CAFE TAC Presents: So You’re Ready to Work, Now What?

The CAFÉ TA Center invites you to participate in its new interactive employment training series, So You’re Ready to Work, Now What?

The first session is scheduled for Tuesday, October 11 at Noon ET / 9 AM PT. Register here!

Finding and maintaining employment is an essential part of recovery and life in the community for people with lived experience of serious mental health conditions, but those individuals face unique challenges in getting the right job and succeeding in the workplace.

CAFÉ TAC’s 12-part interactive employment training series is designed to address those challenges, by equipping peers with the skills and strategies they need to find and maintain employment!

This series will be recovery-centered and strengths-based, examining the process of finding, applying for, and succeeding in a job through the lens of recovery, helping attendees to identify strengths and skills, align the job-seeking and employment experience with their personal recovery path, and providing opportunity for discussion in a peer-centered space.

The series will be facilitated by Elise Padilla of Rebel Leadership Group, LLC, an individual with lived experience, an extensive history of working in the peer support community, and a strong understanding of recovery-oriented practices in job-seeking and employment.

Each of the 12 parts in the series will include a 30-minute webinar to explore a specific employment-related topic and introduce a resource guide with relevant information, websites, community contacts, and best practices on that session’s topic.

Each webinar will then be followed by a separate follow-up 30-minute interactive session where participants can review the resource guide and suggested activities introduced in the preceding webinar, discuss questions and insights based on their experience applying the resource guide/activity to their own personal circumstances, and discuss barriers and challenges regarding the topic of the preceding webinar and strategies to overcome them.

Topics to be addressed in the series will include:

  1. Resume Writing, Cover Letters – what should you include in your resume and cover letter? (October 11 & 13)
  2. Skill Identification – figuring out what you’re good at (October 25 & 27)
  3. Self-Care while Seeking Employment – managing the stress of the job search (November 8 & 10)
  4. The Job Search Process – things to keep track of while you’re looking for a job (November 22 & 29)
  5. Explaining Lived Experience – talking to employers about your story (December 6 & 8)
  6. Interviewing – tips and strategies for a successful interview (December 20 & 22)
  7. Professionalism – how to relate to coworkers and supervisors in the workplace (January 3 & 5)
  8. Communicating Effectively – how to say what you mean, listen to others, and stay on the same page with your workplace team (January 17 & 19)
  9. Conflict Resolution – strategies to manage disagreements at work (January 31 & February 2)
  10. Mental Health Check-Ins – a plan to work with your employer to maintain workplace wellness (February 14 & 16)
  11. Self-Care while Working – taking care of yourself and maintaining work/recovery balance (February 28 & March 2)
  12. It’s Not Working Out-How to Leave a Job Gracefully – how to handle things when your job isn’t a good fit (March 14 & 16)

Completion of the 12-part series will result in a certificate of completion that can be listed on a resume or shared with employers to show acquired knowledge in having developed the skills to obtain and maintain employment. 

To join the So You’re Ready to Work, Now What? series, visit this link!