Pacific Opportunities Job Coaches: Helping Individuals Thrive on the Job
Job Coaches at Pacific Opportunities are key employees who provide helpful vocational counseling and job coaching to clients, helping them retain good-fit employment where they can thrive, learn and experience the value of participating in the local job market. Job Coaches spend a lot of their time working and networking with local businesses and companies to help develop and maintain valuable career opportunities for clients who face barriers to employment. Most Job Coaches at Pacific Opportunities have a strong background in working closely with or managing others and deeply enjoy supporting individuals in their employment journeys.
“My favorite client success stories are always when I see them trying something new,” says Amber, a Senior Job Coach at Pacific Opportunities. “It’s great to see them gain confidence in doing tasks they might not have had an opportunity to try before.”
Amber spends the majority of her working hours on-site supporting clients directly in their roles, coaching them and ensuring they have essential skills not just for their day-to-day job duties but also for becoming informed and empowered employees, like understanding schedules, reading pay stubs and establishing good manager relations. She also performs routine check-ins and monitors how clients are adjusting and thriving in their workplaces.
Amber spent two decades working in retail before switching careers to support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in their workplace journeys. “My retail experience has been really helpful. Day to day, it’s pretty similar, managing and supporting people on the job.” Her background has also been useful in other ways, since the retail sector is one of the top three fields that Pacific Opportunities clients are placed in. That cross-industry familiarity gives Amber a knowledge of the jobsite’s landscape and requirements.
The most challenging part of being a Job Coach? Finding the right style of communication for each client and the role they’re in. “But that’s just part of the job,” she says. While communication skills are an important part of all careers, Amber and her fellow Job Coaches dedicate a lot of their focus to honing them; finding the best way to make sure clients are able to achieve their goals by asking them the right questions and watching and listening thoughtfully.
Interested in learning more about the work we do at Pacific Opportunities? Read more about our services here, or explore career opportunities here.