by Tova Sherman
“Inside of every problem lies an opportunity.”– Robert Kiyosaki
As an agency dedicated to supporting anyone facing barriers to employment (at no charge), reachAbility is always ready to pivot when we identify gaps and challenges. Recently we addressed such a reality. We identified a small group of clients who were not getting to the interviews after applying. These clients had good resumes that reflected their range of skills, but the lack of work experience or recent gaps in work experience on these resumes was clearly an issue. These clients needed recent workplace experience if they were to be considered for employment.
If clients are struggling with interviews, we quickly address that with more practice and job interview support. But handling these sorts of gaps in on-the-job experience can be more challenging to address.
This is why we introduced the Workplace Experience Project (WEP) for job seekers who have little to no work experience.
WEP as we’ve designed it is a paid, rotating reception desk role focused on assisting clients facing barriers with a focus on confidence building through hands-on experience in a safe, supportive environment. Clients get experience working in a busy office environment, but surrounded by the friendly faces of reachAbility staff who are quick to offer reassurance and support. One month in, the results of this project are encouraging. Clients who have worked short terms on our reception desk are feeling more confident, their resumes are stronger due to more recent experience, and they are able to generate some income while working with our Job Developer to continue searching for new work.
The length of the WEP term position is as unique as the clients who take on that role, it can service multiple participants at a time by creating this rotating shift of a few days a week. While they are in the role, participating clients build experience in:
- Being part of a working team
- Customer facing administration duties
- Client support
- Basic computer skills
- Phone Etiquette
- Letter writing
- Accessibility basics (welcoming everyone)
- And custom selected tasks to address resume gaps directly
After completing WEP we have seen a dramatic uptick in confidence, preparedness and, most importantly, interview invites have improved.
As the CEO of reachAbility, I need to offer my kudos to employment team who:
- Clarified the challenge
- Gathered information on options that may improve the situation (various ideas were brought to the table)
- Work-shopped some of those ideas
- Identified a clear path to take
- Followed through, gained stakeholder approval and implemented the Workplace Experience Project
Finding a gap in our client successes can be tough, after all our team is putting in a lot of work to help these clients, who are talented, capable people, get back to work. But finding a solution that gives the client the experience they need, supports them financially, and supports the whole office at the same time? That’s the win, win, win we’re always looking for.
If you wish more info on WEP or other initiatives at reachAbility, write to us at info@reachAbility.org
“If you procrastinate when faced with a big difficult problem… break the problem into parts and handle one part at a time.” – Robert Collier
