Having put together an employment plan, it’s now been decided employment is desirable outcome, it will be time to examine every possible way of achieving that worthwhile goal, the clock starts ticking right away.
You now have the task of matching the requirements of your client to a suitable sustainable job. This being the case you and your partners and or network will need to use your knowledge and understanding of the local employment vista, facilitating a successful job match. Feeling the pressure yet?
To this ends we must have a well-reasoned understanding of the current local job market. We don’t want to miss out on a perfect opportunity because we simply weren’t aware of it’s existence. However, of course, the other part of this equation is maximizing the individual’s chances of securing this opportunity.
One of the major draws of implementing a supported employment programme such as project SEARCH is the ability provide it’s participants with the required skills and experience in the relevant tasks in employment area. This is based in real work situations, with enough time to acquire these skills. In fact, it also provides a ready-made set of connections so that client has that all important foot in the door. The Supported Internship model advocates a full utilisation of all partners contacts to best effect including, the employer, supported employment professionals as well as their family.
So we need to put our client in the best possible light so I couldn’t leave this section without at least alluding to our friend presentation. It almost goes without saying that the way we look and present ourselves can be a deciding factor. Dress, especially when attending interviews, upholding standards with uniforms and making first impressions is paramount. This falls in the realm of those soft-skills which are crucial to practice and perfect immediately.
We can have all of the above in place, however upon locating an opportunity we still need to be displaying the client to their full potential. This can be achieved with a positive committed approach form the client – they must demonstrate that they want to work. Again the supported internship model allows the individual to relate their past experiences of work during their placements. They can ask positive appropriate questions thus providing the employer with assurance that the client is competent of accomplishing all the job may require. With,of course, the old tried and tested classic of aiming to find out any information about the company before an interview, coaching may well be advised prior to this life changing event! After all we are tasked with presenting providing an optimal image of the client to secure a job opportunity.
We want to make sure the employer is impressed with the client’s skills and capability, and advertising them in such a way to ensure the client can contribute to the employer’s goals.
employers identify with the requirement for job matching and want individuals to have the chance of getting to a productive result for both client and employer.
Remember many vacancies are not advertised; and we must consider leverage all possible contacts to achieve this goal. Working form the beginning It is vital to involve those we represent in our job-finding efforts; giving us an acid test of their dedication to finding employment it also keeps them informed and faciltates the principles of self determination
The objective as you know is employment success for the client We need to build and maintain a database of employers, contacts and information for future job searches.
When we look at the unemployment statistics, we know people with a disability are unlikely get employment with traditional means – let’s hope with the right tools we can really make a difference.
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