[If you purchase something after clicking on the links in this post, I’ll probably earn a few bucks from it – we aren’t talking enough for a mansion or yacht but more like chocolate and wine. And if I mention a product, I probably got a sample and possibly a cash payment. Just remember that all Thoughts, Ideas, and Ramblings are 100% my own and may not be representative of your experience.]
As we all know, the tech industry has long been a space for white men and hard to break into. A Wired survey that was done in October 2019 estimated that the combined Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous population at an abysmal 5% for Silicon Valley firms. However, for the IT field overall, the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission Bureau estimated these groups together account for 16% of the industry population last year. While better than the past, those numbers are still pretty bad.
Enter Harrison Horan and Shelton Banks. Two men who will change the world. Seriously.
Harrison Horan started RE:WORK Training in 2016. RE:WORK Training is a non-profit organization that focuses specifically on BDR, SDR, or AE positions within the tech industry’s revenue generation side of things – one that is often overlooked by others who only focus their time training people how to code or work as developers. Best of all, RE:WORK Chicago offers FREE work training in tech sales to members of overlooked and untapped communities. This work training program provides resume help, mentorship, career and sales skills, and provides the foundation for acquiring a job at an average salary of 55k with full benefits. Since 2016, RE:WORK has helped 168 people with a combined salary of over 16 million dollars!
Shelton Banks is the current CEO of RE:WORK. I want just one tenth of his energy and charisma! He is a really awesome human. Born on the south side of Chicago himself, Shelton shows life isn’t determined by the cards you are dealt, but how you play your hand. His goal is to create workplaces as diverse as all our communities starting with the tech industry.
Pulling communities together, celebrating diversity, and helping members of our community empower themselves to get this work, RE:WORK is changing the map. Better incomes will lead to better outcomes. That is why their goal is for 25,000 people from these underserved communities to collectively make $30 billion in salary in the next 20 years!
Sometimes all you need is a foot in the door. RE:WORK offers their candidates with their free sales training that with all the amazing companies they work with from CDW to Shopify. If you are anything like me, you are thinking that this sounds amazing and are wondering how to help.
You can DONATE here: https://reworktraining.
Want to be involved? Go here to volunteer your time: https://reworktraining.org/become-a-volunteer Over 500 volunteers have made their communities better places.
Have a company looking for talent? Well, they have some! These candidates have already shown they’ve got commitment, so they are just what you are looking for. If you’d like to join forces with RE:WORK like companies like Glassdoor and LinkedIn have, go here: https://reworktraining.org/for-companies.
Lastly, some of you may have landed here doing research on RE:WORK so I want to cover the most important part – what they actually do.
Do you have the right stuff to be a candidate? RE:WORK believes that everyone has untapped potential, and they are here to help you find it. This is why they offer a variety of programs designed for different levels of experience and expertise which allows them to join you on your journey towards success.
A few of the benefits that RE:WORK can offer you is:
- Certified Resume Writing Service
- Expert Interview Coaching
- Strengths Coaching
- LinkedIn Support
- Executive Sponsorship
- 8 Weeks Of Paid Training
Classes are on the weekends via Zoom, and candidates are paid a stipend for each class attended plus bonuses. If you’d like to BECOME A CANDIDATE, click here: https://
Headquartered here in Chicago (and will be expanding soon), RE:WORK helps BIPOC individuals from overlooked communities get jobs in tech sales through free training, education, and resume building. Their mission is to create diverse workplaces while changing the map of economic distribution. When I attended their 5 year anniversary party, the founder, Harrison, made a super profound statement that has stuck with me: “I’ve come to realize that this is what community does: helps each other get through this thing. [referring to life] So when we talk about community at RE:WORK, I don’t take it lightly, because it’s actually the point.”
I really enjoyed reading this post, this looks like a wonderful experience.
This sounds like a great program to help strengthen and grow a community! Free training and support where and when needed most. Awesome
This looks interesting, but I have no idea what BDR, SDR and AE is, so I am not exactly sure what the goal is here.
They sound like they would come in handy for sure. They can do so much! It’s impressive.
This sounds like a wonderful opportunity. I was not familiar with Rework and it is nice to know more about it.
Pulling communities together, celebrating diversity, and helping members of the community empower themselves is so important; this is great that RE:WORK is upholding this! More companies need to make this their mission/goal!
Wow this sound really amazing! I know this is a really great opportunity to others.
This sounds really interesting. Sounds like there are some great benefits to this. I’ll have to check it out.
Those are some great benefits! A lot of people who is finding a job will surely love this opportunity!
This is wonderful and I would love to know more about this program.
It’s nice to see free training programs like this. I am sure many would really benefit from this.