Career Counseling

Wellspring offers Career Counseling and Job Development at no cost. Half-Hour Appointments can be made with a Human Resources professional for Wednesdays between 10:00am and 2:00pm by calling 781-925-3211.

Reason to Believe Career Development Program

Wellspring offers Career Service opportunities through a multi-tiered program. Students must be nominated and must meet certain criteria in order to take advantage of these services.

Career Exploration: Youth will participate in informal and formal discussions on careers, various assessment tools which will help individuals identify their work-related interest, what they consider important on the job, and their abilities in order to explore those occupations that relate most closely to those attributes. The purpose of this stage is to help the participant learn about their career interests and their natural skills and aptitudes. Just as importantly, an individual will also find out what does not interest them and possibly some careers they might not want to pursue.

Job Readiness: These would be individual workshops geared towards, resume writing, job applications, interviewing skills, the job search and dress for success. The purpose of this stage is to provide the tools necessary for an individual to be successful in obtaining job shadows, internships, admittance to school and lastly, an appropriate job.

Job Shadow: Job shadowing is a stimulating and motivating activity designed to give young people an opportunity of an up-close look at a specific profession. This portion will help the individual to see what expectations are in the particular fields. During this portion each participant would be responsible to find two places where they could job shadow. During the job shadow the participants could learn what type of education is required for this job, what skill set is required for this job, what is the salary range in this field, and if they have a sincere interest in the field. The participant will enter the job shadow with pre-prepared questions to answer. The participant must have one successful job shadow in order to move on to the paid internship. Job Shadowing provides hands on experience for the individual. It provides an opportunity for the individual to find out if this is the type of work that interests him/her. It can also allow an individual to find out that a particular type of work is not what they are suited for.

Internship: Through the internship program, youth will gain new perspective on the importance of learning and further study. Internships also give youth the opportunity to practice communication skills and develop a network of relationships with people outside of school and home. It also provides the introduction of work ethic. (What it means to show up on time, get along with your co workers, and presenting a positive attitude). Supervisors and staff working directly with the intern will be asked to complete an evaluation for each intern using the Massachusetts Work Based Learning Plan. The interns will be paid a stipend of $8.00/hour for an approximately a 16 hour week. Each internship will vary in length from four weeks to eight weeks dependent on the setting and the needs of the businesses. Each participant will be responsible for obtaining an internship with the support of the career counselor, youth counselors, job developers and business representatives.

Action Plan: All participants must develop a plan of action. Each intern must complete an action plan stating what their next step is. This next step could vary tremendously from intern to intern. This next step could involve more research, more education, more skill training, or getting a full time job. All action plans will be reviewed by the Youth Advisory Committee. Director of Career Services: Andrea Williamson 781-925-3211