Rethinking Job Search: Inspiring Confidence

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Well-Developed Curriculum + Expert Facilitation = Rethinking Job Search Results

Workshop Purpose The focus of this workshop is on the instructional design process used to develop the cognitive behavioral based curriculum that addresses confidence, motivation and accountability, and on the rigorous selection and training of facilitators who implement the program.

At the completion of this workshop you will learn:1. The need and research that led to the Rethinking program

2. The instructional design model used to develop the curriculum

3. The facilitator selection requirements

4. The facilitator training and support

5. To apply the curriculum design, selection, training and support best practices.

RETHINKING JOB SEARCH IN A NUTSHELL

“Uplifting, encouraging and eye-opening – it’s a fantastic program!” “The impact on my job search is cumulative.” “Valuable information and great tools.” These quotes reflect the thoughts of the over 1,000 Oregonians who have participated in the Rethinking Job Search program and as a result are transforming the way they search for work and gain employment.

The need for the program was identified when our organization was delivering services and our front line staff was at a loss as to how to deal with customers’ emotional reactions to the roller coaster of unemployment. • They were looking for tools and training beyond the usual resume development and interviewing

workshops.• Research revealed that little was being done in the US to address the emotions associated with

unemployment but that several cognitive behaviorally-based interventions delivered abroad were successful in getting job seekers back to work sooner.

• In 2012 we developed and piloted the curriculum with a $20,000 grant from the Kaiser Community Health fund.

• The successes realized during this pilot enabled us to apply for a larger grant to continue testing our hypothesis that addressing job seekers’ emotional needs is the first step in regaining employment.

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COMMON MINDSET OF THE UNEMPLOYED

“Kicked to the curb, at my lowest point ever, not sure where to turn, and now I have to show up to interview for jobs.”

RETHINKING JOBSEARCH IN A NUTSHELL, CONT.

Rethinking Job Search is a five-year experimental program developed by Willamette Workforce Partnership (formerly Incite, Inc.) and is funded by a $3 million Department of Labor Workforce Innovation Fund grant. Our goal is to serve 1,000 Oregonians during the three years of implementation.

The program is in year three of implementation and is divided into three phases.• Phase 1, Year 1 = Planning • Phase 2, Years 2 – 4 = Implementation• Phase 3, Year 5 = Final Evaluation

Key partners in this program include the Oregon Governor’s Office, the Oregon Employment Department/Unemployment Division and local Oregon Workforce Boards. Public Policies Associates, located in Lansing, Michigan is our grant-required third party evaluator who is studying the effectiveness of the program.

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RETHINKING ACTIVITY

Take a minute to think back to a time when something didn’t go the way you wanted when you were interviewing for a job.

IMAGINE yourself unhappy during an interview...

What were you thinking?

What were you feeling?

What did you do?

~ We’ll discuss what you imagined in a few minutes.

This is a powerful beginning activity that is an icebreaker and sets the stage for participants to see the connection between their thoughts, feelings and actions. This concept is reinforced throughout the workshop series.

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CURRICULUM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES

When designing and developing the Rethinking Job Search curriculum (copyrighted in 2015), we were faced with several challenges. Among the most daunting challenges were:

1. The content. Using the job seeking concerns we heard from focus groups of potential participants, we identified the key things that were holding them back from gaining employment – namely confidence, motivation and accountability.

2. Focus on learning versus therapy. Since Rethinking is not psychotherapy, we needed a curriculum grounded in educational principals and applied learning. The focus would be based on cognitive behavioral tools and techniques.

3. The design. The next step was to identify the model that would be used to develop the design blueprint and develop cognitive behaviorally-based materials for both participant and facilitator curricula.

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THE CONTENT

This workshop is a series of lessons designed to help participants think differently about themselves and to feel and act more positively as they search for work. Technically, this approach is referred to as CBT (cognitive behavior techniques) but for our purposes we are calling it Rethinking Job Search.

