Job Spotlight with John "J.J." Irvine, manager of the Georgia Department of Labor's Columbus Career Center
When it comes to helping people who have been laid off from their job, John "J.J." Irvine has been there and done that, and can empathize deeply from his own life experiences.
It was about seven years ago that he was let go as an auto parts store general manager, throwing his world into disarray. But fate led him to a services specialist position at the Macon Career Center, which put the Air Force veteran on a path which would bring him to Columbus.
Today, the 43-year-old is manager of the Georgia Department of Labor's Columbus Career Center, overseeing a staff of 22 who assist local residents with filing unemployment assistance claims and searching for a new job. The office also works with employers to help them recruit the staffers they need.
For Irvine, 43, his life has been a series of hurdles, testing his adaptability, flexibility and determination. That included just missing out on a soccer scholarship to Mercer University, eventually enlisting in the Air Force as a munitions system specialist as Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm were simmering to a boil.
Then, after being approached by a Japanese professional soccer team about a possible contract, he blew out his knee while playing with fellow military people while stationed in Okinawa, Japan.
"Mentally, it was devastating," he said. "Something I played so well at was just gone."
Irvine ultimately ended up leaving the Air Force and returning to Georgia, where he tried his hand at visual merchandising manager, insurance agent, procurement manager and auto parts store manager, as well as operating a disc jockey business. He still makes money on the side as a DJ for various events.
The cornucopia of experience, and the obstacles he has faced, prepared Irvine for what is shaping up to be his true calling -- helping those in need after a terrible tumble in the work force.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., he calls Okinawa his hometown because of the decade he spent there as part of a military family. His father is a retired Air Force chief master sergeant; his mother is a native of Thailand. The initials "J.J." -- James Joseph Irvine is his full name -- were given to him by his mom and aunt to distinguish him from other family members also named John.
The Ledger-Enquirer visited with Irvine recently to discuss his job, the mission of the Columbus Career Center, and how he relates uniquely to those walking through its front door. This interview is edited a bit for length and clarity.
Do you share your story with those you help at the career center?
I tell certain parts of my stories to those I think need to hear it. If I ever come across those who have similar backgrounds, I try to let them know that anything is possible.
I didn't have any direction when I lost my job. Even back then, I didn't know you could turn to a department of labor or any other kind of career services ... nobody gave me any kind of guidance. It was learn on the go. So now I take the experiences and apply them when I talk with people who walk through our door.
Describe some of the ways your office assists folks?
In our employment services, some of the things we do besides job-search assistance and helping them with resumes, are plenty of workshops. One of the workshops is trying to teach people how to understand the skills that they have. Some of the skills are even broken down into other categories. You have your transferable skills and you have your job specific skills.
I tell people all the time, a lot of the questions that (employers) ask in interviews nowadays, they see what you have on paper and they see what you have on an application. But when they really ask you, what is it that you're bringing to the table, what are you bringing to the company, remember, the company has already granted you the interview based on what they've already seen. They've already come to a conclusion that you're worth an interview.
I think too many times in the interview process, people go back to that instead of telling them a little bit more about themselves, what they're capable of, skills that they have learned along the way. So it's about selling yourself and your skills.
What's your job on a day-to-day basis?
Basically, it's my job to plan, organize and direct all of the various activities that we provide, whether it's for the employer, for employees, or for the general population. Maybe somebody just moved to the area, and they're not filing for unemployment. They're just seeking work. I have to ensure that we deliver programs to everyone needing them.
We have employment services, we have a few special programs and, of course, we have the unemployment insurance piece. It's my job to, I guess you can say, to be a little bit more knowledgeable than everybody else, and be that go-to person.
But, basically, I plan and organize our overall activities, making sure we are meeting our quality goals, that we are delivering services according to the way the department has laid out in our policies and procedures, and, of course, abiding by what the state and federal laws mandate.
The Columbus Career Center staffing is down from the Great Recession years. Why is that?
I would say it's more from a budget and reorganization standpoint. A lot of our customers can do self-service using our Internet. They can utilize some of the programs that we have right off of our Website.
And just like some of these other employers out there, we've had to reorganize ourselves. The Georgia Department of Labor is no different. I think that goes for most state agencies. In our case, we've come to learn to do more with less.
There was a time and a need to reorganize so that we were doing things not only more proficiently, but we were also doing our part to save the state monies. That's what it all boils down to, that it's going to cost money to operate certain things.
The Internet has become a major way of finding a job, with online searches, applications, etc.?
