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Another Milestone
Every few years, the TIE THAT BINDS passes another milestone. This issue, besides being the annual April Fools issue is also the 150th issue. I like to celebrate these milestones by taking the month off and re-printing articles that stirred responses from the readers.
Burnout
Job coaching is difficult. There is weekend work, evening work, isolation, high skill requirements and low pay. The rewards are often slow in coming and not recognized by others. Supervisors of job coaches need to keep things in mind:
· Personally provide back up support and show that you care.
· Communicate with staff what job coaches are doing.
· Send coaches to training.
· Look for ways to suggest they use the compensatory time they have earned.
· Attend networking meetings.
· Give coaches responsibility.
Zeal is a characteristic that all good job coaches share. When zeal fades, supervisors will need other tools to keep their staff from turning over.
Originally published November 1996
Quota Law
French law requires that businesses of more than 20 employees have 6% representation of workers with disabilities or face a penalty. In 1992, 40% of the businesses paid the tax. The money collected went to a fund to advance the employment opportunities of people with disabilities.
Originally published December of 1996
Ivory Soap
Many of you may remember that Ivory Soap advertised that it was 99.9% pure. It was so pure it floated. Many companies adopted that rule of thumb. We can’t be perfect but we are as good as it can get. If 99.9% is good enough, then…
· 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents…daily
· 2.5 million books will have the wrong
covers on them.
· 291 pacemaker operations will be
performed incorrectly
· 6 words on the front page of the Knoxville News Sentinel will be misspelled.
· 2.5 million cases of Coke produced will be flat.
· HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL BE PLACED IN INAPPROPRIATE JOBS?
This was adapted from an idea from Joel Barker’s book Future Edge.
Originally published August 1997
My Job Coach
As I travel around East Tennessee I enjoy the hospitality of the agencies I work with and am invited in to meet with some job seekers. One of the first questions I ask the job seeker is how their job coaches help them. Some responses are that the job coach understands the meaning of work for me, does not place me on a job, and helps me become connected, not dependent.
Many times we do not hear the thanks and gratitude for the job we do. But, we are making a difference in people’s lives.
Originally published September 1997
HOPE
From the book, Hope For the Terminal Generation a person can live 40 days without food, 3 days without water and 8 minutes without air.
This got me thinking about my work, your work and work in general. The one thing that all of us provide in supported employment is “hope.” What happens to those that do not have hope or we cannot reach?
My other thought about hope is related to the mindset of many of our programs and agencies. Do we exist without hope? Is work becoming a daily grind of existing and not providing hope? Do we see the future and there is no hope in it?
We need to continue to work and provide services to people, trusting that what we do is the correct thing to do and valued by others.
Originally published January 2000
Cost Effective
The American Society for Training and Development estimates that the cost of training a new employee is $150,000 (that’s not a mistake by me). The average cost for providing a mentor is somewhere near $500 per employee. The drawback is time involved by the mentor. The advantage is a valued relationship is created. Mentors give corporations visibility to mentees and mentors get to showcase their knowledge and experience.
Originally published April 2000
Informed Choice
How can people make good choices about work, if they don’t have adequate information?
Here is a little quiz to pick the next leader of the country.
Candidate A: Consults astrologers, has 2 mistresses, chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.
Candidate B: Kicked out of college twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a quart of brandy each evening.
Candidate C: Decorated war hero, vegetarian, doesn’t smoke, has an occasional beer and married his lover.
Without adequate information you may make the wrong choice. The same thing happens when we assist people in finding jobs. Without adequate information, they could choose the wrong one.
Originally published February 2001.
A. FDR B. Churchill C. Hitler
Bill Gates Speaks
From his book Business@The Speed of Thought, Bill Gates talks about the eleven rules of business that are not taught in high school or college.
1. Life is not fair, get used to it.
2. The world doesn’t care about your self esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself.
3. You will not earn $40,000 right out of high school. You won’t be a vice-president with a car phone, until you earn both.
4. If you think your teacher was tough, wait until you meet your boss. Your boss does not have tenure.
5. Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping, they called it opportunity.
6. Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not.
Originally published in November 2001
HOWI
Cary Griffin from Montana talks about HOWI. That is Hanging Out With Intent. The intent is to get to know the individual in an environment they are the most comfortable in. We may call it Discover or the Discovery Process, but you are getting to know the individual better.
Some providers have a formal intake process and get to know the person in that setting. Others have a computer generated form and the staff and individual work together to fill it out.
Can you get the same information in a clearer, concise picture by hanging out and conversing, the same way you would with a friend? We don’t meet new friends by sitting down with a clipboard and pen, filling out a form.
We should have an idea of questions we want to ask and interweave those questions in the conversation we are having with the job seeker.
Originally published December 2003
Dr. Spock, Mr. Spock and SPOC
Some of us grew up and were influenced by Dr. Spock. He spoke and we listened. Later on in life there was Mr. Spock on Star Trek. He spoke and we all listened to his well thought out logic. Now there is SPOC- Single Point Of Contact, a term we knew about but never put the letters together to spell out a word of significance.
Now the business leaders through their Business Advisory Councils, Placement Consortia and Leadership Networks are saying they want one point of contact. Are the community rehabilitation providers (CRPs) listening? Can they get their act together and provide a unified front and approach? Can they provide a unified service, a service that the business will feel comfortable in using? Contact your Corporate Connections Account Representative to see what is happening in your area on this issue.
Originally published in July 2004
Survey Says
At the APSE Conference in July 2005, Neil Romano of America’s Strength Foundation talked about disabilities and the community’s perception. So what do we know about the general population’s beliefs about disabilities?
v 44% believe they have a family member with a disability.
v 71% have worked with a person with a disability.
v 73% have been served or waited on by a person with a disability.
v 99% were satisfied with the service. This is way above the norm.
v 88% say they do business with businesses that hire people with disabilities.
Originally published August 2005
Supportive or Supported
During an interview, an applicant for a consultant position made it clear to me the difference between Supportive Employment and Supported Employment.
Supportive Employment usually includes:
I am behind you all the way.
Call me, if you need me.
You can use me as a reference.
Supported Employment usually includes
establishing a mentor on the job site,
procuring necessary adaptive equipment,
helping a person write a resume and.
helping a person arrange transportation.
As you look at the differences, it is apparent that Supported Employment is more action oriented and involved in the employment process. Supportive Employment is more like giving lip service to the person and the process.
Originally published February 2006
What’s It All About?
You are a job developer, what’s it all about?
It’s all about the community. Or at least who you know and who knows you.
It’s all about integrity. Don’t make promises you can’t keep.
It’s all about opportunity. Get your foot in the door.
It’s all about knowledge. Make sure you know the job seeker and the employer.
It’s all about your attitude. High expectations are contagious.
It’s all about the job seeker. You need to present the skills and abilities of the job seeker.
It’s all about the support. This can be support at work or support surrounding employment.
It’s all about long term success. Do you have an exit plan that enables the job seeker to accommodate changes?
Originally published January 2007
Mike Sass
531 Henley Street
Suite 520
Knoxville, TN 37902
865-594-6720 Ext 1150
Fax: 865-594-6535
Email: mikesass@utk.edu
www.cde.tennessee.edu.
The University of Tennessee is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/ Section 504/ADA/ADEA institution in the provision of its education and employment programs and services. This publication is sponsored in part by contract # ED-09-25258-00 from the TN Division of Rehabilitation Services to The University of Tennessee. Conclusions and opinions in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect those of the TN DRS or the University.
The Danger of Thinking
It started out innocently enough. I began to think at parties now and then to loosen up. Inevitably one thought led to another and I became more than a social thinker.
I began to think alone, you know to relax. I knew that wasn’t true. Thinking became more and more important to me. Finally I was thinking all the time.
I began to think on the job. I know thinking and employment don’t mix, but I couldn’t stop.
I began to avoid friends at lunch, so I could read Thoreau or Emerson. I would return to my cubicle dizzy and confused. I began to question, “What am I doing here?”
