1. Making Transition Activities
Fun, Interactive, & Educational

3. Or how to … Fly through your transition activities like
Han Solo in the Millennium Falcon

4. Instead of feeling like a Jawa in a Sandcrawler trying to collect a little junk in the desert!

5. Making an Elevator Pitch…why start here?
The Elevator Pitch (Speech) is a chance to sell your product quickly and concisely. What or who is the product? You are!
You never know when an opportunity may arise and you can pitch your idea, program, or self to a potential investor in what you have to offer.
So what makes a good pitch? >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Here are some examples of mock pitches.
tfGTA
What did we learn?
1. Clarify your job target. As Yogi Berra famously said, “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.”
2. Put it on paper. Write down everything you’d want a prospective employer to know about your skills, accomplishments and work experiences that are relevant to your target position. Then grab a red pen and mercilessly delete everything that’s not critical to your pitch.
Keep editing until you’ve got the speech down to a few key bullet points or sentences. Your goal is to interest the listener in learning more, not to tell your whole life story.
3. Format it. A good pitch should answer three questions: Who are you? What do you do? What are you looking for?
Here’s an example of how to begin a pitch that includes the essentials: “Hi. I am Jessica Hill. I am an accountant with 10 years’ experience in the insurance industry and I’m looking for opportunities in the Dallas area with both insurance and finance companies.”
That speech would take about 15 seconds. Jessica would then want to use her next 15 seconds to add details about her unique selling proposition, special skills and specific ways she could help a potential employer.
4. Tailor the pitch to them, not you. It’s important to remember that the people listening to your speech will have their antennas tuned to WIFM (What’s in It for Me?)
Excerpts from Forbes Magazine, February 4, Nancy Collamer, Contributor

6. Assessment Inventories… a great place to start.
Pre-employment interests – RIASEC, transition-to-work, career personality inventory
Career interest – o*net, Career Game, red hot jobs
Employment readiness – job search attitude, employability skills inventory
Independent living – life skills inventory, Financial literacy inventory
Prevocational – Picture interest career survey, explorer, careers for me i&ii
Other – language free interest inventory
electronic media – Ca Career Zone – cacareerzone.org, PDW, MyNEXTMOVE.ORG, whodouwant2b.com

7. Assessment Inventories… 5 skills to assess.
*Personal/social skills – Personal responsibility, age appropriate behavior, safety issues
*Life skills – mobility, hygiene, self care, independent living
*Vocational/employment skills – HS & post HS readiness
*Academic skills – WJR III, WIAT, State testing results
*Interpersonal skills – self advocacy, communication
Assume that you have a high profile case. HOW would you assess each of these areas? What is your criteria or tools to do this?

8. Playspent.org - Free and thought provoking
Why stay in a book?
Work outside the box
Playspent provides opportunity to talk with students about:
Critical thinking
Potentially real life decisions
Moral/Ethical decisions
Financial decisions
Independent living decisions
Let’s give it a try.
What did you learn?
How can you use this in your classroom?

9. Philosophy makes a difference. See what’s possible 1. Play 2
Philosophy makes a difference! See what’s possible 1. Play 2. Make their day 3. Be there 4. Choose your attitude 5. Shared ownership 6. Personal responsibility 7. Safety 8. Connect to life 9. Live the possibilities

10. Projects and Activities – Making transition have meaning through connection to life. Here are a few…
Career dolls
Career exploration
Job search attitudes
Interviews and resumes
Banking and budgeting
Contracts
Buying a car/house
Credit, advocacy – in the workplace, school and community
Video library
Service learning projects
Impromptu speaking – topic of the day
AV Mall Community Classroom – work prep
Job applications
DMV practice tests
Dress for Success day
Using electronic media – US WORK WORLD
Personal Data Wizard
James Stanfield DVD workshops

11. Thank you for attending
*Questions???
*Links to other resources: