Page 18 - Success Story Newsletter_ 2019o

Job Sampling

“I’ve never seen such a mess!”

George joined Easterseals as part of our Extended Employment program in 2008. There he
learned valuable job skills and earned a well-deserved paycheck. He recently expressed a
desire to work in a retail position in the community and was offered the opportunity to do “job
sampling” at a local second-hand store called Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Vineland, NJ.

George was asked to organize the book section of the store. At first glance, it appeared George
did not know where to begin or how to approach the assignment. The area was in shambles,
books scattered about the space. George exclaimed, “I’ve never seen such a mess!” Still, he
refused to let it overwhelm him. He began placing the books in order by category: travel, history,
religion, etc. George often had questions about which books belonged to each category, which
caused him to work slowly and appeared to lower his self-confidence. However, he sought help
when needed so he could complete his assigned task. He even took the initiative to arrange the
book shelves in a way that was more visually appealing and easily accessible to customers.

Upon completion, the ReStore staff stated that the book section had "never looked so neat and
organized." George appeared very happy with this statement, expressing to staff on the ride
back to Millville, "Did you hear what they said? That the book section has never looked so good!"
George will continue to job sample at the ReStore in order to further develop his skill set for the
retail industry, with the goal of securing competitive integrated employment in the near future.

- Rachel Smith, Career Exploration Coordinator | Employment Services

18 Easterseals New Jersey Success Story Newsletter 2019 LIVE · LEARN · WORK · PLAY