Things weren’t going well at home, either. One night I turned the TV off and asked my wife about the meaning of life. She spent the night at her mother’s.
I soon had a reputation as a heavy thinker. One day my boss called me in. He said that I had a real thinking problem. If I didn’t stop thinking I was going to have to find work elsewhere. This really gave me something to think about!!
I went home early. “Honey, I confess, I’ve been thinking….”
“I know you’ve been thinking and I want a divorce,” she replied.
“It can’t be that serious,” I replied.
“It is serious,” she said, with her lower lip quivering. “You think as much as college professors and they don’t make much money. If you keep thinking, we won’t have much money, either.”
“That’s faulty syllogism,” I said impatiently. I got in my car and headed for the library. I was in the mood for some good Nietzche. The PBS radio station had some lively commentary.
The library was closed. To this day I believe it was because of a Higher Power. As I sank to the ground whimpering for Zarathustra, a poster caught my eye. “Friend, is heavy thinking ruining your life?” You may recognize that line from the standard Thinkers Anonymous poster.
That’s why I am here today, a recovering thinker.
I never miss a TA meeting. At each meeting we have a non-educational video. Last week the movie was “Porky’s”. Then we share our experiences and how to avoid thinking.
I still have my job and my life at home is a lot better. Life just seems... easier, somehow, since I stopped thinking.
Originally published in August of 1997
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
February 17th meeting
February 17, 2009
A group of Providers and counselors came together at HATS agency in order to brainstorm and share ideas on how to get and keep jobs in the current tough economy
Below are some highlights from this training so that you can share with staff at your agency or review for use in the future.
We opened the discussion with the question of “What can we do?”
Open discussion resulted in the following ideas and applications that agencies have already implemented and found to be successful.
Use Preventive measures example:
Salvage the job they currently have even with reduction in hours or possible duty changes.
Keep on Payroll!!
Negotiate hours and schedule
Cross training for other positions or within current position
Keep contacts with employers even after your person in no longer employed. Consistently follow up and ask about future possibilities.
Reconnect with managers who may have left the business but are working somewhere else. New job development site.
Make sure you get those letters of recommendation to help in replacing
If it was a temporary layoff keep reconnect every two weeks to keep your individual fresh with the employer.
Sell the individual who already has a lot of good work experience and stress the added benefits they will bring to the job.
Taking the individual with you when you make site visits and contacts
Know the realities of your area the dynamics of the rural vs. metro areas.
If you have success with something like Cold Calling use it stay with what you are comfortable with and have confidence.
Be realistic about expectations around pay.
Watch your attitude!!
Work with your individuals attitude as well and use all your resources i.e.: counselors, COS, parents, peers to redefine those expectations
What is the motivation around work revisit this now that there is more at stake.
The group then switched over to discussing Creative Solutions
What we know….
Review your basic strategies
Folks can work despite age
We have to have clear goals to work within potential
Expect more time to carve out jobs and situations that are best for individual and employer.
Pay attention to your attitude during job search
Use the tools of customized employment
Don’t ever oversell and under deliver!!
Employer resistance happens when we don’t let them tell us what they already know and what they need from us.
Educate there is fear in the unknown!!
LISTEN and LEARN
Use your resources like Fact Sheets to dispel myths and concerns
Get the employer to help develop testimonials for future employers
Sharing of new strategies
Try visiting work sites on paydays…the days when they are happier and more receptive to a visit or meeting.
Revisit those old contacts and update contact list with new numbers etc.
Always end contact on very positive note
Turn a no into a yes!!
Keep revisiting those places where there is a lot of turnover.
Use new language and avoid social service jargon.
Look at the infrastructure
Support each other and remain positive!!
The training was wrapped up with going around the room to ask what new idea you will be leaving with today.
We had four comments to continue to make those contacts and develop relationships.
Quit blaming the economy and someone else.
Look at expectations and strive for more participation and involvement
Add value to your employment services-respond to employers needs
Timing is everything so know you area and the business
If you don’t take risk and do nothing then nothing will change or happen
Accept that change happens and embrace it!!
