From Kollel To The Workforce
Yitzchok Kornblau has a background working with troubled teens where he empowers them to become successful in ways they could never have imagined. He has authored 12 books and writes a printed journal to a subscription audience as well.
He has since pivoted his career from empowering youths to empowering staff through professional development and systemic learning.
Oorah works with Jewish teens by getting them in touch with their inner selves, reconnecting with their heritage and helps develop people to be more productive and lead better lives.
Why did you transition from teen at risk to Jewish outreach?
When I was working with teens at risk, they were mostly struggling with substance abuse, while others had suffered from abuse in their youth. This resulted in numerous problems as they entered their adolescence.
The children that came from Oorah arrived with a solid support system which most other students didn’t have. The years of work Oorah has invested into them and their families paid off and these students were much easier to help.
This makes the world of a difference to these kids and working with them was a much more gratifying experience.
From Kollel to the Workforce
The workforce in the New Jersey area where Oorah’s main office is located is unique in several ways. One of which is that there is a large population of the city that spends years studying the Jewish Talmud in the original text, analyzing, understanding and implementing the Jewish legal system which extends to all areas of life.
What is missing from this setup, is the more typical American college education that includes a broader treatment of secular studies and practical knowledge that directly prepares them to enter the workforce.
What are the biggest challenges and advantages that a typical Kollel (Yeshiva educated fellow) has over a college educated student when entering the workforce?
Downside
Being that a large portion of the day is spent on Jewish and religious studies, while they are being supported by their families and social stipends offered by the community, many are not able to transfer those skills to the workforce. They have the disadvantage of missing the traditional college education that prepares them for this.
Coming out of the Kollel experience with a growing family and paying for private tuitions for their Jewish education, dictates that their starting salary must be 80k or more just to make ends meet.
So upon entering the workforce they are faced with the crushing financial to earn a living starting on a very high level just to survive.
Upside
The advantage of this background is that they are completely involved in rigorous debates over very fine points of the legal texts and they’ve become accustomed to extremely critical and out-of-the-box thinking.
Despite his incredible accomplishments which include starting his own college accredited school, authored 12 books and runs a large organization today of over 300 employees, he still never graduated high school.
Having pursued an education focused on advanced Jewish studies, that just never happened.
Yet none of this has held him back from success.
In his own words,
When you have a disadvantage, you can succumb to it or charge forward. I am a firm believer that there is nothing you can’t do. Never succumb to a reality that appear challenging.
What can you do to make yourself more valuable to Your Potential Employer?
Take Ownership
You can create advantage for yourself through simple perspectives that people don’t know.
We are all commodities in the eyes of potential employers.
Here’s an example: Jack makes the best falafel in the world. His friends encourage him to open up a falafel shop and as the store gets busier he can’t keep up with the steady stream of customers who flock to his shop.
So Jack does what every responsible business owner does and hires Ben to clean the floors, tables, and counters. To his dismay, Jack finds that the shop is still consistency dirty and he is really frustrated with Ben.
What’s Ben’s problem? He is not the owner. He has not taken ownership of his responsitlities and has let things slide until they reached the unacceptable level.
OWNERSHIP.
If you own any task that is given to you, you become immeasurably more valuable to your current or potential employer.
Own any task that is given to you to the point that your boss doesn’t need to think about it. They will know if they gave it to you that it is done.
Be Sincere; Be Passionate – For Real
Potential employers love a prospect who genuinely cares about the mission of the company and really wants to work there. Saying that you applied because you need to pay your bills will almost always put you in the back of the pack.
The owner is passionate about his business. You will never be as passionate as him and don’t try to fake it. However, show your boss that you are very interested in the success of the business and that makes yo irreplaceable.
Be passionate about whatever you are doing or don’t do it.
Lessen the Challenge
The challenge transitioning from the Kollel lifestyle to the workforce is real and complex. Yitzchok Kornblau suggests that perhaps a couple of years before someone leave’s kollel, they can begin taking online courses and really learning the ropes of the workforce and all that it entails.
This will ensure a smoother transition into the workforce as well as enter into a field that is a great fit for their natural talents, strengths, and passions.
Fear Is On The Other Side of Fear
Bliss is on the other side of fear. – Will Smith
People will say no to you many times until you get your first yes. There is nothing you have to lose. Next time your manager or boss requests something of you that’s a bit out of your comfort zone, figure it out and just do it. Make Google your friend.
Contact Me
Is there something that you’d like us to cover on the show? Something you don’t want to hear?? Shoot me an email at [email protected] and we will definitely consider it. This is your show and we want you to receive the maximum benefit possible.