Derek Shields >> Welcome, everyone, to today's webinar, “Presenting Your Best Self to Employers.” As mentioned in the setup, my name is Derek Shields, and I'll be serving as the presenter today. And I will be joined by Ray Cebula, who will serve as today's moderator. Ray received his law degree from the University of New Hampshire's Franklin Pierce School of Law and spent 23 years providing legal services to individuals with disabilities in their interactions with Social Security, and then became part of Cornell University's Work Incentive Support Center. Then, in 2005, Ray joined the staff of Cornell's Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability. He now serves as a program director of YTI Online. That is Cornell's Work Incentives practitioner credentialing program.

Ray will be joining us at the first Q&A, and as Jayme mentioned, we'll have two. So Ray will be moderating those Q&A's and receiving your questions through the Q&A pod that Jayme discussed. So send those in, and Ray will cover as many of those as possible. And one more note before we get started and I get into the presentation material. I do want to point out that today's webinar will be available on our website at Choose Work in the WISE on Demand section. For those of you watching the archive, please note that this webinar was recorded in 2026, and some of the information may be historical. Please visit choosework.ssa.gov for the most up-to-date information.

Okay, with the webinar overview, today we're going to talk about the Ticket Program and discuss topics like what is Social Security's Ticket to Work Program? Of course, we do that every time because that is at the heart of what we're trying to do. We're also going to cover topics more related to the title, and we're going to talk about creating application materials — building those strong materials for your application process, so you could have confidence in them — preparing for the interview itself, and making sure that you're both confident with your materials but also comfortable and confident in what you're going to say. And we look forward to covering those practices there. And then in the final area, who can help you in presenting your best self to employers? And we'll be covering our employment team members that have services and supports to really get you ready for all these things.

So whether you're just starting out or, you know, on your path to find out about work and if you're ready to work, or you're a little bit further along the way, this session is really designed to increase and give you confidence to move forward in your process. So we encourage you to stick around, see what you can learn today, and hopefully open up a few new ideas and doors for employment possibilities.

And with that, let's get started. As I mentioned, we're going to start with what is Social Security's Ticket to Work Program? In short, the Ticket Program is a free and voluntary program that's from the Social Security Administration and is offering career development for people ages 18 through 64 who receive Social Security disability benefits and want to work. That is really the only requirement. You have to want to work. It is free and voluntary for people ages 18 through 64 who are receiving those Social Security disability benefits, so you have to be receiving the benefits — and that's either SSDI or SSI, and we'll talk about those on the next slide. But we really seek out the people that want to work, or perhaps some of you feel like you want to and need to work. You know, the program helps people with disabilities move forward to financial independence, either toward or to financial independence, and connects them with those services and support needed to succeed. So if that sounds like you, we have some great career development offerings for your consideration.

But before we get into those, let's cover SSDI and SSI because you need to be receiving one or both of these benefits in order to participate in the Ticket Program. So, first, let's cover the one on the left here, Social Security Disability Insurance, or SSDI, and let's note first that this is an insurance program. What does that mean? Well, it means that people are paid into the insurance program while working. So if you worked in the past, and you've provided FICA taxes, these were being withheld from your paycheck. You are actually funding disability insurance benefits for the future. Your amount of those benefits depends on how long you've worked and how much you've earned, and there's a maximum amount to that.

So just know that everybody's work history is different, so everybody's benefit is going to be different. And you need to have a fairly long history to acquire that — sometimes about 10 years to become insured. But those of you that are on SSDI did that, and then you acquired your disability. So with SSDI, you know, it's an insurance program — you paid into it — and the program doesn't really focus on resources, don't care about any unearned income that you may have. It's really just about that insurance program.

Then, on SSI, on the right side, we have the Supplemental Security Income. Notice that doesn't say insurance. This isn't the insurance program; it's a needs-based program. And that's provided by Social Security for people who have not worked enough to be insured for SSDI or do not have a work history at all. Of course, that happens for some people too. So it's very, very different, and it's also going to look differently — it's going to look at if you have those low resource amounts and some, you know, investigation into any income amounts. Social Security administers both of these programs and pays monthly benefits to people with limited income and resources who are either blind or have a qualifying disability.

So it's important to note, you know, SSDI 18 through 64, you know, and Ticket to Work 18 through 64. SSI is available to people who are 65 or older and children with disabilities or those who are blind. So there are some differences here, and we know you have questions about that, but now that we have that baseline information, we can talk about how the Ticket Program can help those people who are 18 through 64 and receiving SSDI and/or SSI.