Rethinking Job Search is a 24-hour, 12 lesson program that:• Explores methods and tools for dealing with the emotional roller coaster of job searching;• Provides practical hands-on activities connected to the subject matter;• Challenges participants to “rethink” their approach to job searching; and• Strengthens participants’ confidence, motivation and accountability to move forward and gain

employment.

The Rethinking Job Search lessons are delivered in 2-hour chunks, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to allow time between “doses” for participant reflection, application of concepts and completing assignments. The following lesson descriptions are presented from the participant point of view.

1. Orientation. The purpose of this lesson is to introduce the Rethinking Job Search workshop by reviewing the topics that will be covered and what is expected of you as a participant.

2. You Feel the Way You Think. The focus of this lesson is on understanding how and why your thoughts dictate your feelings and behaviors. Scientific research tells us that you can live more happily and productively (and probably increase your chances of getting the job you’d like) if you are thinking in helpful ways.

3. Spotting Risky Thinking. This lesson explores the risky thinking that prevents you from making accurate assessments of your experiences and negatively affects your feelings and behavior. Your risky thinking could be preventing you from success in your job search.

4. Tackling Your Risky Thinking (Part 1). The purpose of this lesson is to begin to tackle your risky thoughts using the ABC format. Tackling your risky thinking will help you succeed in your job search and in your life.

5. Tackling Your Risky Thinking (Part 2). This lesson continues tackling your risky thinking by expanding on the ABC format. Continuing to tackle your risky thinking will help you succeed in your job search and in your life.

6. Understanding Your Emotions. The focus of this lesson is on learning what emotions are, exploring your emotions and better understanding them. Understanding more about your emotions will have a positive effect on your ability to get the job you desire.

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THE CONTENT, CONT.

7. Managing Your Emotions. The purpose of this lesson is to learn how to manage your emotions more effectively. Being in charge of your emotions will result in feeling better about yourself and your life and help you succeed in your job search.

8. Choosing Your Behavior. This lesson builds on the concepts that have been introduced in the previous lessons and applies them to choosing the actions that will help you get ahead in your job search.

9. Building Your Self-esteem. This lesson explores how you feel about yourself and the impact of those feelings on your behavior and job search.

10. Responsibility, Accountability and Credibility. The purpose of this lesson is to explore the concepts of responsibility, accountability and credibility to understand how building these attributes will help you in your job search.

11. Goal Setting and Prioritizing. This lesson presents methods and tools for you to set goals and prioritize your actions. We will apply the concepts learned in the previous lessons all of which will help you achieve success in your job search.

12. Maintaining Your Momentum. The focus of this lesson is to explore how to stay motivated to maintain your momentum as you continue your job search.

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FOCUS ON EDUCATION VERSUS THERAPY

Although Rethinking Job Search employs cognitive behavioral tools and techniques it is rooted in educational principals (and is not psychotherapy).

The dictionary definition of education is: the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.

The dictionary definition of psychotherapy is: the treatment of psychological disorders or maladjustments by a professional technique, as psychoanalysis, group therapy or behavioral therapy. The challenge we faced was to take psychologically-based concepts and present them in an educational program while maintaining their efficacy. To do this, it was important that we:

• Build the program on learning objectives. In other words, stating what participants would learn as a result of each lesson and reviewing that learning at the end of the lesson. We used the experiential learning model, derived from learning theorists, to develop the curriculum.

• Develop learning assessments to measure participant learning during and after each workshop. This was done through the use of focus questions, activities and exercises.

• Focus on applied learning. In other words, how were participants able to use the information presented, discussed and practiced during the lesson? This was measured by reviewing homework assignments and job search logs.

• State and reinforce that participants are responsible for their learning and for attending and participating in each lesson, completing homework and job search logs.

• Focus on the goal of being hired in a desired job. This is underscored and reinforced in each lesson.