Be pragmatic/ salvage even those one hour jobs.
Have a new fresh look and it will result in a new attitude.
DON’T BECOME COMPLACENT!!
Wow…. this was a great session and thanks everyone for your input.
Keep up the great work and most of all the great attitudes!!
A group of Providers and counselors came together at HATS agency in order to brainstorm and share ideas on how to get and keep jobs in the current tough economy
Below are some highlights from this training so that you can share with staff at your agency or review for use in the future.
We opened the discussion with the question of “What can we do?”
Open discussion resulted in the following ideas and applications that agencies have already implemented and found to be successful.
Use Preventive measures example:
Salvage the job they currently have even with reduction in hours or possible duty changes.
Keep on Payroll!!
Negotiate hours and schedule
Cross training for other positions or within current position
Keep contacts with employers even after your person in no longer employed. Consistently follow up and ask about future possibilities.
Reconnect with managers who may have left the business but are working somewhere else. New job development site.
Make sure you get those letters of recommendation to help in replacing
If it was a temporary layoff keep reconnect every two weeks to keep your individual fresh with the employer.
Sell the individual who already has a lot of good work experience and stress the added benefits they will bring to the job.
Taking the individual with you when you make site visits and contacts
Know the realities of your area the dynamics of the rural vs. metro areas.
If you have success with something like Cold Calling use it stay with what you are comfortable with and have confidence.
Be realistic about expectations around pay.
Watch your attitude!!
Work with your individuals attitude as well and use all your resources i.e.: counselors, COS, parents, peers to redefine those expectations
What is the motivation around work revisit this now that there is more at stake.
The group then switched over to discussing Creative Solutions
What we know….
Review your basic strategies
Folks can work despite age
We have to have clear goals to work within potential
Expect more time to carve out jobs and situations that are best for individual and employer.
Pay attention to your attitude during job search
Use the tools of customized employment
Don’t ever oversell and under deliver!!
Employer resistance happens when we don’t let them tell us what they already know and what they need from us.
Educate there is fear in the unknown!!
LISTEN and LEARN
Use your resources like Fact Sheets to dispel myths and concerns
Get the employer to help develop testimonials for future employers
Sharing of new strategies
Try visiting work sites on paydays…the days when they are happier and more receptive to a visit or meeting.
Revisit those old contacts and update contact list with new numbers etc.
Always end contact on very positive note
Turn a no into a yes!!
Keep revisiting those places where there is a lot of turnover.
Use new language and avoid social service jargon.
Look at the infrastructure
Support each other and remain positive!!
The training was wrapped up with going around the room to ask what new idea you will be leaving with today.
We had four comments to continue to make those contacts and develop relationships.
Quit blaming the economy and someone else.
Look at expectations and strive for more participation and involvement
Add value to your employment services-respond to employers needs
Timing is everything so know you area and the business
If you don’t take risk and do nothing then nothing will change or happen
Accept that change happens and embrace it!!
Be pragmatic/ salvage even those one hour jobs.
Have a new fresh look and it will result in a new attitude.
DON’T BECOME COMPLACENT!!
Wow…. this was a great session and thanks everyone for your input.
Keep up the great work and most of all the great attitudes!!
TIE THAT BINDS
Volume 13, Issue 5
Number 149
March 2009
Circulation 698
Attitude is the Real Disability
Let’s Go Surfing
It is springtime, nature is rejuvenated, the economy is rejuvenated and job developers are rejuvenated. In California and Hawaii, everyone looks to the ocean for surfing. In Tennessee, we look to the internet to do our surfing.
For online job searches visit these sites.
Go to http://www.flipdog.com/. You type in a zip code and jobs in the area (or close by) appear.
For jobs at UPS visit http://www.upsjobs.com/.
Another job search based on zip code is http://www.indeed.com/.
At http://www.earnworks.com/ you will visit America’s choice for quality workers.
If you have a disability specific question, you can visit these sites.
A catalogue of disabilities and services are at http://www.jan.wvu.edu/.
American Foundation for the Blind is at http://www.afb.org/.
