Employability: First Day on the Job

Unit 3: Employability

Lesson 2: First Day on the Job

OBJECTIVES

Complete pages 33-39 of Job Savvy.
Practice talking to a supervisor (your boss, person who hired you, person you interviewed with, etc.) to find out what is needed for the first day on the job.

MATERIALS
Application for a Social Security Card (Appendix A)

Employment Eligibility Verification form (Appendix B)

Form W-4 (1998) (Appendix C)

Employee's Withholding Exemption Certificate (Appendix D)

Getting Ready to Start Your Job checklist

Job Savvy: How to be a Success at Work – A $10.95 workbook by JIST Works, Inc. (1800 648-5478).

SUPPLEMENTAL RESOURCES
It's All Part of the Job: Social Skills for Success at Work – A $59 video by Attainment Company, Inc. (1800 327-4269).

Social Skills on the Job – A $299.95 video package by American Guidance Service (1800 328-2560).

INSTRUCTIONAL FORMAT
This topic will provide instruction and discussion on how to prepare for the first day of a job. Trainers can use the materials provided to review with students what they will need to bring on the first day of a job. If students do not have a picture ID, Social Security card, or other information to fill out an I-9 form, this would be a good time to help the student obtain this information.

Cover the information from Job Savvy on pages 33-39.
For those students who do not have a Social Security Card, have them fill out an application. Information on obtaining a card can be obtained by calling 1800 772-1213. Hearing impaired individuals can call 1800 325-1213.
Review the Employment Eligibility Verification form.
Review the W-4 form and your state's withholding form. These forms have to be completed so the employee has the right amount of tax taken out of each paycheck. In general, the more exemptions a person claims on these forms, the less they will have taken out of each check. It might be helpful to have your program's business manager come to the class and explain in more detail if needed. The Bureau of Business Practice has a helpful pamphlet that can be sent to you by calling 1800 243-0876. It is titled How to Make Sure You Have the Right Tax Withheld.
Instruct the students to find out whether they should sign up for health insurance if it is available. If they are covered by a Medicaid program, their parents, or someone else who claims them as a dependent, they may not need insurance through their job. If they are already covered, there is no need for them to sign up for their employer's health insurance.
Set-up role-plays in which the students ask their supervisor (boss, person who interviewed them, person who hired them, etc.) for information that they will need to be prepared for the first day on the job. The trainers will play the supervisor and the role-play can take place as though the student is requesting the information in person or over the phone. Use the scenario that is most likely for each student. Trainers can then check the students' checklists to ensure that the students got the correct information. Trainers should use good behavioral training that involves instruction, modeling, role-play, and feedback.

SIGNS OF GENERALIZATION
Hopefully, the students will not have many opportunities to try out their "first day on the job" skills. Nevertheless, for each new job they start, the students should be prepared. As they get new jobs, they should need less instruction and support from trainers.

[ previous | table of contents | home | order | next ]