Effective Career Planning

for Job Seekers with

Disabilities

Identify Yourself!

DISABILITY

What does it mean to you?

Disability

Includes wide range of conditions

Impact on people’s lives varies

Often not apparent

Be careful of blanket assumptions about disability and people with disabilities

Disability is individualized and idiosynchratic

One-Stop Customers

Job Seekers

Employers

Marketing as Education

Every conversation you have with an employer about an individual with a disability contains both implicit and explicit disability awareness education.

Job Seekers with Disabilities

People who have an apparent disability and/or disclose their disability to you

People who have a non-apparent disability and choose not to disclose

People who are not aware they have a disability

Getting to Know You:Current One-Stop Assessment

Practices

Interest inventories Achievement tests Aptitude tests Personality assessments Intelligence Testing

Shortcomings of Testing for People with Disabilities When modified, scores are uncertain Tests that reflect disability do not

provide info about potential Predictive assessments used in a

different environment are limited Norm-referenced difficulties: most

pen/paper tests were standardized on people without disabilities

What motivates them?

HOW DO WE FIND OUT WHAT PEOPLE

WANT?

What interests them?

Individualized Career Planning

Rally the troops – Tap into those resources! – Who knows them well? Who can help identify

skills/abilities?

Develop a Vocational Profile– Likes and dislikes– Past experiences– Skills and abilities– See “Job Development Planning Tool”

Identify Employment Outcomes– Job choice– Environment of choice

Develop Placement Plan-Matching interests & supports

Critical Elements of Career Planning

Customer Driven

Focus on Desires, Strengths, Abilities

Get to Know Him/Her: Ask, “Why?”

Ongoing Process

Respecting Preferences and Choices

Job Seeker Planning Tool

A good job is a good match.

What’s your profile?

Alternative Methods of Exploration and Assessment

What are they?

Who sets them up?

What can they tell you or your customer?

Alternative Assessments

Situational assessments

Job shadowing

Tours

Informational interviews

Volunteering

Taking a class

How to…

Use existing employer relationships

Use job development techniques Use your customer’s and your

networks Be considerate of employer’s time

and restrictions Be clear about purpose and role

Employer/Career Research

Information about labor market trends

Job requirements and environments

Level of education and experience

Availability of jobs

Research Resources Job listings

Newspaper articles

Employer web sites

http://online.onetcenter.org/

Long Term Employment Success

Requires that potential support needs and barriers

be identified and addressed, prior to

placement

Anticipating Needs Individual support needs vary Anticipate and address support needs

during job search Focus on needs on the job as well as

external needs (e.g., housing) which can impact employment

Focus on concrete (e.g., transportation) & personal supports (e.g., need for supportive co-worker)

Potential Job Support Issues Transportation Child care Non-work

meetings/appointments/obligations Benefits management Money management Personal organization skills Housing Clothing/uniform

Support on the Job:Two Areas to Look At

Accomplishing job tasks

Fitting into work culture & understanding social rituals

Addressing Support Needs

Identify and provide assistance in accessing resources (transportation, benefit planners)

Focus on potential placements which are good skill & work culture match with sufficient level of on-the-job supports

Accommodations: identify & arrange Determine need for post placement support

(job coach, counseling, peer support post-placement, etc.) and identify source