• Evaluate the long-term impact of the program, via our required third party evaluator, Public Policy Associates, including job attainment, retention, wages and reduction in UI benefits among other things.

• Use trained facilitators versus licensed therapists. Upon the advice of the Oregon Psychological Board, we encouraged participating boards to hire facilitators who had experience in adult education and training, non-therapeutic social work and or communications. The Psych Board was concerned that licensed therapists would be inclined to stray into psychotherapeutic territory.

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EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING – WHAT IS IT?

Confucius said, “I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand.”

Experiential learning means that to learn something, we have to actually try it out and experience it. In adult learning theory, knowledge or knowing about something, is only the first step. To say you have learned something you have to be able to actually apply that skill or knowledge. For example, learners may have read about and “know” the principles of good customer service, but it is a much more powerful experience to actually practice handling a difficult customer and receive feedback on how well you can apply those principles of customer service.

Learning from experience is nothing new. The general concept of learning through experience is ancient. Around 350 BC, Aristotle wrote “for the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them”. But as an articulated educational approach, experiential learning is of much more recent vintage. Beginning in the 1970s, David A. Kolb helped to develop the modern theory of experiential learning, drawing heavily on the work of John Dewey, Kurt Lewin, and Jean Piaget – pioneers in the field of learning theory.

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THE EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING MODEL

Applying Kolb’s theory and model to the Rethinking curriculum design and development called for an adjustment which was adapted from Donald Michalak and Edwin Yager’s book Making the Training Process Work and more recent research by Bannerman and Associates.

Step 1 – Orientation

The purpose of the Orientation Step is to signal to participants that a new learning activity is starting. For example, “We’re now going to begin Lesson 3.” This is also the time to state the learning objectives and briefly review the previous lesson’s content. In Rethinking we do this by reviewing homework assignments, skill and thinking logs, and contracts for success.

Step 2 – Experience

In this step the facilitator has the participants do something. This helps increase motivation for learning before participants receive the content input. This experience should emphasize process and need not be related to developing skills. For example, you might do an awareness exercise or play a game related to the topic. Each lesson in the Rethinking curriculum goes directly from the Orientation Step to an experience.

In order to fully develop participation, self-discovery, and behavior change, this 7-step learning model was used in the development of the Rethinking curriculum and is followed as the curriculum is facilitated.

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Step 3 – Content Input

This is where the facilitator provides participants with the content they are to learn (that is to say the materials or concepts being taught). It is important for this to be brief as many facilitators spend too much time delivering content (lecturing). The role of content input is to give participants a model against which they can analyze their own thoughts, feelings and actions. In the Rethinking curriculum the content input sections are designed to be delivered in “chunks” that can immediately move to step 4, analysis.

Step 4 – Analysis

The next step in this model is to have the participants analyze the experience they had in Step 2 against the content input. It is best to let participants do their own analysis. If the awareness was created in an individual setting, the options of individual analysis, small group analysis or team analysis should be considered. This analysis is best accomplished through asking participants a set of questions to be answered about the experience. With good questions participants can do an effective analysis without input or interference from the facilitator. There are Focus Questions imbedded in the Rethinking curriculum that are designed to facilitate analysis.

Step 5 – Generalizations or Inferences

In this step of the model participants as individuals or as a group draw generalizations or inferences based on the analysis just completed. The difference between a generalization and an inference is that a generalization is a fact that a person can accept and immediately act on, whereas an inference is a rule that a person can accept tentatively but that needs to be tested before the person is willing to incorporate it into his or her behavior. In the Rethinking curriculum this is done by way of a more in-depth experience related to the content.

Step 6 – Practice

After generalizations or inferences have been drawn, the next step is for the participants to practice using the generalizations or to test (try out) the inferences. This practice or tryout is often very similar to the experience in Step 2 of this model. Unlike the first experience however, the practice or tryout should be related to building skills or knowledge. This practice helps participants build confidence that the skill or knowledge will work in the real world. Skill practices are imbedded throughout the Rethinking curriculum.

