1. Three Things All Students
should know about:
How to Get a Job
1) Most effective methods of “looking” for
jobs?
2) Develop a 5-Second Sales Pitch
Introduction
3) Tips on Teaching “Interview Skills”
Warm Up Q?s
1) Which fruit has its seeds on the outside?
2) Name the only vegetable that is NEVER sold frozen,
canned, cooked, or in any other form except FRESH.
3) Name the only sport where the defense always has
possession of the ball .
4) What are the only three words that start with the
letters “dw”?

2. Speaker’s Background:
Miguel A. Bueso, MS
(301) 942-1115 ext. 104
mbueso@pathwayschools.org
 ‘81 - BS Business Administration
 10 Years - Corporate Experience Marketing/Finance
 ‘93 - MS Transition Specialist
 6 Years - Adjunct Professor at Montgomery College
20 Years - Teaching Students with EB/D
20 Years - Job Placement Experience
Certifications – Teaching “AP”, GCDF, DSAP

3. 51.4 % Drop Out of School
40.1 % Graduate Standard Diploma
8.5 % Age Out
(US Dept. of Education 2002 – Students with E/BD)

4. 59 % Unemployed 2-Years after leaving
school!
53 % Unemployed 5-Years after leaving
school!
These were the highest unemployment
rates for any disability group noted!

5. 78 % of regular education graduates are pursuing
some type of continuing education
 Less than 20 % of students with EB/D are
participating in any type of post-secondary
education or training
These were the lowest enrollment statistics
of any disability group noted

6.  65 % fail at least one course in high school (U.S. Department of
Education, 1994)
 20 % of ED students are arrested before leaving school
(Malmgren, Edger, & Neel, 1998) and 19 % have been arrested
by the time they have been out of school for two years (National
Longitudinal Transition Study)
 36 % of all youths admitted to psychiatric hospitals have ED
(Singh, 1994)
 Students with ED experience higher rates of social isolation
and involvement in crime as adults, than do any other
category of people with disabilities. (Frank and Sitlington, 1997)
 Students with ED are fairing far worse than those with more
severe disabilities (physically impaired) and those who
function at lower intellectual and functional levels (MR).
(Maag & Katsiyannis, 1998)

7. My Philosophy regarding the Importance of Teaching
Job-Hunting Skills:
Place a Student in a “Job Experience,”
Feed Him for a Day
Teach a Student How to Hunt for a Job
Feed Him for the Rest of His Life

8. Job Search Strategies:
The 4 Major Types of Job Leads:
Job Lead Types
1) Advertised Job Leads
2) Employment Agencies
3) Networking
4) Cold-Calling
Pros
 Lots of Job Openings
 Easy to Find & Apply
 Lots of Info
 Exclusive Job Listings
 Motivated to Place You
 Others “Connections”
 “Hidden Job Market”
 Can Create Job Openings
 “Hidden Job Market”
Cons
 If you found it…
 Too Much Competition
 Limits your Choices
 Commission-Motivated
 Limits Your choices
 Takes Time & Effort
 Takes Courage & Humility
 Takes Time & Effort
 Difficulty Hearing “NO”

9. Two Measures of Effectiveness:
Hidden Job Market
Advertised
Jobs 30%
"Hidden
Job
Market"
70%
Recent Hires
Employment
Agencies 10%
Advertised
Jobs 20%
Cold Calling
30%
Networking
40%

10. Principles of a “Cold Calling”
1) Develop and Rehearse a 4-sentence Sales Pitch Intro
2) Ask for a “Manager on Duty”
3) “Offer ” Skills BEFORE “Asking” for a Job
4) Rehearse handling “No”

11. Writing Out a "Winning” Introduction
•
Circle the two (2) statements below which are MOST true about you:
“I am available to work any day of the week.” “I follow directions well.”
“I am on-time and dependable.” “I take pride in my work.”
“I get along well with others.” “I am a hard worker.”
“I would like to gain more work experience.” “I am an honor-roll student”
• “Hello, my name is ___________________________.”
•
• “I _______________________________________.”
• (Give one of your best selling points from above)
• “I _______________________________________.”
• (Give another one of your best selling points from above)
• “Are you in need of someone with my skills?”

12. Offering Skills vs. Asking for Help
• “Hello, my name is Fred Barnes.
• I am available to work any day of the week.
• I am a hard worker.
• Are you in need of someone with my skills?”
• Oh Yeah, Now that is an Introduction managers remember!!!

13. Teaching Interviewing Skills
• Introduce Do’s and Don’t about Interviewing
• Break Interview down into different parts
• Define Goals for each of the different parts
• Review Commonly Asked Interview Questions
• Hold Realistic “Rehearsal Interviews”

14. Top 30 Reasons Why People are NOT Hired
• Lacked experience
• Did not seem serious about working
• Poor work record
• Did not ask questions about the
job/company
• Did not say “Thank you” for the
interviewers time
• Poor school record
• Did not look the interviewer in the eye
• Poor appearance
• Late to the interview without good
reason
• Lack of interest in the job
• Not courteous
• Disliked school
• Poor attitude
• Limp handshake
• Could not take criticism
• Wanted too much money
• Does not always try to do what is right
• Could not answer questions
• No career goals
• Not sure of the kind of work they want
• Seemed “lazy”
• Criticized past employers
• Does not seem to know right from wrong
• Made excuses
• Poor use of English
• Critical of others
• No interest in the company
• Only wanted to work for a short time
• Did not get along well with parents
• Not tactful
• Sloppy application/resume

15. Top 10 Reasons Why People are NOT Hired:
• Poor Appearance
• Poor Attitude
• Poor Use of English
• No Career Goals
• Lack of Interest in the Job
• Not sure of which Job Wanted
• Wanted too much Money
• Poor School Record
• Made Excuses
• Poor Work Record

16. The Five Parts to an Interview
1) Opening
2) Questions and Answers
3) Job Description
4) Salary Negotiation
5) Closing
 Make a great First Impression
 Sell Relevant Skills
 Give Examples
 Listen Carefully
 Ask “Good” Questions
 Research your Market Value
 Give a Range not a Firm Figure
 Thank the Interviewer for His/Her Time
 Make a Positive Exit Statement

17. Practice Answering the Most Commonly
Asked Interview Questions
 Why do you feel that you would be good at this job?
 What are your overall Greatest Strengths?
 As an employee what is your Greatest Weakness?
 How would you handle a very angry customer/client who is upset and being rude to YOU?
 Where do you hope to be 5 – 10 years from now?
 Do you have any questions for me?

18. Developing a Realistic Rehearsal Interview Experience
• Have students pick any entry-level job that he/she is interested in
• Help Students identify 3-5 skills that are most important for that job
• Help Students write out and rehearse answers to 5-6 interview questions
• Find a “Stranger” (local manager, parent or colleague) to act as interviewer
• Set Up Video/Digital Camera on Tripod in office and tape interviews
• Interviewer asks questions and ad-libs related discussions (10-15 mins.)
• Review/debrief each students be reviewing interview immediately afterwards

19.  Research suggests that students with E/BD that
successfully hold a job during HS are most likely to
find and stay employed years after leaving school
 Students who attend programs that provide them
with effective classroom Job-Hunting lessons have
the best chances of successfully achieving desired
“outcomes” after leaving school
 If you only have a few hours to teach your students
effective Job-Hunting Skills then be sure you teach
them the:
 Three Things All Students should know about:
 How to Get a Job!

20. S K H J