So the Ticket Program has service providers, and we can connect you with those service providers to understand how earnings from work will affect your benefits. I think that's really critical. Of course, the program offers free help when you're ready, and we have some examples up here about those employment services and supports that are readily available to you. We'll start out with this idea of deciding if work is right for you. Career counseling is important, and while some of us might think that, “okay, my disability is evolving, and maybe work is right for me,” working through that with a career counselor will really help someone talk to you about your skills and interests, your work goals, and how that might fit, you know, what jobs are out there that can fit your work goals and capabilities.

Next, you know, preparing for work and the idea of job readiness so you can receive that help. And today we're going to talk about some of those in detail, you know, preparing the resume and making sure that you have confidence in, you know, preparing for work. It's an important step for sure.

We also have finding a paid work opportunity. There are some different services that exist from the Ticket Program that will allow you to examine like, you know, introduction to employers, potential job placement services from some of the service providers, or teaching you how to navigate, you know, that skillset of finding a job skillset. And you know, unfortunately, most of us don't ever get taught that skillset of finding a job. Sometimes one job will lead into another one, but when you pause employment because of being on disability benefit program, that pause can make it hard to get back into work, so that's what the services and supports can help you with. And one of the things that they can do is, you know, in developing a plan for all these things.

And then once you get work, you acquire work, there's the notion of succeeding at work, and those are more of the job retention services and supports. You know, maybe you start a position. The Ticket Program can help you in retaining that, maybe in asking for a reasonable accommodation that you didn't know you needed when you started, but is needed for an essential job function. Now, for all of this, you can learn more through some of the links here that we have on the slide. First check out the link to access the fact sheet “What is Social Security's Ticket to Work Program?” That one is in the Web Links pod, which is in the bottom-right corner, and we encourage you to look at that. That's item 7. And then the other link is for a deeper dive. This is a self-guided tutorial, and that's available at item 8 in the Q&A, or I'm sorry, in the Web Links pod. So if you really want to start exploring those further, we have those deeper resources in that tutorial on our website.

So with this in mind, we also encourage you to get in touch with folks on our team in order to discuss your thoughts about either returning to work or starting work for the first time, if you want to find out what you qualify for, etc. We have a Ticket to Work Help Line, so the website, but we also have the Ticket to Work Help Line, and this is a toll-free Help Line to answer your specific questions and support you on your journey to financial independence. And earlier when we talked about, you know, not sharing personal information in a webinar, well, that can happen through the Ticket to Work Help Line. So the beneficiary support specialists that are there are available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time. To answer your specific questions, you can reach them at 1-800, sorry, 1-866-968-7842 or if you use a TTY device, the number is 1-866-833-2967. That TTY line is designed for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or those who have a speech disability and use a text telephone to make and receive calls. So go ahead and reach out. The Help Line team is ready to answer your questions and help you connect to that employment team. We will bring this back up before we wrap up today for those of you that weren't quite ready to capture that information.

All right, so we talked about what is Social Security's Ticket to Work Program, and now we'll turn to the beginning of the next section — which I mentioned earlier — building strong application materials. When doing this, we're really thinking about making that first impression, and that starts with your application itself or the materials that come with it. So in this section, I'm going to dive in and explore how to create a resume that shows your skills and experience.

We're going to review developing a strong cover letter, which could also be now submitted through a message in a platform or potentially sent through email that explains why you're a great fit for the job, and potentially a portfolio, if you might need one and the portfolio that shows examples of your work or skills. So all of these tools can help employers as they try to understand, in essence, who you are, you know, what you can bring to them in terms of skills and experience, and why they should, in effect, hire you.

So let's go over how these materials can be developed in a clear, professional way and kind of be true to you. And I would call this, perhaps, personal branding. This is your outward identity and how it's going to show up that represents your skills, expertise, and values, and potentially for some of you — this is really important, too — your passions. Sometimes when we have less work experience, you may have other skills and passions that have been developed that are importantly going to influence your work, and this might be what you can bring forward with your strong application materials as well.

All right, so we'll start, as I mentioned, with resumes. This is an important part of the application process, and for better or worse, resumes have been around for a long, long time, and it's what employers use as a baseline. They tend to be shorter documents. They tend to be one or two pages in length, but for those with more work history, or for some more "professional positions" — I say that with air quotes — they could be a little bit longer. They do get broken up into sections like work and education, and they bring along things like skillsets and other things like voluntary work, or training and certifications, or degrees, that type of thing.