An internet community for people seeking resources is at
www.kcvanderbilt.edu/tnpathfinder/pathfindertext.html
So you are preparing to go to work, you may want the latest information on job seeking.
Go to www.spot.pcc.edu/~rjacobs/career/index.htm. for information on Career and Employment Guides.
The latest information on disabilities is found at http://www.disabilityscoop.com/.
If you are interested in the President Obama’s plans for the disability community look at these flyers.
www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/disabilities.
And Disability Scoop provides this info www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/01/21/autism-obama/1792/.
The World Is Flat
If you subscribe to the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation or are a member of TNAPSE and receive the on-line version as a membership benefit, you had the opportunity to read an article on global vision. This article, How Globalization is Changing Our Workforce by Dedra Hafner and Laura Owens, expands on the Thomas Friedman’s The World Is Flat.
The initial concept is that there is a shift in global vision employment models. Technology and transportation access has forced businesses to go where there are highly skilled and technology savvy people, who are eager to work for much lower wages. So businesses once outsourced manufacturing jobs, but look now. Jobs that can be digitized are being outsourced to the smartest, cheapest and most productive workers and the product is available to multiple markets instantly.
So what happens to people with disabilities? New technology produces new industries and new employment opportunities. Look at what we have now that didn’t exist 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 50 and even 100 years ago. My grandparents were born when transportation was the horse and buggy, mass communication was the telegraph and nightly entertainment was a live theater show or a board game in the family parlor. American industry and economy will continue to evolve and re-invent itself.
People with disabilities can look at E-commerce and on-line auctions, computer resale, green technology, E-consignment, computer graphics, web site development, video production and on-line grocers and store pickers. Being creative and having the tenacity have been the hallmarks of rehabilitation professionals. We need to re-think how we work with employers to increase profits and decrease costs. What is being outsourced and how can we keep them in-house?
Self Awareness
From the mental health side of job developing, there is a maxim that job seekers need to be self aware. What is the nature of the job seekers symptoms and what would be appropriate employment? Just because a person has active symptoms doe not mean the individual is “unable to work.”
People with thought disorders may have difficulty in processing and interpreting information. They could be challenged by distractibility, impaired judgment, delusion, hallucination and the inability to express emotion. There may be some learning difficulties.
If a person has a mood disorder, the mood swings would cause variability in work performance. In the periods of stability they may have no difficulty in learning or working.
Try to think of ways to describe symptoms that reference common experience. Instead of saying “I hear voices”, substitute “distracted.” Turn the perceived liability into an asset by identifying the positive. Describe skills that counterbalance the symptom. Finally there is practice, prepare and pre-empt the employers concerns.
There Ain’t No Rules Around Here!
We’re Trying To Accomplish Something!
-Thomas Edison
Contact
Mike Sass
531 Henley Street
Suite 520
Knoxville, TN 37902
865-594-6720 Ext 1150
Fax: 865-594-6535
Email: mikesass@utk.edu
http://www.cde.tennessee.edu/.
The University of Tennessee is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/ Section 504/ADA/ADEA institution in the provision of its education and employment programs and services. This publication is sponsored in part by contract # ED-09-25258-00 from the TN Division of Rehabilitation Services to The University of Tennessee. Conclusions and opinions in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect those of the TN DRS or the University.
Volume 13, Issue 5
Number 149
March 2009
Circulation 698
Attitude is the Real Disability
Let’s Go Surfing
It is springtime, nature is rejuvenated, the economy is rejuvenated and job developers are rejuvenated. In California and Hawaii, everyone looks to the ocean for surfing. In Tennessee, we look to the internet to do our surfing.
For online job searches visit these sites.
Go to http://www.flipdog.com/. You type in a zip code and jobs in the area (or close by) appear.
For jobs at UPS visit http://www.upsjobs.com/.
Another job search based on zip code is http://www.indeed.com/.
At http://www.earnworks.com/ you will visit America’s choice for quality workers.
If you have a disability specific question, you can visit these sites.
A catalogue of disabilities and services are at http://www.jan.wvu.edu/.