A lot of companies don't have that initial (physical) interaction that some of us may have been used to 'back in the day.' Some people say (when they don't hear back from an online application): Is it me? Is it them? Is it the position that they've posted? Is it a legitimate job need or are they just keeping it open for some reason?
What we try to do is give everybody the tools and guidance so that they can make good judgment as to where they should be spending their time.
But, still, the number one way to find a position -- it's never really changed -- is networking. Granted, the Internet is great and a lot of companies are asking you to post an application or your resume online or on some job-search site like Monster or CareerBuilder or whatever. But, really, the number one way to find that next position is through networking.
Social media, such as Facebook, have become prominent networking tools?
A lot of people are connected through Facebook, Indeed.com, Twitter. Even the Georgia Department of Labor is on social media now. We have a YouTube page where our communications people are posting videos -- not just videos that say here's our current unemployment rate, but videos that show things like what's working with resumes right now.
Again, when we're looking at the Indeeds of the world, you'll be surprised at how quickly you branch out and find out from people like: Oh, I didn't know that someone I knew also knew the person I was trying to get to at this company. But now you've found an avenue to be able to go to this person and say: Hey, can you introduce me to, say, Mayor Tomlinson, because somebody works in her office that you happen to know.
What is your typical day like, pretty much routine?
I would probably say there is no such thing for me as a typical day. The day almost dictates to me how my day is going to be. I may have certain meetings planned.
One of the other many duties that I have is maintaining working relationships with other organizations, training providers and, of course, the employers. It's not just us helping people walking through the door. We have to go out there.
So I do a lot of things with the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce. I sit on the Lower Chattahoochee Workforce Investment Board, which basically is dealing with what the city of Columbus is looking to do with helping out with those monies.
I'm constantly in communication with Columbus State University, as well as Columbus Technical College, in case customers are saying they need to go back to school because maybe they need more education or training in the avenue which they want to direct themselves for a career position.
And, of course, I'm also part of the local employer committee, where we're constantly talking with employers, and letting employers discuss with one another what it is that their needs are. So I'm making myself available to internal and external customers, those who walk through the door and those who may not.
Are you on the career center floor much with individuals seeking help?
I jump in all the time ... One of the things that I love to do is when we're just so backed up and it doesn't matter what I'm doing -- I may push a meeting off to the side -- and I go to the front counter and start calling customers' names, because it's all about them.
You really can relate to them?
The number one thing that I love to do is help people, help customers. There's no better job out there right now, to me, than helping someone and doing what I do. It doesn't matter how people may have been frustrated with their individual situation. They may have been frustrated about how their previous employment had ended. They're frustrated because they've been unemployed for a period of time, and they think they're doing everything they can.
But it doesn't take but that one person at the end of the week, who comes back and tells me: Hey, it's because you helped me with my resume, or you helped me with my referral, or you just told me not to give up. And they come back to me and say, guess what, I got a job.
That's the ultimate success, isn't it?
I want it to be where not many people are walking through the door. I've got tons of filing I can catch up on, if that's the case. But if customers aren't coming through the door, I want it to be for one reason and one reason only -- Georgia's back to work -- and not many people need our services. That would be ideal.
Connecting a person with a job is the reward you and your staff?
That's the reward. We don't get bonuses for placing a bunch of people. There's no magic reward at the end of the rainbow. And we'll help anybody. We have our business services unit. They're constantly trying to help the employers in various areas, and they go out of their way to do a lot of the legwork for employers, show the employers that we want you here and we'll do what we need to do to find you those employees.
And at the end, we're all beat down, we're all tired, and we did everything we could. But what matters is when that employer comes back and says: We found what we needed, thanks to you guys. And that's what we hang our hat on.
What's the toughest or most challenging aspect of your job?
I think the toughest thing is having to look people in the eye when they may or may not be eligible for benefits. You can truly understand their situation.
Did you have a specific experience that defined your attitude?
I speak from experience. I came to the department of labor seven years ago. And the reason why I ended up getting a job at that time is because I was laid off from my previous job. That was a very trying year, that first year. At that time, I was manager of a NAPA auto parts store.
How did everything unfold?
There was a new owner who wanted to expand. But he couldn't expand in any other area than the one I was in. I was in Macon, Ga., at the time ... Just a few months after it was sold, this gentleman, after learning how the business was run, how we did business, whatever, he decided to make some changes. Then he laid me off.
Ironically, that was at the beginning of the recession. It was the end of '07, the beginning of '08, when things really started going downhill. I'd been around long enough to read the newspapers, watch the TV, and knew what was coming.