So on this slide we have a variety of ways that resumes can be framed. I think it's important to think of it as a way to show off what you bring to the table. So if you're trying to get an employer's attention, you know, they would see the right match. And if they're looking at a lot of resumes, this is an opportunity for you to get filtered to the top of that. And often being the first impression the employer will get of you, it's important to make it clear. It needs to be organized and focused, and that can be hard. So sometimes getting an employment service provider to provide feedback is a great way to figure out, well, is it clear, neat, and focused? It's also a great way to showcase what you're interested in as your career goals and how they can match the company's goals. So you can do that by reading the company website. You could do that by having an informal discussion with an employee at the company to try to figure out, well, where are you all headed, and how can I assist?

And then you can have your resume reflect that conversation, and in the end, a resume can really help you make that strong impression I discussed, and gives you a better chance to explain those strengths and skills you bring that could allow an opportunity for an interview. When I speak of strengths and skills, I also often speak with young adults around building an asset inventory. And so if you haven't done this in a little while, and you're thinking about refreshing your resume and bringing your strengths and skills in there, it would start, you know, let's write them down. And then as we have a draft, think about that. What assets am I bringing to an employer, and what are their needs in that department? And that would help you prepare, not only to discuss it in an interview, but potentially, if there's any gaps, help you take steps to close those gaps so you have a strong asset inventory.

All right. Well, we started to talk about what to include on a resume. Now I'll turn to this list on the slide in front of us that will give the specifics. Of course, contact information comes first. I was with a human resources recruiter last week, and we were both working, and I heard her say, "Well, why didn't this person provide an email address on the resume? I don't know how to contact them."

So first out of the gate, I would encourage you to include your full name, your telephone number, and an email address. The one thing you want these people to do, if you want to work for them, is allow them to reach you, and they want to do that in a way that suits them. So if you apply online, they might message you back online. But if they have flexibility in their position, meaning they're a remote worker, they might say, I want to call, or I want to email, so make sure you include those things. And if you have one, you could consider other things, like your LinkedIn profile, or if you have an online portfolio, like a professional blog, you can include those things too, if applicable. Now, they're not required, but feel free to do that. I think employers like that. It shows kind of part of your brand.

Next is work history. This is where you list your previous jobs. We recommend starting with the most recent one, and then reverse chronological order to the last, you know, the furthest one in the past, and put in the company name and your title and the dates you worked there. We have two bullets here: education and certification, so we have that learning section. If you went to any schools, this could range for some of you to from a high school diploma to some vo-tech or community college work. Or maybe some have a university or college degree — you just put in there the education or certification work that you have. And you know, if you were a technician — let's say, in a medical field — and you got a radiology technician certification, that's really important. You worked hard for that, be proud of it, and include that.

In the next section, we have tasks or goals met. I think for this, it's important to, if you can, to tell the story. Employers really like to know what you did on the job, the tasks, and if you can describe that with some data of some sort. You know, what was the impact? For example, I was a customer service associate. It was one of my first jobs. I held the position for about three years, and I would answer, in that first year, around 500 inbound calls per week. I was an inside salesperson — you could see — and I had a 98.7% proficiency, and for that I received the President's Quality Award. And that was a big deal for the company I worked with, and I was proud of that. So I was able to also put that on my resume, and when I interviewed for another position, that stood out. And they asked me about that, and I was able to tell my story there. So that, I would encourage you to figure out, well, what's your story, and how can you use some data or goals or tasks to share there?

Now we have volunteer work or other useful job-related skills, and here's where some people might not have a solid work history because of a pause of employment, but you might be doing some volunteer work, or you might have job-related skills that were developed through other hobbies — maybe some technical skills or some writing skills. So I would encourage you to think of that asset inventory again and use volunteer work or job-related skills developed somewhere else and detail that here. This is where you connect potentially your passions to your skills development to your story. And in the end, the awards and honors. You know, I mentioned the President's Quality Award. That was one that was important to me. I think this is where you can showcase sometimes when external folks recognize you, how that becomes part of your identity. So if you were recognized by others, be proud of that, and know that this is a competition for employment. And if others are putting this content there, we want you to be able to brag a bit about your accomplishments too.

