Job Coaching

Location: Open Door Shelter

Date: Monday, January 7, 2013; 6:45-8:30 pm

When I first started volunteering with Chicago Cares back in September, I was looking to stick to neighborhoods that were somewhat familiar, easily accessible by train, or at least destinations that I could locate easily.  Even then, I have had lot of moments of hesitation at crossroads while I consulted the map on my phone, or general touristy behavior where one is lost and all others on the street can spot it easily.  I was amazed what a few months of public transportation travel to far corners of the city can do.  Now, not only was I arriving at my target with confidence, I walked around the neighborhood as if I knew it intimately.  The previous time I had visited ODS, I had walked all over trying to find a Starbucks, and even after finding one, I wasn’t sure when I should leave to make it to ODS on time.  On this occasion, I got out of the train station, went to Starbucks, worked on my computer till it was time and then arrived at ODS with minutes to spare.  I was now a certified Chicagoan.

Outside ODS

Before walking into the building, I spent a moment admiring the exterior of the facility.  The architecture is amazing, as is the lighting, which gives it a very serene quality.  Inside, I chatted with Claire, our volunteer leader and she was happy to hear that I had previous experience with this program.  As stated earlier, this is a tricky one where the kids are teenagers, and are only doing this because of a pre-requisite.  While we waited for everyone, I looked at some of the sayings that were hanging on the wall in the reception area, messages that the residents would do well to memorize.  Once the other volunteers had arrived, we went upstairs.  As before, we sat in a group -some of the kids reluctantly - and introduced ourselves.  Dion, from my previous visit was there and I was pleased to hear that he still wanted to pursue his writing ambition, as did Shawn, who wanted to learn how to fix things.  Claire split us into groups and I was to work with 3 teenagers – 2 boys and one girl.  Right of the bat I could tell from the body language that I was dealing with three distinct levels of enthusiasm.  While the girl looked like she was keen to learn, one of the boys was looking unsure while the other was visibly disinterested.  Oh man, this was going to be a challenge!

On the walls of the reception area

I started by asking them their names because the name tags were not really communicating much.  The girl was Lakeisha and the unsure boy was Devin.  Despite me asking twice, I never got a good answer from the other boy, who looked like he was falling asleep and neither did I get a good look at his tag.  To be fair to others, especially Lakeisha, I proceeded to the coaching session.  I asked them what they wanted to do with their lives and their career.  Lakeisha said that she wanted to become an Investigative Journalist.  What a fantastic choice; for I had not expected that answer from someone in her situation.  I asked Devin about what he wanted to do and his response is not something I wish to repeat in this blog.  I knew why he was doing it, but I said such an answer does not excuse him from not listening to me for the next hour and I promised him that I will interview him for the exact role that he had described for himself.  When he realized that he was not going to get out of this easily, he started paying attention.  Unfortunately, this was not the case for our other friend who started by saying he wanted to become an Astronaut, but when I said I will interview him for that, drifted off again.

I started with Lakeisha and probed her with questions that would possibly prepare her for a life of a reporter, sorry investigative journalist, as she corrected me.  She was on the editorial committee for her school newsletter and that was a solid background for what she wanted to accomplish.  She also alluded to a role model that she had - a professional journalist who was a young independent woman - and whom Lakeisha wanted to emulate.  I was thrilled that she had actually thought about her career and what it was going to take to get there. 

Devin was observing me with Lakeisha and seeing our interaction, was getting more encouraged to participate.  I asked him again what he would like to do, and his response was extraordinarily unique.  It was perhaps because we were looking at a young baby who was sitting at the table with his teenage mom, but Devin said he wanted to take care of babies.  I asked if he meant working in day care and he said yes;either that or a private nanny.  I told him that was noble idea, but he needed to build himself as a person who could be relied upon, someone whom people were going to trust with their most precious possession.  He understood what I was trying to say and was nodding during our discussions.  I gave him pointers on how he could answer interview questions to demonstrate some of the qualities expected of such a person.  I suspect that he referred to that job only because he likes babies; since there was another job he said he would like to do, and that was driving a CTA bus. I asked if it was because he did not want to be stuck indoors behind a desk and wanted to be outside.  He said yes, and he also liked following a set course - like a bus.  Considering where we had started, getting Devin to open up with such thoughtful insights was a coup for me.  We discussed some of the potential interview questions that one may encounter in such a role and once again, he was an attentive listener.

Claire had given us a list of questions that I was discussing with them and some of them were behavioral, such as conflict resolution etc.  Both of them were contributing actively at this stage and then we reached a question which convinced me that this evening had been a success.  I asked them how would they answer a question which every interviewee faces, “Where do you see yourself in five years”.  I coached them on how they should show interest in the job they were applying for and tailor their response around that.  Lakeisha asked me how they could respond to this if they were applying for a job flipping burgers at a fast food joint.  How were they to show excitement for something which was not their ultimate goal, but a way to pay the bills?  This made me realize that I was dealing with two young people who really wanted to do something with their lives and not just make money.  I said they should look at the person and say “I still want to be in this company, but in a corporate role”.  This would show the manager their willingness to do the job, their ambition for growth, as well as their loyalty to the Company.  Both Lakeisha and Devin liked this response, and I have a feeling that they would use something like this if the occasion demands it.

While I could have discussed more with them, unfortunately Claire announced that our time was up.  I wished them both success and left.  I walked out with another volunteer who said that he worked with Dion and they had exchanged contact information so as to continue the dialogue.  It was fantastic to see everyone’s commitment and if we as volunteers can communicate that, then the kids will follow and pay attention.  While I have been proud of all of my work with Chicago Cares, today I really felt as if I had made a difference.  I hope Lakeisha and Devin feel that way too. 


*All the client's names have been changed in order to respect their privacy