And while voicing my frustration to a veterans specialist at a career center, it was he who said: I don't know if you'd be interested, but I know that we have a position open here. He literally showed me the job posting for the Georgia Department of Labor at the Macon Career Center, and it was the last day the job was posted. I went home, I filled out the state application, I turned in my resume at 10 'til 5 on that particular day. Long story short, I got the job.
But during that first year that I was with the Georgia Department of Labor, my wife at the time lost her job two months after I came to work for the labor department. I did not get my job with the department until 3½ months after I had been laid off from the previous job. So already behind on bills ... in that first year of working with the department, I lost my home, I lost three cars, and it was a very trying time.
Pardon my nervous laughter, but that is a heck of a story.
No, I can look at it now and smile and laugh with you because, again, when some of the individuals come into the career center and they tell me, because of whatever circumstances they're in, that they're losing a vehicle, they're losing a home, they're losing whatever, I know they didn't expect it. Nobody normally expects a layoff or a termination. That happened to me, but I lived through it.
And you bounced back.
That one experience alone humbled me to truly understand where most of our customers come from. So when you ask me what's the toughest part of the job, it's hearing those stories. We call them stories, but they're real. This is not reality TV, this is reality. And there's somebody walking through our doors everyday who the rug has been pulled from under them. That's probably the closest metaphor that I can say, that they've literally had something pulled from under them.
We all use terminology -- living paycheck to paycheck, day to day, week to week, month to month. Some people (coming into the career center) don't know that they're going to be able to renew their lease. Some people don't know if they're going to be able to make next month's car payment.
And it's still a struggle for many people. No matter how things continue to go to the better, continue to improve, there's still going to always be somebody who needs help.
They may not be eligible for unemployment benefits, just because of the circumstances which they were separated from their last employer. But that doesn't mean we can't help them with employment services. We can help them with their resume. We can guide them to educational opportunities or job training. We can help them with their job-search efforts. We can help them improve the way in which they write their information on applications. We can prepare them for that next interview. That's part of our job.
And the big thing is it's all free?
It's free. I think some people still don't realize that there are entities out there that can definitely help people -- and they may feel more comfortable in those situations -- but there's a reason why there is a Georgia Department of Labor. It's here to help anyone who needs it, and not within just the state of Georgia. Because of the uniqueness of our location being next to Alabama, we deal with just as many Alabama residents on the other side of the river as we do with those on our side.
The bottom line, laid off or not, you're here to help?
We're here to help. If someone comes in and simply registers for services, saying they need our help, we're here for them. It doesn't matter if it's the person who has been out of work for two to three years. It doesn't matter if it's the person who just got laid off. It doesn't matter if they just quit and relocated to the area. It doesn't matter if they were terminated for whatever reason. It doesn't matter if it's a military veteran, because with Fort Benning right here and the downsizing that's taking place with the military, it's just common sense that a majority of them will be getting out in our area.
It doesn't matter who it is. If they want our help and they come in, they will get it. And if they don't get it, they can come and see me and I'll make sure that they get it.
That's your job.
That's my job. Within this career center, if they don't feel satisfied with any of my staff, they can come to me. And if they're not satisfied with me, then I have a problem, and I hope that's not the case.
Bio
Name: John "J.J." Irvine
Age: 43
Hometown: Okinawa, Japan
Current residence: Columbus
Education: Graduate of Kadena High School in Okinawa, Japan; earned associate's degree in applied science from Community College of the Air Force
Previous jobs: U.S. Air Force (served during Desert Shield/Storm); visual merchandising manager with Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES); insurance agent with GEICO; general manager of DJ's To Go; procurement and asset manager with Naples Air Center; general manager with Advance Auto Parts; general manager with Ham's NAPA Auto Parts; and services specialist with Georgia Department of LaborFamily: Fiancée, Tyra, daughters, Chyna Atana, Katherine Summer and Aimee Elaine, and stepson Colin Ray
Leisure time: Enjoys playing golf and softball, listening to music, watching movies, traveling and sightseeing
Of note: He has been a disc jockey for 25-plus years (since he was a teenager). He really loves all kinds of music and once sang. He picked up DJing from someone patient enough to show him how to spin and mix on turntables, then started doing small parties before finding his way into the club scene. Now he just sticks to mobile events for hire such as weddings, receptions, school dances, private and corporate parties
This story was originally published January 17, 2015 at 10:08 PM with the headline "Job Spotlight with John "J.J." Irvine, manager of the Georgia Department of Labor's Columbus Career Center."