All right, so I've covered some areas there for creating the resume. What elements? Now let's look for some tips on writing the resume. Here it starts out with make your contact information stand out, and so use that large, clear font. There are templates that are out there. Select one that's going to have the size of the font and the bold and also using a professional email address. You know, I see some funny email addresses — and they do make me chuckle — but then it makes me wonder, well, is this person going to be right for this type of business or this employer? So make sure it's a professional one, and perhaps keep one for your personal and one for your professional.

Tailor your resume for specific jobs. This is a key tactic because employers are looking at, well, is this person, you know, just sending their resume to 1,000 places, or are they really spending time thinking about how they match up with their skills and experiences and the essential job functions or sector that that employer resides in? We'll talk about that a little bit with the match with the employment team helping you with that a little bit later.

Also, listing information in order of importance. You know, people do read from the top to the bottom, and if you only have a few minutes of time, you know, maybe the person isn't even going to read the entire resume. How do we make sure we have our lead right at the top so, as a colleague says, it's not buried? And on your resume, if one of the most important things you accomplished starts at the top of page 2, the person reading it might not get there, so think about that. And if you need feedback on what matters most, ask a friend or a family member or a service provider for some feedback on that.

And the last one here, make your resume friendly for applicant tracking systems. And this is really important because many, many employers now are using technology applicant tracking systems, and we have a link here to some ideas of how to do that in the Web Links pod at item 9. You know, the one thing I tell you on all these ideas is you could go out and do a Google search and watch some YouTube videos on these things and get great ideas in much more detail than the time we have today. On this one, it's really thinking about keywords. The applicant tracking systems are going to filter through resumes, looking for certain levels of experience, certain types of skillsets, certain types of passion that drives up through the resume, and that comes through keywords. So look at a position description, figure out what the keywords are, and then find your experiences, skills, and other assets — and use those keywords to get filtered in rather than filtered out. 

All right, now that we've done those tips and covered the resume from a few angles, we're going to switch over to cover letters. Remember, we're going to talk about cover letters, and then a note on portfolios, and then we'll get to our Q&A. So got about seven minutes of this, and then we'll have Ray come in, so submit those questions, please.

All right. Cover letters. What is a cover letter? If you're not familiar, they help introduce you and persuade an employer to look at your application further. So it's the first piece. Maybe it's sent through a message in a platform. Maybe it's an actual mailed letter. Maybe it's an emailed note, but it allows for someone to be intrigued and to pause and say I want to see more, want to see that resume. While some employers require such a letter, it's important to know that not all do. And if it's optional, we recommend still sending one. It's a way to, if you have a one-page resume, it's a way to tell more of your story outside of that one page. So it might bring up your passions. It might bring a sense of your personality through, which is really hard to do in a resume. So it can set you apart from others, and those others are other candidates, and you are competing with them. So bring your story in, make a stronger case that you're the right fit.

Now, to do that, it might sound easy to do, but it might not be that easy for some of us to do. So we include some tips here. We have four of them. Start out by researching, and the more research you do, we'll find out if this is the right match and how you can align your skillsets. And I recommend finding the company's values. You know, the mission, vision, and values of a company or an organization are normally on a website. And the people responsible for the employment at that organization — whether it's a large company or it's a local employer — they want to align with the values because the values connect to the culture, and that culture drives organizational performance. So research the values and find out your alignment and how you can best support them, and you can talk about that in the cover letter.

Now, again, just like the resume should get personalized for each job, so should the cover letter. It's possible that you could develop — if you're going after four or five different types of positions — four or five different cover letters and four or five different resumes for those different types of positions, and then just customize them a little bit more for each submission. That would help you save time. Say, I'm going to start with that radiology technician starter resume and cover letter, and then just customize it for each medical office that you're applying to.

And the third one here, address the hiring manager, so try to put in a person's name or Dear Hiring Manager if it's not available, but really personalizing it will let them know you're spending time you care. And then emphasizing that asset inventory, your skills and experiences, whether they came from work or volunteer positions or from your hobbies and how they can align and support. You know, if you're a creative person, and you're bringing that to someone, it would be important for them to know the creativity and where it came from. And it doesn't have to be paid work. If you're a blogger, if you're an Instagrammer, and you have some creative things, then you can share that too through a cover letter.