American Foundation for the Blind is at http://www.afb.org/.
An internet community for people seeking resources is at
www.kcvanderbilt.edu/tnpathfinder/pathfindertext.html
So you are preparing to go to work, you may want the latest information on job seeking.
Go to www.spot.pcc.edu/~rjacobs/career/index.htm. for information on Career and Employment Guides.
The latest information on disabilities is found at http://www.disabilityscoop.com/.
If you are interested in the President Obama’s plans for the disability community look at these flyers.
www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/disabilities.
And Disability Scoop provides this info www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/01/21/autism-obama/1792/.
The World Is Flat
If you subscribe to the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation or are a member of TNAPSE and receive the on-line version as a membership benefit, you had the opportunity to read an article on global vision. This article, How Globalization is Changing Our Workforce by Dedra Hafner and Laura Owens, expands on the Thomas Friedman’s The World Is Flat.
The initial concept is that there is a shift in global vision employment models. Technology and transportation access has forced businesses to go where there are highly skilled and technology savvy people, who are eager to work for much lower wages. So businesses once outsourced manufacturing jobs, but look now. Jobs that can be digitized are being outsourced to the smartest, cheapest and most productive workers and the product is available to multiple markets instantly.
So what happens to people with disabilities? New technology produces new industries and new employment opportunities. Look at what we have now that didn’t exist 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 50 and even 100 years ago. My grandparents were born when transportation was the horse and buggy, mass communication was the telegraph and nightly entertainment was a live theater show or a board game in the family parlor. American industry and economy will continue to evolve and re-invent itself.
People with disabilities can look at E-commerce and on-line auctions, computer resale, green technology, E-consignment, computer graphics, web site development, video production and on-line grocers and store pickers. Being creative and having the tenacity have been the hallmarks of rehabilitation professionals. We need to re-think how we work with employers to increase profits and decrease costs. What is being outsourced and how can we keep them in-house?
Self Awareness
From the mental health side of job developing, there is a maxim that job seekers need to be self aware. What is the nature of the job seekers symptoms and what would be appropriate employment? Just because a person has active symptoms doe not mean the individual is “unable to work.”
People with thought disorders may have difficulty in processing and interpreting information. They could be challenged by distractibility, impaired judgment, delusion, hallucination and the inability to express emotion. There may be some learning difficulties.
If a person has a mood disorder, the mood swings would cause variability in work performance. In the periods of stability they may have no difficulty in learning or working.
Try to think of ways to describe symptoms that reference common experience. Instead of saying “I hear voices”, substitute “distracted.” Turn the perceived liability into an asset by identifying the positive. Describe skills that counterbalance the symptom. Finally there is practice, prepare and pre-empt the employers concerns.
There Ain’t No Rules Around Here!
We’re Trying To Accomplish Something!
-Thomas Edison
Contact
Mike Sass
531 Henley Street
Suite 520
Knoxville, TN 37902
865-594-6720 Ext 1150
Fax: 865-594-6535
Email: mikesass@utk.edu
http://www.cde.tennessee.edu/.
The University of Tennessee is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/ Section 504/ADA/ADEA institution in the provision of its education and employment programs and services. This publication is sponsored in part by contract # ED-09-25258-00 from the TN Division of Rehabilitation Services to The University of Tennessee. Conclusions and opinions in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect those of the TN DRS or the University.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
February newsletter
TIE THAT BINDS
February 2009
Volume 13, issue 4
Number 148
Circulation 696
Attitude is the Real Disability
Transportation Costs
In recent phone calls with colleagues in Indiana and from articles, we have heard how some community rehabilitation providers (CRPs) are subsidizing their transportation costs. This is most prominent in the rural areas. But, the CRPs are selling advertizing space on the sides of their vehicles.
How many miles do you put on your agency’s vehicle each week? One agency in a rural area said that they were putting 600 miles on one of their vans.
