Posted on 07/11/2008 3:06:01 PM PDT by steve8714
I own a startup staffing service here in the St. Louis metro area. Wednesday a kid came in to apply for assignment with us, and he brings a woman with him. It turns out she is his "work coach". What this means is that every time he goes looking for a job, she's with him, injecting herself into the proceedings, talking about him like he isn't there, using terms like "high-functioning" as if the guy were retarded. The poor bastard would do much better on his own. Has anybody else encountered anything like this?
Nice bit from the trenches. Keep ‘em coming. They might make an interesting blog or book someday.
Bwahahahahahahahahahaha!!!
Are you sure it wasn’t actually his Mom?
Bizarre. The question is, would he bring one if he were applying for a job as a “work coach”?
My business partners and I actually hired a woman once who was accompanied by her husband to the interview. We thought it was rather weird but her qualifications were exceptional and she was a charming person. She ended up being a very good employee and her husband didn’t interject himself into the firm or her job that we knew of.
Voc rehab uses work coaches to help the less than optimal find work.
some are privately funded but most are taxpayer supported.
Do you really want to send out a kid with a work coach to represent what your new company can provide?
Career Coach. Sounds like an alternate career path for an out-of-work HR staffer. They always approach problems in a totally touchy- feely & non-relevant manner.
I heard stories like this, but instead of a work coach who comes in with the kid, it is Mom.
“You can sit in the lobby until the interview process is over with. I am not attempting to hire you, and the interview process is a confidential business practice. Should this not be acceptable, the application is denied.”
Yeah, we’ve had them as well, and tell them to sit and wait. We’ve had objections, and simply handed back the application and tell them that their services are not wanted. Had some grumbles about a lawsuit, but never had one filed. I doubt it’d stand up in court.
Very strange.
Was she hot?
No. I think most of these are more learning discouraged than learning disabled, and the coddling by the state will not serve them well.
No, but hell no. She looked like a social worker, except no Che t-shirt or Prius in the parking lot.
They helped him with his resume. They practice interviewing. They help him look for jobs and help complete on-line applications. They offered to go with him on a job interview. I thought, who would hire somebody that needs a job coach to go on an interview? They told me that some companies would balk at this, but many would allow it.
In my opinion, if you are going to hire the handicapped, what do you care if some accommodations have to be made to help out? Sometimes these organizations will even pay to have a ramp put in, or a special phone system, or something like that. Sometimes these people just need a support system. I have hired illiterate people in the past when the job did not require them to read.
In the past I might have been bothered by this, but now that I know how it works, I would allow the job coach. I would at least give the person the chance to interview.
Three guesses.
...and the first two don't count...
Wake up, dingbat! The success of my enterprise is WAY more important than hiring the less forunate. It’s about what YOU can do for ME, not the other way around.
And if this makes you indignant....TOUGH!!!!!
Maybe he is retarded. Or autistic. “High-functioning” is a term used to describe either.
I hired a high-functioning autistic to paint a bedroom. Bad idea, as he could only do it EXACTLY his way. He looked like he wanted to kill me when I told him how I wanted it done, but went straight ahead and did it his way without missing a beat. Very narrow focus, and not necessarily to an employer’s advantage.
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