Being in the human resources field you might think it natural for me to read books on the classification of work describing different types of jobs and the tasks that are usually undertaken by incumbents in that particular employment category. On the other hand to read that kind of job analysis book to my young children for fun and entertainment, you must think, “That guy is even odder than I thought he was…” Well, I do admit to it (both to some measure of oddness and to reading “that” kind of book to my kids), but not without an explanation…
One of my two sons’ favorite books when they were very young was Richard Scarry’s, “What do people do all day?” In this book, by way of text and pictures we see the different kinds of jobs portrayed by the cute animal characters, performing some of their typical work tasks, in an effort to explain what people do all day to a child. Each little character depicted provides a great opportunity to talk to the child about what is going on in the world out there and how everyone participates in the economy with their work and the money they earn. (See… that’s not so odd, is it?)
Out in the world of the grown-ups, when Human Resources professionals want to know “what people do all day” one of the sources for standardized information is O*NET OnLine the Occupational Information Network, developed for the US Department of Labor. This resource is actually meant for anyone to use that might be looking for a career or a change.
A fellow I am slightly acquainted with saw me out the other day in Palm Springs drinking coffee with my laptop sitting on the table in front of me. Knowing that I was in the Human Resources field, he approached me about job advice his most recent ex-girlfriend had given him, and wanted to know what I thought about it. It seems that in the latter half of their relationship after getting to know him quite well, she had told him that he would make a great Phlebotomist. He was too embarrassed at the time to admit that he didn't know what that was, so he said he just smiled and nodded his head in agreement.
Trying to get rid of him, I suggested that he look it up on O*NET OnLine, but he wanted me to show him how. So, at the main page I clicked on Find Occupations, and on the next page I typed in keyword Phlebotomist and clicked go; we found that it is in the “Health Support Worker” job family. Not satisfied he was quick to responded, “Okay, but what does a Phlebotomist do?”
He was rapidly becoming an irritating pest, so I took a minute to reconfirmed for his benefit (because I already knew where this was going) that her suggestion had come during what could be described as the down curve (probably plummet) of his relationship with this woman. He indicated this was true, by way of a grunt and a little question mark sound. I then directed him to Wikipedia for his answer; but again ended up being his personal cyber-assistant in the matter. When the internet page for Wikipedia came up the description began, “A phlebotomist is an individual trained to draw blood (venipuncture)….”
After reading the screen over my shoulder with lips moving all the while, he said (a little too close to my ear), “Well that’s just great, but how in the world does it apply to me?” Exasperation clearly rang in the tone of my voice, when I finally turned and said, “Look dude… she was telling you that you are a leach, a blood sucker, and you were slowly drawing the life out of her!” To which he replied, head shaking again, “Nah, it couldn’t be that.”
So that we don’t end up clueless about what Desert jobs do all day, it was suggested to me by Robin Downs, that I follow a County employee around in their work and give a 360 account of what the job and work are like. It sounds fun to write about, so watch for future blog entries on this subject.