If you think about it, the CRP is a major transporter in rural areas. What do major transporters do in the urban areas? They have signage all over the vehicle. Is it possible to invest in colorful magnetic signs that display prominent businesses in the county? These could be rotated daily and the CRP could be reimbursed for the cost of the gas, or the cost of the gas and driver. Keep me informed if your agency moves in this direction.
Empowerment
Empowerment is such a powerful word. At times we throw it around, as if it is easy to achieve, like waving a magic wand. “We can empower this group or that group and their lives will be improved.”
Is there a process or steps involved so that one becomes empowered? We don’t wake up the next day and declare that I am empowered, do we?
What needs to be in place to move toward empowerment?
1. Having a range of options from which to make decisions. This means not yes/no or either/or.
2. The feeling that an individual can make a difference.
3. Have decision making power.
4. Having access to resources and information.
5. Feeling part of a group, not feeling alone.
6. Assertiveness.
7. Knowing that people have rights.
8. Learning skills that each person feels is important.
9. Overcoming stigma and increasing one’s self esteem.
10. Unlearning the conditioning, redefining ourselves and redefining our relationships to institutionalized power.
These are some tenets from the mental health field, but apply to all people. Strength is implied in the word “empowerment”. We are strengthening our community rehabilitation programs, strengthening the efforts to become included in the community and strengthening the quality and opportunity of employment for people with disabilities.
Interviewing
Sharon Smith from the Career Center in Knoxville at University Avenue sent me an article from Career Builder.com about negative interview impressions.
I hated my last boss. The implication is that you are difficult to work with, you may not be a team player and you may say the same thing when you leave this company.
I don’t know anything about this company. Just how serious are you about working for this company. With all the information available on the internet, there is no way you should be saying this.
No, I don’t have any questions for you. Again, you should research the company. By knowing the strategies, goals and people of this business, you will have questions available if the interview is not moving smoothly.
I need these days off. Not something to bring up, until the job is offered.
How long before I get a promotion? You want to be goal oriented, but not seen as entitled. Here you are talking to one supervisor and asking how long before I can leave you for something better.
You know what Mark Twain said about… Scripted or quoted answers are often accurate, but you look like you memorized, often sound rehearsed and unnatural. They are often dialogue stoppers.
Limited by the 6 F’s
Are certain jobs “stereotypical” for people with disabilities? Let’s see food, flowers, folding, filth, filing and fetching come to mind. But just like in life, the pendulum swings back.
The question has become, what is wrong with these jobs? What jobs are available to people who have never worked before? What jobs are available as the USA economy moves more to a service economy?
Job developers and service recipients are questioned about the idea that this is really the job a person wants. Somehow the job developer didn’t try to find other jobs. The service recipient was not exposed to other possible jobs. This was just an easy placement, made for the benefit of the CRP.
Remember your first job. I am willing to bet it fell into the “F” category. And so, why should it be any different for the first time job seeker in today’s market. As professionals in the field we need to be diligent in our efforts to, expose, explore and expand. We need to expose the job seeker to other possibilities, explore all the options that the service recipient is interested in doing and expanding the employment horizon to include the dreams of the job seeker.
Then, the 6 “Fs” would be replaced by the 3 “Xs”. That is exposing, exploring and expanding.
You cannot help men
permanently
by doing for them
what they could
and should
do for themselves.
- Abraham Lincoln
Contact
Mike Sass
531 Henley Street
Suite 520
Knoxville, TN 37902
865-594-6720 Ext 1150
Fax: 865-594-6535
Email: mikesass@utk.edu
www.cde.tennessee.edu.
The University of Tennessee is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/ Section 504/ADA/ADEA institution in the provision of its education and employment programs and services. This publication is sponsored in part by contract # ED-09-25258-00 from the TN Division of Rehabilitation Services to The University of Tennessee. Conclusions and opinions in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect those of the TN DRS or the University.
February 2009
Volume 13, issue 4
Number 148
Circulation 696
Attitude is the Real Disability
Transportation Costs
In recent phone calls with colleagues in Indiana and from articles, we have heard how some community rehabilitation providers (CRPs) are subsidizing their transportation costs. This is most prominent in the rural areas. But, the CRPs are selling advertizing space on the sides of their vehicles.
