John-Paul Hatala

When do you know that you've done everything you can and there's no hope for a client? What are the indicators? Could be that they are not listening or they simply aren't being realistic about their employment chances. Most frustrating is when they've given up looking for work and are relying on their career practitioner to find them a job.

As career practitioners we most undoubtedly reach this point with one or many of our clients. So how do you handle a scenario like this? Perhaps the concept of 'free' is what's standing in our way. There can't be value in 'free' career services, can there?

What a job seeker invests into their job search is in proportion to the outcomes they generate. The less they put in the fewer opportunities for employment they will receive. So how do you light the proverbial fire under you clients to make them do the things you 'know' will lead them to success?

Not an easy answer to a difficult question. Keeping it real from the beginning is probably a good start. Career practitioners are not typically psychologist and therefore should recognize that there maybe some psychosocial issues that they should not attempt to deal with. A referral is always a good course of action. However, uncovering these issues are critical to determining if the job seeker has a chance of finding a job. A fine line I would say.

Here's a controversial thought; don't focus first on what your clients need, but on what they do. We know that they need a job, that's a given. What is more difficult to determine is what they need to mover closer to that reality. Even formal assessments can sometime bog us down. A more efficient means is monitoring what the job seeker is doing. Focus on how they are now conducting their job search and what barriers are presenting themselves as they look for work. If the individual is depressed, this may come up in discussing their latest job search activities as it is often difficult for someone who is depressed to focus on specific tasks. Again, not suggesting to delve deeply into this but making a note that something is impeding on their progress is critical to moving forward. 

If we focus on how they're conducting the job search, who they're speaking to, how they're doing their research we are more apt to identify challenges to them finding a job. On top of all this, it's much more efficient than conducting a needs assessment.

I must say that I'm not against assessment. It plays an integral part in the career development process. However, it's about introducing it at the appropriate time that is critical. Essentially, there is a small window of opportunity for a client to buy-in to what we prescribe. If we don't get them to start experiencing successes by doing something, this may never happen.

The long and short of it is that we may have to drop a client when they aren't doing what we are suggesting to them. It's not that we want to get rid of them but it is possible that they are not prepared to receive job related related information at that time. It's not a bad thing, it's just what it is. This is not to say we shut the door on them but more importantly it's about designating your limited resources to folks who are ready and willing to listen to you.

JP