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Step 7 – Transfer to the Next Experience or the “Real World”

The last step in this model is for the facilitator to assist the participants in transferring the knowledge or skills to the next learning segment (Orientation) or the real world. It is important for participants to work through an exercise that will facilitate this transfer. At the end of each Rethinking lesson there is a segment entitled Time to Reflect designed to encourage participants to think about what they just learned, identify their key learnings and insights, and plan for how they will apply their key learnings and insights.

Each lesson of the Rethinking program is structured following the same pattern:

• The purpose • The learning objectives • Assignment reviews• Contract for Success reviews• Skill and Thinking Log reviews• An activity that introduces the lesson topic• Content input• Focus questions regarding content• Activities related to the content• Assignments• Planning for assignments• Reflecting on the lesson

Although deviating slightly from the Experiential Learning Model, this pattern reinforces participation, thinking, reflecting, analyzing, and practicing the information being taught. This is a learning process in which both the participant and the facilitator assume responsibility for what, when, how, and to whom information is taught.

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FACILITATOR SELECTION

Another critical program element was identifying the skills needed to facilitate this training and selecting facilitators for the eight pilot locations. WWP designed the selection criteria and the eight selected Workforce Boards recruited, interviewed and selected appropriate candidates.

The facilitator is responsible for facilitating and supporting the Rethinking Job Search Program and this role requires highly developed skills in interpersonal communication, emotional intelligence, resilience, and workshop facilitation. To be effective, facilitators must have insight into their thoughts, feelings and actions and be comfortable guiding participants to their own conclusions rather than “telling” them what to do.

Desired facilitator characteristics and skill requirements include:• Exceptional interpersonal communication • A high degree of emotional intelligence/resilience• Understanding adult learning and motivational theories• Using a variety of training styles and methods to flexibly meet a variety of learning styles and

needs• Understanding when and how to use training aids (including flip charts, white boards and other

tools as needed)• Solving problems and negotiating misunderstandings/disagreements with participants in a rational,

non-defensive manner

To align the specific characteristics needed in the facilitator position, the following educational and work experience requirements were adopted: • Bachelor or Associate degree in education, non-clinical social work, communications or a related

field. 5-years direct service in workforce development may be substituted for required education.• A minimum of three years of experience working in workforce development preferred, but not

required.• 3-5 years progressively responsible work experience in education, training and development or

coaching• Training certification through ASTD, ISPI or a similar professional association preferred.

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FACILITATOR TRAINING

Once hired, the facilitators were provided with additional training to help them gain comfort with the curriculum, understand the standards, and to understand and learn the data entry requirements for the program. On average, it has taken about a month of study and participation in training activities for facilitators to be fully prepared for their role.

We also anticipated facilitator turn over and identified an attrition training plan that the participating boards would follow when a facilitator left his/her position. Prior to the start of delivery facilitators were required to:• Attend a two-day facilitator training in Salem, Oregon to learn the experiential design of the

curriculum, understand needed facilitator skills, practice facilitator skills, and understand program standards for performance;

• Complete an on-line Cognitive Behavioral Group Facilitators’ Certification (approximately 20 hours in length) before facilitating his/her first Rethinking workshop;

• Observe at least three Rethinking Job Search facilitators in their delivery of one workshop lesson;• Complete curriculum review with at least three hours of mentor coaching;• Complete I–Trac database training.

Ongoing facilitator requirements include:• Attend annual 1-day facilitator training;• Attend quarterly facilitator webinars;• Communicate successes and challenges, monthly, on the Rethinking Connect website;• Provide follow up communications with participants;• Consult with the Cognitive Behavioral Specialist as needed and/or directed.

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FIDELITY CHECKS

An annual fidelity check is used to maintain program quality and to troubleshoot and resolve challenges at local sites. Fidelity checks include observation of facilitators, spot checking of assessments, spot checking of participation reports and follow up communications.

