Do What You Love! and High Impact Networking! Workshops Offered at AACIL

Ed Wollman of the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living (AACCIL) is convinced that everyone
wants to work. He has developed two fully inclusive workshops to assist people with and without disabilities find the best employment match for their interests and talents. According to Wollmann, “people need to get in touch with their skills, as it is the essence of doing what they love”. “The Do What You Love! Workshop is perfect for those who say “I don’t have any skills! In today’s economic climate, not having identified marketable skills that can be described to an employer can make it almost impossible to find a job.

Wollman explained that the Do What You Love! Workshop is based on the book “What Color is Your Parachute?” by Richard Bolles and is considered one of the best-selling career guidance books in the world. Fortune magazine calls Parachute the ‘gold standard of career guides’. Pam Spence, a recent workshop graduate says that “You can become employable in a down market with the skills you learn in this course. The class is the ‘missing link’ in finding out what best fits your world of work”.

A recent study involving vocational rehabilitation (VR) customers indicated that when the customers obtained a job that was directly related to their actual skills and interests, the mean weekly wage for these participants was $529.88, almost 90% higher than for those VR customers who obtained employment that was not related to their actual skills and interests.

Networking skills can be challenging for many people. Many people do not know others who can help them find a job, especially if they are not naturally outgoing; or have chronic health conditions that limit their ability to get around. Wollman developed the High Impact! Networking workshop to introduce participants to the PIE Method for Career Success, from a technique developed by Daniel Porot. The PIE (Pleasure, Informational Interview and Employment) method uses a unique technique to help job seekers build a social network. Participants research and contact people who are doing the job that he or she would like to do. After contact, the participant holds an informational interview of the contact to gain information about the job and also asks for other names of people in the field that they may be able to interview, as well. Workshop participants build a social network of people who have the power to hire them for the job of their choice.

A study reported by Temple University Journal of Rehabilitation in 2005 on the benefits of social capital for people with disabilities and employment found that when persons were granted an interview because of a personal recommendation, they subsequently received job offers at a rate that was almost 10 times higher than those who interviewed for jobs without a personal recommendation.

Wollman hopes to expand the Do What You Love! and High-Impact Networking! Workshops for online use by others across the State. For more information on the workshops, contact Ed Wollman at 734-971-0277 ext. 32 or edwoll@aacil.org

We Need Your Assistance

In order to make sure that you receive your copy of Legislator’s PASREP Update in the best format for you, we would like to know if you would prefer to receive it in electronic (email) or hard copy (postal). Please email us at cyndy.v@dakc.us or call 616-949-1100 ext. 225. Thank you for your interest in the Personal Assistance Services Reimbursement Employment Program.

Regional Centers for Independent Living

If you fell that the PASREP program would increase your ability to be a vital part of the
Community or you would like to learn more about the program, all Centers for Independent Living can provide information.

Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living
Alysa Mohr
3941 Research Park Dr.
Ann Arbor, MI
(734) 971-0277 Voice
(734) 971-0310 TDD
www.aacil.org

Disability Network/Mid-Michigan
Kelly Pelong
1160 James Savage Suite C
Midland, MI 48640
(989) 835-4041 Voice
(800) 782-4160 Toll Free
www.dnmm.org

Disability Network/Oakland Macomb
Yolanda Pinkston
1665 15 Mile Rd.
Clinton Township, MI 48035
(586) 268-4160 Voice
www.omcil.org

Education on PASREP

Disability Advocates of Kent County iIs facilitating Disability /Network Michigan’s public education about
the PASREP program. For more information or to schedule a presentation, please contact us:

Disability Advocates of Kent County
Cyndy Viars
3600 Camelot Dr SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49546
(616) 949-1100 Ext. 225
cyndy.v@dakc.us