We are thrilled to announce the launch of On My Way, our new story-based, career readiness package.

It takes more than a well-formatted résumé to get—and keep—a job. That’s why On My Way takes a holistic approach, recognizing that teens’ feelings, social worlds, and past experiences all inform their on-the- job success. On My Way helps educators build the social and emotional skills young people need for job readiness—including self-awareness, decision making and communication.

On Way May features professional development to help educators implement interactive sessions that guide young adults through many different stages of work readiness: whether they are looking for their first summer job or internship, struggling to balance school and work, or exploring their college and career goals.

Each skill is presented through the lens of a personal story, as told by teen. Our young writers describe sweating through job interviews, getting overwhelmed on their first hectic days at work, and feeling annoyed by coworkers and bosses. Right away, these relevant and relatable stories will draw youth in and prep them to truly absorb the work readiness lessons that accompany each story.

On My Way is the second edition of a career readiness curriculum that Youth Communication first published in 2009, then called Real Jobs, Real Stories. In an evaluation of the use of the first edition with 1,500 youth aged 14 to 24 in New York City’s Summer Youth Employment Program, 80% of the participants reported that as a result of Real Jobs they “know how they should (and should not) act on the job.” The positive results of the evaluation and the enthusiasm of staff encouraged us to create this new edition, which incorporates what we learned into updated stories and dynamic session plans that, we hope, inspire youth to aim for a bigger, bolder future.

Good Shepherd Services pilot-tested On My Way with teens at several of its sites and participated in the On My Way professional learning community—a cohort of professionals in the field of work readiness who came together monthly for in-depth training and collaboration. We learned a great deal from training Good Shepherd staff, observing their implementation of the On My Way session plans with teens, and talking with them about the needs of the communities they serve.