where countries failed to provide the opportunity or could not afford to tap the talents or did not hire the person in lieu of a preferred individual, the person (intellectual or not) would be compelled to leave the country for survival. As such, Governments could probably  refrain from issuing pronouncements that “brain drain” allegedly has ill effects on its economy.

Note that each person has the right to travel and explore possible options in other countries . As a matter of fact, the UN itself is emphatic on the right of a person to migrate, regardless of one's status, whether skilled or unskilled. As such, no Governments can prevent an exceptionally talented person to leave the country and offer one's services in another country. Rather, Governments must do its responsibility and exert best efforts to entice its citizenry to stay and happily served their Mother land.  

Finally, this is my plea to all Governments, "Don't pass the buck"  to someone else.  Just do something to rectify any bad policies or wrong doings within the ranks.

The Saga Of An Underemployed Immigrant: A Quest for Her Dream – Tips and Thoughts On The Impact Of The U.S. Bleak Job Scenario

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Two months ago, I met Ana from Bulgaria in one of the mentor-mentee training sessions organized by a non-profit organization dealing with employment related issues. Ana has been here in the U.S. as an immigrant for 4 years now and is still looking for a “good” job in a dynamic city like NYC. I would say Ana is both academically competent and functionally well-equipped. She obtained her PhD in engineering and held senior technical job positions in the same and related fields in her homeland for many years. Her work experience is exceptional and she speaks German, English and her native language fluently.

Ana embarked on a trip to US, leaving her native land  to pursue her lucrative career with the end goal of becoming a successful engineer in the U.S. someday. She was convinced that the U.S. is the place flowing with “milk and honey” and where she could hone more her talents and expertise and eventually realize her dreams. As soon as she arrived, she started scouting for jobs, applying for various positions at different offices, sending out resumes and joining in social networking clubs. She managed to grab a couple of interviews but the agony of counting the days, months, and years passing by with no positive results was too frustrating and demoralizing on her part. As a matter of fact, she even took the advice to diversify, develop her other skills, explore all possible options to the extent of investing money and time to expand her horizons and to spruce it all up, so to speak. She undertook preliminary licensure examinations for teachers, so she can land in a teaching job as an option, regardless of education level, particularly in math related subjects. She came to a point where she thought her identity was in crisis, began to lose hope on her engineering career and have even contemplated to stop sending out CVs to prospective employers. But she’s not a full blown loser as of yet, as she still believes that she’ll get what she desires in due time. I don’t have to elaborate on how she's managing  to survive with NY’s high standard of living, particularly in the Manhattan area where rental fees for a one bedroom cramped apartment is relatively exorbitant. One could only surmise that what she’s doing now for a living may  be considered “odd” but dignified, however not the kind of job she’s dreaming for and definitely not the job that’s commensurate to her qualifications.

So, what’s wrong? Where did she get wrong? Why can’t she find a good job with all the stellar qualifications and glowing references on hand? Believe me, these could also be the series of questions boggling the minds of thousands of competent and bright “unemployed”/ “underemployed” immigrants originating from all corners of the globe who are trying to penetrate and understand the upper U.S. labor market.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Ana. I told her, “it’s the economy” chummy! She could just be one of the victims of the economic recession in the U.S. which started a couple of years back. It was just unfortunate that she came to the U.S. at a time when recession was budding, about few months upon her arrival. As such, her great professional track record guaranteed her nothing during those times. It  is no longer a brain race anymore, the real score is that most of the financial and multinational institutions and high paying companies are stocked in trade: it’s either they were obligated not to get new entrants under the stimulus act or they have adopted the so-called wait-and-see attitude, which is taking long years already, and that’s the bad news.

Specifically for U.S. immigrants, underemployment and unemployment are mounting concerns during economic hard times. Jobs aren’t offered to applicants on a silver platter; it doesn’t come easily especially during recession when companies are edgy about their ROIs which made them decide to freeze hiring and stop recruiting new faces. Job hunting activities for immigrants are no funny as well. Competition is stiff as they have to contend with the American citizens who are equally qualified as they are but are also struggling to get their means of living in these difficult times. Hence, this situation adds more to the emotional, physical and financial stresses which some immigrants are facing nowadays. So, is there still hope for underemployed and unemployed professional immigrants like Ana to get a decent high paying job in the future?

The job scenario continues to be bleak based on recounts of U.S.-based economists. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) latest data shows an unemployment rate of 9.5%, which means that it hasn’t change much, indicative that the recession in the US has never really ended. Even for the American youths (16 to 24 year olds) , BLS data showed a 19.1% , the highest unemployment rate on record since 1948. One economist even emphasized in a forum that the end of recession in the U.S. is not in the offing. She further mentioned that the U.S. economy could suffer slow growth and high unemployment for more long years as a result of the global economic crisis and the collapse of the housing market. Such dismal outlook may not be in consonance with the U.S. Government, specifically the President’s program to create 3.7 million jobs under the American Reconstruction and Reconciliation Act of 2009 or the so-called Stimulus Act. The present Government could have underestimated the problem from the very beginning. The dismal forecast of some of the economists could possibly be valid as based on a report released by a member of the House Committee of the Ways and Means, a total of 2.6 million jobs have been lost from the time the said bill was enacted into law, thereby not meeting the targets of creating million jobs as espoused in the stimulus bill.  Such report does not provide much hopes  to the newly graduates who are very much excited to land in a job and to the laid-off employees who are as desperate to go back into the workforce.

The said unpromising job scenario  hit ordinary immigrants like Ana as she had difficulty in getting better opportunities as far as her career is concerned. While job sites often publish job openings everyday, it is very seldom that one could hear a story about company hiring back workers or getting new applicants on a full-time basis. Rather, what is clear and evident is that there were companies which have been closed and there are companies that are about to close and stop its operations due to the current crisis. Thus, there is no sign that permanent jobs in the U.S. will either pick up soon or in the near future.

However, BLS  projects that total employment will increase by 10% (or will create 15.3 million jobs) within a span of 8 years, until 2018. But the said jobs will not be evenly distributed among the major industries and that  the said job creation is still dependent on various factors (e.g. changes in consumer demand, improvements in technology) which are crucial in the employment structure of the U.S. economy.

I would say, Ana and other similarly situated immigrants should remain hopeful in the U.S. Government. Just like any recessions in the past, it will have its ending- it will be over, hopefully soon. With a Divine miracle perhaps, it is possible. Recent survey of a sample of respondents conducted by an online magazine owned by one of the top search engines reveal a slight improvement, but not bright. Overall, 36% of the respondents have been employed in a job that suits their skills while 22% have been underemployed in a job that neither meet their skills nor salary needs and the rest have been unemployed for a certain period of time.

I spoke with Ana lately and she is definitely not taking a lackadaisical approach on her quest for her American dream, “no matter how hopeless, no matter how far”! As a matter of fact, she has learned to accept the cheerless facts and instead  decided to make use of her talents by volunteering and tutoring 'special" kids.  According to her, this new endeavor gave her the chance to give back the blessings she received before and a time to appreciate life even more.  She said maybe it will take another time to put everything in place, to have a “good life”. She’s still very much optimistic and confident that she’ll realize her American dream someday!

 

Note: Please fee free to share your thoughts on this.