RETHINKING JOB SEARCH PRELIMINARY RESULTS

As reported in their third annual Rethinking Job Search Evaluation Report, Public Policy Associates (PPA) stated “Rethinking Job Search is in a very strong position and has the resources, skills, and collaborations firmly in place to continue its current trajectory. The fine-tuning and use of lessons from the first year of service delivery have resulted in smooth logistics on site, a high level of collaboration at the local level, and a strong partnership between WWP and the local sites.”

PPA further states:• Monitoring to standards is taking place as intended, and there is very good fidelity to curriculum

delivery. The facilitators are highly skilled and passionate about the services, and new facilitators have been rapidly hired and trained.

• Surprisingly, enrollment has yielded a participant group that is demographically different from the broader UI pool of individuals, comprised largely of women over age 40, with relatively more education and fewer barriers.

• Performance objectives are being met. For example, with 70% of enrollees completing over 80% of the intervention sessions, the program appears to be efficacious in meeting objectives.

• Preliminary employment outcomes for entering employment (55%) and retention (85%) have greatly exceeded the program goals, which were set unrealistically low at the outset.

• An extraordinary 97% of participants responding to an exit survey say they would recommend Rethinking to other people.

Noteworthy successes include:• Overcoming concerns in year one about a lack of intimate knowledge of the proprietary

curriculum, WorkSource Oregon staff have increasingly offered referrals, logistical support, and promotion of Rethinking to WIOA clients.

• Recruitment is exceeding targets despite low unemployment rates and a smaller number of unemployment insurance benefit recipients available to enter Rethinking than anticipated. Over the course of 2017, three sites agreed to increase their target numbers to counteract the decreased number from one of the local boards.

• Participants are very satisfied with the program and report strong positive impacts on their motivation and confidence, both in the job search and in their lives overall.

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Rethinking Job Search was presented to the Oregon Legislature in February 2017.

Noteworthy challenges include:• Recruitment in rural areas has been a persistent challenge, which may be due partly to a lack of

interest in driving to a four-week program that is focused on cognitive-behavioral education. One board is no longer actively delivering the program, due to poor recruitment results in their three areas.

• Facilitator turnover has been greater than anticipated. Our turnover has been greater than 70% and at this time only two of the original facilitators are actively facilitating. Many reasons for this have been given including being bumped due to union seniority, educational pursuits, personal reasons, and leaving for higher paying jobs. Some underlying reasons for this turnover might include the “compassion fatigue” associated with facilitating this intense program, the disconnect between the facilitation and the data entry and the perceived low wages for the intensity of the work.

RETHINKING JOB SEARCH PRELIMINARY RESULTS, CONT.

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NEXT STEPS

This workforce product was funded by a grant award by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. The product was created by the grantee and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Labor. The U.S. Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any information in linked sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership. This product is copyrighted by the institution that created it. Internal use by an organization and/or personal use by an individual for non-commercial purposes are permissible. All other uses require the prior authorization of the copyright owner.

In the short-term, we will continue facilitating Rethinking Job Search under the grant through September 30, 2018. Public Policy Associates will continue its multi-prong evaluation of the program through September 30, 2019. The final evaluation report will be published in December, 2019.

In the long-term we are contemplating developing a web-based platform that would provide additional materials and resources and a mechanism for past Rethinking participants to connect with each other and Rethinking experts. Past participants are being surveyed now to discover their interest in this platform.

We are also entering into an agreement with the largest workforce board in Oregon to pilot the post-grant implementation of Rethinking Job Search. This pilot will be structured so that our partner implementation and development of our post-implementation strategy take place concurrently. The pilot will allow us time to consider and test implementation steps including pricing, contracts, recruitment, audiences outside UI recipients, the curriculum, adaptations to the facilitator training, coaching and delivery. It will allow our partner to continue to serve its customers with a promising intervention.