Notes and Resources From March 21 Training

Below is the Top 10 List that was developed in the workshop, along with my Bonus Tips. You'll also find some links to activities like the Pride Experience Exercise. At the bottom of the page (scroll all the way to the bottom) I've also added some attachments of group activities that I've used successfully with customers, including the "Here's Your Career" lesson plan and some other resources.

Be sure to check out the notes from the March 22 class. They have some ideas and information that you didn't get and vice versa.

Your Top Ten List of Assessment Tips for One-Stop Staff

1. Assessment is a tool for customers first. The focus should be on ensuring that they have the information they need to make informed career choices.

2. Remember to customize the assessment process, be flexible in using tools and processes and use your creativity to help customers get the information they need.

3. Your system should be oriented toward helping customers develop career plans, as opposed to helping them make service decisions like "should I go to training?"

4. You need professional, certified counselors to work with customers.

5. The ways in which we interact with staff should support customer empowerment.
6. We need to help customers establish action plans and time frames.

7. We should clarify the roles of the counselor and the customer in the assessment process.

8. .We need to explain assessment and the career planning process without jargon.

9. Be positive--engage the customer in the assessment process so that it's not something done TO the customer or FOR the customer.

10. Ensure that everyone throughout the One-Stop Career Center has appropriate active listening skills and that they use those skills with customers.

Michele's Bonus Tips

1. Every customer who comes through the One-Stop Career Center should have the opportunity to assess what they WANT to do (interests, work values, skills they want to use or develop) and what they CAN do (occupational, transferable and literacy skills, potential barriers to success). The strategies and tools for assessing these areas may differ for different customers, but everyone should be encouraged and provided with the opportunity to assess these areas.

2. The results of assessment should drive the delivery of services, not the other way around. We need to find out first what the customer needs and then look at what is available to meet that need.

3. Use a range of tools and strategies. Use self-directed and group activities with customers who need less assistance and use group and one-on-one for people who may need more assistance. Try to avoid over-reliance on one-on-one staff interviews as the primary means of assessment.

4. Focus on using assessment to create a career plan, not on using it to assess eligibility and suitability for services.

5. Focus first on assessing what customers want to do and their strengths and assets. Only begin assessing the barrier areas once the customer has first had the chance to form a career vision.

6. Remember that the customer owns the assessment information and that we should ensuring they have the assessment information they need to make informed choices.

Group and Individual Activities

Be sure to check out the attachments at the bottom of this page, too.

The Pride Experience Activity (can be done individually or in groups)

The Party Game (group activity for identifying Holland Code interests. For more on the Holland Code, see the Tools and Resources Page of this site.)