Spotlight on Success:
Beth Bolander and Jodi Lindsay

Beth Bolander is a customer service specialist intermediate in Rehabilitation Services at the Cambridge Minnesota WorkForce Center. She started out in the Center’s Student Worker Program. Bolander was hired as a permanent employee to work at the WorkForce Center just before Christmas 2007, six months after she began working in the Student Worker Program.

Bolander has what she calls a "reading disability." She has trouble reading big words, and she reads slowly. She has had this disability since she was very young.

Bolander worked ever since she was old enough to hold down a job.

"The thing that worked for me in finding a job was getting out there and not taking any breaks." Bolander found that when she would lighten up on her job search, she lost motivation and momentum.

"My co-workers motivate me to do my job, and I like learning something new." Bolander also enjoys the customers at the WorkForce Center and she appreciates her work environment.

Bolander finds her co-workers helpful when it comes to her disability, "They don’t treat me any different. If I’m reading through something and I ask for help, they come over and help and it’s no big deal."

Bolander dreams of going to Brown College to get a degree in Criminal Justice. "When I started I wanted to be a probation officer." But now she thinks she might like to stay working in Rehabilitation Services with ex-offenders.

Bolander enthusiastically describes the impact this job has made on her life, "Wow, I would say it’s made me a lot more confident in myself, and motivated me to do more things. I have more faith in myself and I’m able to do more than I thought I could! I have more self esteem." Bolander’s friends tell her they see the difference in her as well.

To people with disabilities who are looking for a job Bolander says, "Don’t stop trying. Just because you have a disability doesn’t mean the world stops, just keep your head up and keep on trying!"

Bolander is grateful to Kathy Johnson, her counselor in Rehabilitation Services, Jodi Lindsay, her supervisor, and the people on the rehabilitation team who helped her get her job!

Employer Profile: Jodi Lindsay
"It’s not about the disability, it’s about the skills and whether the person can do the job," says Jodi Lindsay, Rehabilitation Area Manager for Rehabilitation Services, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. Lindsay has worked with many people with disabilities over the years, and recently she hired Beth Bolander as a customer service representative at the Minnesota WorkForce Center-Cambridge.

Lindsay interviewed several students from the Student Worker Program through Rehabilitation Services, including Bolander. "We used a rating scale to rate the performance of the students in the interview process, and Bolander answered the questions well."

The Student Worker Program is part of an initiative under Pathways to Employment to make the state of Minnesota a "model employer." All of the students in the Student Worker Program have some type of disability. Steve Kuntz, state of Minnesota recruiter, describes the program this way: "Initially the concept for utilizing rehab services candidates in the resource room at WorkForce Centers was simple—many times we invest our tax dollars into getting people a formal education but once they graduate they are at a strategic and competitive disadvantage in relation to the marketplace because they do not have any practical experience.

"Our resource rooms are extremely busy with diverse customers. Because the funding streams for these rooms have not expanded, the rooms have historically been short-staffed for addressing the one-on-one needs of candidates looking for employment. What we did was create a win-win situation whereby the rehab services candidates who had excellent skills to assist people looking for employment are matched up with resource rooms that had a need. The concept is if the candidates with disabilities can get competitive skills, they are going to be much more marketable both in the public and private sector."

Bolander is a great example of how the program can work for both the employer and the employee.

Jodi Lindsay describes the process of bringing Bolander on as a new employee, "There was no advance preparation done when Beth was hired, except that one person was chosen to mentor her. She was trained in by many of the resource room staff members."

Lindsay describes the main challenge she faced in hiring Bolander, "She needed some coaching in how to dress and act professionally, in a professional work setting. Previously she had worked at a gas station."

Lindsay is enthusiastic about hiring people with disabilities, "I would do it again! You have to look at what they can do; they must be able to perform the essential functions of the job. I have the same expectations of people with disabilities as I do of any other employee I hire."

Lindsay continues, "One difference with the people hired from the Student Worker Program is that you have to be clear about the roles. Once they’re hired, they become employees, not consumers of rehab services in that setting."

Lindsay is proud of Bolander’s growth as a young person entering the workforce, "I enjoyed watching Beth blossom in her new job!"