Welcome to Job-Fit

Job-Fit was developed on behalf of the Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario to assist you and other people who may have learning disabilities to become more effective at finding and keeping a job. Job-Fit will help you to:

• Learn to focus on your strengths, rather than dwell on your difficulties
• Understand your learning disabilities and explain them to others
• Understand how learning disabilities affect your ability to work
• Identify what might be a really good job for you, given your strengths and difficulties
• Discuss accommodations you might need to be successful in a job

Job-Fit is not going to do this for you by itself. But what it will do is help you to help yourself. It will also give you a format and a structure for the changes that you may need to make and the things that you may need to do.

Remember that the contents of Job-Fit are yours alone. You should be careful how you share the information with others. Nobody should have access to this information without your permission.

The purpose of Job-Fit is to help you to become one of these competent people by improving your odds for gaining successful employment. It can help you learn how to improve your employment readiness and self-advocacy skills. Job-Fit may be the bridge to help you close the gap between where you are today and the successful employment you want.

If you answer “yes” to any of the following questions, then Job-Fit can probably help you:

1. Have you been formally identified as having learning disabilities, and are you having employment problems, such as getting and keeping a job that you want and for which you seem to be qualified?
2. Do you think that you may have learning disabilities, but have not had an assessment? You may decide to have an assessment done later to be sure or you may decide to simply continue assuming that you probably do have some learning disabilities.
3. Did you often have problems with schoolwork or receive special education support while you were in school, and are you now having difficulties with employment?

Online versus Facilitated Job-Fit

Job-Fit.ca requires a different set of “learner tools” than the face-to-face, facilitated version of Job-Fit (http://www.ldao.ca/publications/job-fit.php) offered at many of the local LDAO chapter (to find nearest chapter visit – visit http://www.ldao.ca/lda-in-canada/ldao-chapters/).

A series of questions posted at http://www.studygs.net/online/index.htm will help you determine if you are prepared and suited for an online learning experience.

Job-Fit is made up of the following five modules:

Module 1: Job-Fit: The Essentials

This module introduces you to Job-Fit and provides some information about learning disabilities, such as their signs, symptoms, and impact.   This module also discusses disclosure issues, including the advantages and disadvantages of disclosure in the workplace.

Module 2: Assessing Learning Styles, Strengths, and Strategies

In this module, you look at your learning styles and some coping strategies. It is important for you to recognize that everyone has learning strengths and difficulties and that all individuals, not just those who have learning disabilities, have preferred learning styles. The key is self-awareness and the ability to apply suitable strategies.

Module 3: Discovering Your Strengths

Many people, whether they have learning disabilities or not, have difficulty seeing if their strengths and abilities match the job or career that they want. In Module 3, you will identify your unique gifts and talents. You will then learn how to match your strengths and abilities to the skills involved in the career or job that you want.

Module 4: Developing Employment Goals

This module looks at the following:

• What are employers looking for?
• What kind of work you would like to do?
• What are your strengths?
• Do your strengths match the job that you would like to do?

Module 5: Becoming Job Ready

This module gives you job-search tools and information on the following topics:

• Conducting information interviews
• Writing resumes
• Completing application forms
• Preparing for and having job interviews
• Selecting references