Define the readiness task and referral boundary

A person may say, “I want to be ready for work.” A specialist should not immediately turn that into a universal score or a list of tips. First identify the next decision the person needs to make. Are they choosing between occupations? Do they need evidence for a specific vacancy? Have many applications produced no interviews? Each calls for different work. The first unit of service is therefore a defined readiness task, not a judgment of the person’s worth or chance of employment.

Use an intake card with five working fields. Record a goal expressed as an action and time, such as “select two target roles this week,” instead of “improve my future.” Record the context the person provides: experience, feasible opportunities, stated constraints and resources they agree to use. Record inspectable evidence, such as a vacancy, work sample or application log, keeping the person’s account distinct from a document. Record the decisions within the specialist’s role: organizing evidence, explaining search options, reviewing a document with its owner or proposing practice. Finally record decisions that require another professional or an authorized person, including the referral or clarification route.

Readiness is not a single permanent trait. Someone can perform a task well but struggle to show it in an application. Another person can write a polished resume while lacking an essential requirement of one vacancy. Tie each judgment to a target, context and evidence: “There is documented experience coordinating a small team, but no evidence yet of using the tool named in this posting.” This identifies the next task and can be revised when a new sample appears. “Not ready” merges different gaps and suggests certainty that the review has not established.

The NACE framework can help name competencies such as communication, critical thinking, teamwork and career development. It was developed for college graduates, so do not treat it as a universal employment threshold. Observe a competency through a task rather than an impression. For communication, ask for a clear project update written for a named audience. For teamwork, seek an episode that shows the person’s contribution and its effect. Interview fluency alone is not proof of work performance; difficulty describing an experience does not prove that the underlying skill is absent.

The role boundary also covers consent and privacy. Ask before keeping a resume or sharing it with an employer. Retain only what is needed for the agreed task. Permission to review a resume is not permission to send it. When a clinical, legal, alleged discrimination or contract dispute issue emerges, record the request in factual terms and refer it to a qualified service or responsible person according to the local context. A general employability program does not confer authority to diagnose mental health conditions or interpret employment law. The specialist can still support an allowed readiness task, such as organizing a vacancy log, while the specialized issue remains with its proper service.

Close the card with a small follow-up agreement: what will the person produce, what will the specialist do, and when will both check the evidence? For example, the person selects two genuine vacancies and provides their descriptions; the specialist distinguishes recurring from vacancy-specific requirements; both revisit the gaps five days later. Do not record “readiness improved” solely because a meeting occurred. Verify that the promised output exists and that the person understands the next decision. If the person declines to share a document, change the task to analyzing a public vacancy or synthetic example. Do not require unnecessary disclosure to receive support.