Most people don’t realize it but when they leave a job or are planning to enter the working world they have just acquired a non paying job; the ‘Job of Looking for a Job’.  This situation is not the best and most of us aren’t in this place often so we need support to do it well.

We have Employment Support training here at The Independence Center to help people with disabilities get their ‘unpaid’ job done correctly.  We want our students to be in the group that performs this job correctly and much better than the majority of people in the same situation.

Our person centered training is very effective because the support given to the student is relevant to their situation and it is more beneficial to them.  We teach our students to start their job search plan from the beginning by asking two questions: What do I want to do?  What skills do I have?  Once we know the direction the student wants to move in, we find ways to accomplish this goal.  If the student needs training, we work in that direction.  If not, we develop a plan to make a focused job search in their desired career field.

Considering the present unemployment levels, we teach the student to stand out from the rest of the applicants in a positive way by doing more than the normal job seeker.

We then decide on a job search plan which includes a step by step process including time sensitive goals. We then focus on the ‘How’ to make the student’s overall personal presentation effective to the potential employer.

We teach the student how to fill out an application correctly and then we develop a resume relevant to the job requirements of the new position so the potential employer will see that the applicant can do the job.  The next step is to teach the interviewing skills.  We teach these skills as well as do mock interviews so the student will be more comfortable when they meet with a potential employer.  We also stress self confidence and being prepared for the interview.

Considering the process is successful and the student gets the job offer, we help the ‘new employee’ settle into their new job.  Part of our training is focused on the importance of being a team player, communication between fellow employees, supervisors, as well as customer service on the new job.

As ongoing support we are available to the student after they start work if they have any questions or need advice.  We will also meet with the new employer, if necessary, if misunderstandings arise.

We feel our Employment Readiness Support program is an extremely important training to all our consumers looking for work by putting them at a higher level of knowledge and confidence when they start their "Job of Getting a Job"