Pamela Coleman

Individuals dont have to disclose a brain injury that may hinder their communication or learning abilities. But as an instructor/advisor, it's difficult to know how to approach the individual's learning ability without knowing this information. There is also the fear of embarrassing the student by asking about their history of learning issues. 

The goal for justice involved students is to finding employment that will either accept their record or find smaller employers that most likely wont run a background check. But it's also important to tell the student what areas of employment they will not be eligible for because of the record. Even if it's something less than a felony, there is still that chance that a small offense can still cause difficulties with employment. 

I feel my coaching style is a cross between managing and coaching. Relationship building should really be under managing & coaching because without the relationship, there is no real engagement from the student. Listening is key, but I also think it's necessary to sometimes read between the lines of what the student is saying. Often times, they don't know how to either explain what they want or need or know how to effectively express themselves, especially when they are frustrated or upset about not getting 'the job' they want or responding to other things going on.

Much of the information, I am currently doing with my graduates and job development. Due to the area we live in, I have to be mindful of where the grads live and where the job matches are. There is pushback on the distance the grads want to drive. Asking the employers qualifying questions is definitely the right approach because as the module stated, as a Career Advisor, when I open up the connections, I would like to keep them and hopefully use them again for the next round of graduates.