How many miles do you put on your agency’s vehicle each week? One agency in a rural area said that they were putting 600 miles on one of their vans.
If you think about it, the CRP is a major transporter in rural areas. What do major transporters do in the urban areas? They have signage all over the vehicle. Is it possible to invest in colorful magnetic signs that display prominent businesses in the county? These could be rotated daily and the CRP could be reimbursed for the cost of the gas, or the cost of the gas and driver. Keep me informed if your agency moves in this direction.
Empowerment
Empowerment is such a powerful word. At times we throw it around, as if it is easy to achieve, like waving a magic wand. “We can empower this group or that group and their lives will be improved.”
Is there a process or steps involved so that one becomes empowered? We don’t wake up the next day and declare that I am empowered, do we?
What needs to be in place to move toward empowerment?
1. Having a range of options from which to make decisions. This means not yes/no or either/or.
2. The feeling that an individual can make a difference.
3. Have decision making power.
4. Having access to resources and information.
5. Feeling part of a group, not feeling alone.
6. Assertiveness.
7. Knowing that people have rights.
8. Learning skills that each person feels is important.
9. Overcoming stigma and increasing one’s self esteem.
10. Unlearning the conditioning, redefining ourselves and redefining our relationships to institutionalized power.
These are some tenets from the mental health field, but apply to all people. Strength is implied in the word “empowerment”. We are strengthening our community rehabilitation programs, strengthening the efforts to become included in the community and strengthening the quality and opportunity of employment for people with disabilities.
Interviewing
Sharon Smith from the Career Center in Knoxville at University Avenue sent me an article from Career Builder.com about negative interview impressions.
I hated my last boss. The implication is that you are difficult to work with, you may not be a team player and you may say the same thing when you leave this company.
I don’t know anything about this company. Just how serious are you about working for this company. With all the information available on the internet, there is no way you should be saying this.
No, I don’t have any questions for you. Again, you should research the company. By knowing the strategies, goals and people of this business, you will have questions available if the interview is not moving smoothly.
I need these days off. Not something to bring up, until the job is offered.
How long before I get a promotion? You want to be goal oriented, but not seen as entitled. Here you are talking to one supervisor and asking how long before I can leave you for something better.
You know what Mark Twain said about… Scripted or quoted answers are often accurate, but you look like you memorized, often sound rehearsed and unnatural. They are often dialogue stoppers.
Limited by the 6 F’s
Are certain jobs “stereotypical” for people with disabilities? Let’s see food, flowers, folding, filth, filing and fetching come to mind. But just like in life, the pendulum swings back.
The question has become, what is wrong with these jobs? What jobs are available to people who have never worked before? What jobs are available as the USA economy moves more to a service economy?
Job developers and service recipients are questioned about the idea that this is really the job a person wants. Somehow the job developer didn’t try to find other jobs. The service recipient was not exposed to other possible jobs. This was just an easy placement, made for the benefit of the CRP.
Remember your first job. I am willing to bet it fell into the “F” category. And so, why should it be any different for the first time job seeker in today’s market. As professionals in the field we need to be diligent in our efforts to, expose, explore and expand. We need to expose the job seeker to other possibilities, explore all the options that the service recipient is interested in doing and expanding the employment horizon to include the dreams of the job seeker.
Then, the 6 “Fs” would be replaced by the 3 “Xs”. That is exposing, exploring and expanding.
You cannot help men
permanently
by doing for them
what they could
and should
do for themselves.
- Abraham Lincoln
Contact
Mike Sass
531 Henley Street
Suite 520
Knoxville, TN 37902
865-594-6720 Ext 1150
Fax: 865-594-6535
Email: mikesass@utk.edu
www.cde.tennessee.edu.
The University of Tennessee is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/ Section 504/ADA/ADEA institution in the provision of its education and employment programs and services. This publication is sponsored in part by contract # ED-09-25258-00 from the TN Division of Rehabilitation Services to The University of Tennessee. Conclusions and opinions in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect those of the TN DRS or the University.
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