Job Coaching

Location: Open Door Shelter

Date: Monday, October 28, 2013; 6:45-8:30 pm

This is a rare Chicago Cares project where I usually end up arriving way in advance and this evening was no exception.  In the past I have waited at a nearby ‘Starbucks’, but today I decided to come directly.  I was the first person to arrive, but was soon joined by a first time Chicago Cares volunteer, Bethany.  I told her that she had picked a good one, just as our Volunteer leader Claire, along with Dave, who had been terrific during the previous session, when I had led, joined us.  Also present were a married couple and a volunteer Aaron.  As we waited to go up, we chatted with a staff member, and the new volunteers had some questions for her.  We learned that the age range for the residents is from 14 to 20 years and 9 months - since they had to be out before their 21^st birthday.  Also, under special circumstances the shelter can accept 13 year old's, especially if it pertains to domestic violence.  She went on to say that for tonight’s session one of the residents wanted to know about a potential misdemeanor charges and court appearance and how that may affect their job prospects.  We said that this was something that their lawyer should be advising them on, but the candidate should be upfront about it on their job application should the question be asked.  Our job was to coach them for the interview; the rest was up to them and the potential employers.

We went upstairs and I noticed that there weren't as many youth as usual.  Claire got us assembled and around the table for introductions.  One of the girls was on crutches and said that she had a sprained foot.  She said that she worked in ‘Potbelly’, a place that I frequent due to their excellent sandwiches, and I told her that.  One of the girls said that she was still in High School, prompting others to tease her by saying that she was looking forward to her prom.  Aah, to be young.  When my turn came, I once again mentioned about working in the energy industry. But then I went on to say that I once made medical devices as thin as human hair!  That seemed to get them excited and the girl from ‘Potbelly’ asked if this was in High School.  I said no, it was in Graduate School, though back in High School I remember trying to isolate the nerve ring of a tiny earth worm.  Ugh!

Today’s icebreaker game was ‘Bingo Squares’, where people had to go around, talk with others, and identify someone who fit a criteria in a square that they had.  This is a great way to get everyone involved and very soon there was a frenzy of activity.  Claire did not have enough printouts and so while I did not get a sheet, I told the residents that I would sign theirs. Actually, there were very few squares where I was eligible, since there were categories such as “plays sports” and “plays musical instrument”.  Why, I couldn’t even sign on “has seen a movie in the last 7 days”.  I could however sign on things such as “likes to read” or “speaks another language”.  I found myself with the girl from ‘Potbelly’ and looking at the married couple she said that she wanted to be married.  Well, that was certainly a nice wish and I told her that it would happen someday if she wanted it.  But for now we had to fill out these squares and “being married” was not one of the categories!

Do's and Don'ts of dressing

It was time to get started and as a first task, Claire put up a paper board on the wall, which she divided into two parts – Do’s and Don’ts.  She then gave us a lot of magazines and scissors, asked us to cut out the images of people in there, and then based on what they were wearing; paste it on the board as either “appropriate for an interview” or “inappropriate for an interview”.  I was working with a guy, John, and we were cutting out the images and making two piles.  Some of the images were obvious, such as a woman in beach wear or in a cocktail dress.  John said that it really depends on what kind of job you are applying for, though there are very few job's warranting a bikini be worn for an interview!  I said that you should be dressed professionally irrespective of the job.  For example, we had a picture of someone wearing a doctor’s apron and I said that even though that’s a professional attire, one should not be wearing it for an interview.  We put up some of the pictures, as did the other teams, and soon the board was full. 

Next, Claire wanted us to work with one or two residents on their Resume skills.  John and I had formed a good connection and so decided to stick together. We were joined by the girl in High School who introduced herself as Nel.  The three of us relocated to other end of the room and settled on couches.  As John went to get his resume, I chatted with Nel.  She said that she was going to college next year, starting with community college and then hopefully to a bigger University within a year.  She said that her ambition was to become a mental therapist.  I said that even though job coaching may not be something she needs right now, she should listen in as it may help her eventually.  John had returned with his resume and I saw that it required some work.  There were a lot of bullet points without much substance and he said that his counselor had prepared it for him.  I said that we would try to do better and we got down to work. 

I told John that we should go through the entire sequence of a job search, followed by resume preparation, interview and finally follow-up.  It starts with applying for the right job and tailoring the application to fit exactly what the employers are looking for.  It means not submitting a generic resume, but incorporating key words from the job description.  I asked John what he wanted to do in terms of profession and he said that he wanted to become a police officer.  I said that he should think about what is expected from a police officer and then use those key words in the resume; words such as “accountable”, “trustworthy” (as suggested by Nel) and “safe”, in the ‘Objectives Statement'.  Then I gave him my usual spiel about quantifying everything and list accomplishments rather than just duties performed in the past.  I mentioned that for his first job, it may be a difficult proposition since there isn't much experience, but he should be able to list it in time.  Next we went through the importance of Networking and how something like ‘LinkedIn’ could be a valuable resource.  I told him to meet with a local police officer, get to know him, and then network his way to a potential job.  I mentioned that it is okay to ask for an introduction in today’s day and age.  Next phase is the actual interview and how important it is to work on the “elevator speech”.  The best thing is to write down everything he wanted to say and memorize it till it became a habit.  During the interview it is very important to ask follow-up questions and so it becomes mandatory to go prepared and if the question has already been answered during the interview process, improvise on the spot.  Finally, we discussed something that he was keen on – the post-interview follow-up. I said that the first thing was to send a non-generic “thank you” note, personalized with some tidbit about each person who has interviewed him.  Then follow-up after a few days asking where they are in their decision making process. 

Time was almost up but John wanted to talk a bit about the Cover Letter, a point that I had forgotten to discuss.  Good for him!  I mentioned that the cover letter needed to be slightly different than the resume and should address the job, critical skills to meet the job requirements, and finally a request for an interview. I gave him some of Claire’s templates and wished him luck.  He had been a very good student and to her credit, Nel had been extremely attentive as well.  We left after what I felt was an extremely productive session.  One of the other youth thanked me and even referred to me by name.  I have been coming here for a long while and probably a project that I have attended the most.  But I leave satisfied every single time and today was no exception.

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