Dan and Tash’s story: finding meaningful employment

Finding your first job can be tough, something Dan* is currently experiencing firsthand. The 20-year-old has handed out hundreds of resumes online and in person, hoping someone will give him a shot. “It’s quite frustrating and dispiriting to be honest, because 95 per cent of resumes I hand out, I hear nothing back,” Dan says. His vocational support worker Natasha Pearson says employees expect a level of experience most young people don’t have.

“You’re meant to have five years’ experience but you finished secondary school five minutes ago,” she says.

Natasha works for the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) program out of headspace Frankston. Young people getting alcohol, drug or mental health support at headspace who identify employment as a goal are referred to the program. Tash says it’s a unique model. “I have worked in other employment spaces, and sometimes it felt like you find a job and you try to shoehorn the person into it, not really factoring in that the longevity of success is alignment.” Her work focuses on supporting young people to identify their short, medium and long-term goals. It’s not about rushing into a job that doesn’t suit, it’s about slowly building the skills, knowledge and connections needed for lasting success.

Dan started by building up his confidence handing out resumes in person. “Being someone like myself who doesn’t have much on a resume, it was about prioritising going in, talking to employers as opposed to having everything done on SEEK,” Dan says. “I definitely wouldn’t be as a confident as I am now without the help of Natasha.”  Dan has also had the opportunity to participate in mock interviews and sit on an interview panel. 

Dan says his autism spectrum disorder is like a ‘double-edged sword’ when it comes to finding a job. “It helps me stay consistent, arrive on time and persevere through adversity, but on the other hand it creates a lot of inertia towards trying something new,” he says. Dan had his heart set on cartography and later a dream job at the Bureau of Meteorology, and Natasha has helped him broaden his interests to include short-term goals like customer service in the IT and automotive industries. 

As part of her work, Natasha approaches employers who might be willing to support young people on their job-seeking journey. One day after hitting the pavement she met Noel Brodie, who runs an IT business in the southeastern suburbs. Noel didn’t have a job for Dan, but he was happy to meet with Dan for over two hours to help him understand the industry better, and where he might best fit in.

“From a person in the community who understands that employment is very difficult, it’s a very generous allocation of time and effort,” Natasha says.

Noel continues to connect Dan with contacts and opportunities in the industry. “He was a really impressive young man,” Noel says, “but I think that looking at a resume doesn’t necessarily give you that. The important thing is to actually go and meet Dan, and that’s important for all young people so they get a feel for what’s going on.”

Dan hasn’t found a job yet, but Natasha knows that with persistence, he’ll get there. “Even though you do get those closed doors, that’s fine, how do we go about it in a different way,” she says. In the meantime, Dan keeps building skills, learning about his dream industries and meeting with employers face-to-face. “At least it’s another person I’ve met, another conversation to help with my soft skills,” he says. Natasha agrees. 

“The brilliant thing about Dan is his absolute consistency of always showing up, having resilience and enthusiasm,” she says. “Over the whole time he’s been with the program I think he has grown immensely.”

*name has been changed.