An Underused Resource: Those Who Know Job Seekers
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Employment consultants dedicate an average of 2 hours and 51 minutes per day to these three essentials—see the left pie chart below:
However, fewer boost their impact by involving those who know job seekers best: family members, friends, former co-workers/employers, or acquaintances. Doing so can improve job matches by:
Yet, employment consultants dedicate only 10 minutes a day to engaging with people who know job seekers best—see the right pie chart below. Figure 1. Average time employment consultants invest in the three essentials (left pie chart) and engaging with job seekers’ family, friends, and acquaintances (right pie chart; March 2025, N=70). How much time would you recommend employment consultants invest in engaging with people who know job seekers best? What’s the best way to support employment consultants connecting with job seekers’ family members, friends, or acquaintances? ES-Coach is a project of the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston. It is funded by the Kessler Foundation through a Signature Employment Grant. For more information, visit www.es-coach.org, email info@es-coach.org, or call 617-287-4306. Gut feelings can only take you so far – analyze the right data, spot the trends that matter, and adjust your game plan in real time (Dave Kline, MGMT Playbook). |
ES-Coach
We’re shaping our next research proposal, and your insights can help ensure it benefits employment programs and job seekers. Hello, It’s grant writing season, and we’d love your insights for our next research proposal. Are you in? Here’s the challenge we’re addressing—and a chance for you to help shape the research agenda. Most people with intellectual and developmental disabilities receive non-work services instead of employment services leading to competitive integrated employment—even...
Hello, With ES-Coach now retired, we’re open to suggestions for the next research chapter. Our goal: to study the ecosystem that enables employment programs to thrive—because when employment programs thrive, more people with IDD achieve their career goals. Your ideas are most welcome! Check out these tentative research questions to get you started: How do state policies, service definitions, and funding models across VR, IDD, and Medicaid systems enable or constrain best practices in...
Hello, I’m excited to share that the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation has accepted for publication our article: "Inside the workday of employment consultants: New insights on strengthening employment services" The article describes how 13 employment programs that used ES-Coach for at least one year, with a daily response rate of at least 60%, allocated their time on key activities and best practices. Check out the abstract, key charts, and conclusions from the article: Abstract....