Now, what to include in that cover letter? We have the contact information, who you're sending it to, the recipient, and then that idea of the introduction of yourself mentioned how to craft this, and you could do that with some writing tools assistance. You could do that through drafting and getting feedback from a family member or a service provider. And then we get to a couple key things, what makes you uniquely qualified, and any accomplishments that you would highlight for that unique qualification. I think you could call out things in your resume here in a way that an employer who might not get there if they don't get to page 3 and they're only on the cover letter — it would draw them in, and that's the sales technique that we need in the cover letter. And then the closing statement: I look forward to hearing from you, or I'm excited for the opportunity to work for your company and your brand. Let me know when we can talk, that type of thing. So important cover letter elements and important ideas around the cover letter to be accompanying the resume.

Well, next up we have portfolios. Now, not everyone and not every job requires a portfolio, and that's the last point here, but I'll start with that. But those that do, it's a great way to augment a cover letter and a resume by bringing one more thing to the table, and that's a sample of what you can develop or what you have developed. And that's previous work, either paid or voluntary, and it showcases how your skillset leads to outcome or leads to product, and employers could really benefit from that.

Many of you can think of portfolios, and you might be like, well, that makes sense for an artist because an artist carries a portfolio and brings out their pictures they've painted or drawn. Well, and this — you know, keep that picture in mind — but apply it to other types of product. I want to be a social graphic designer. I should have an online portfolio of some of the advertising work I helped my previous employer do. There's a chance for you to consider a portfolio that would generate, you know, capture someone's interest. So like here there's website design. I use the graphic designer perspective, but putting those products out there, you know, if you, like a photographer is a great example. For me, I don't have a portfolio, personally — that's like a separate website — but I have a LinkedIn page, and I put some of the projects I've worked on over the years in a portfolio-driven approach. So I helped launch the National Disability Mentoring Coalition. It runs the Susan Daniels Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame. I'm involved with a learning collective. I helped write this, you know, database. These types of things can be out there, so it's one more way to show not only are you passionate and you have skills and assets, but this is what you can help deliver.

So, think about the portfolio, and if that seems like a cool thing to add to your resume and cover letter, it might be one more way to differentiate yourself. Here we have those tips, you know, determining the best representations, developing the sections — like publication, websites, artwork, or photography — and then putting a statement in there outlining your goals. Like “this is my past work, but this is what I'm looking to achieve, perhaps in my creativity or in my builder hat.” And building can be a lot of things, but what do I want to build next for that employer? Request and maintain current testimonials and references there. It's a place where you could have more references than maybe the line of references available upon request and emphasizing awards and other achievements, as we've mentioned. And importantly, put your email and — if you're comfortable — links to your social network so they can see how you engage with others around the topics of your interest.

All right, we covered a lot there with the tips. When you think about reviewing your application materials, get somebody to check them, and we'll talk about the employment service providers that are part of your team, but family members and friends. And remember to revisit and revise them. They can get outdated. You want to make sure that they're up-to-date, and so when there are up to 250 applicants that you know your materials are fresh, customized, and will stand out to the employers where you're competing for that position. All right. Well, I mentioned at the get-go that Ray would be with us as our moderator today, and I'm delighted to bring Ray in now to pause and hear what questions we have. Ray?

Ray >> Thank you, Derek. Thanks for that great information. You know, I was thinking about my own self during that and thought, gee, I could have a portfolio listing the significant cases that I brought, and I never thought of that. I always assumed portfolios were for art and things like that. So thanks for that, Derek. We have lots of good questions coming at this resume-writing from very different positions in life, and the first one was what if I don't have prior work experience to put on a resume?

Derek >> Thanks, Ray. This is Derek. Yeah, it's a really good question, and there are a couple different groups that ask this question of me frequently, so appreciate that too. Young people, young adults, transitioning from school to work frequently don't have much work experience if any. And then we have others that have been in the disability benefit program for a while who haven't worked or haven't worked in a long time. I think the idea of paid work has kind of become overly rated in terms of how we talk about our skillsets and our experiences that are of value to organizations and employers. So the first need is to open up the mindset away from only paid work matters to my asset inventory comes from a lot of things. So if we're looking at, well, am I a good organizer? What are my organizational skills? And I've been running the household's food system, meaning what food do we need for the week or a couple weeks? How do I order the, you know, create a shopping list? How do I get the food in, and how is it organized and ready and delivered to people that I live with so we all eat? Well, there's a lot of great organizational skills there. It doesn't have to come from, “I was a technical analyst at this employer, and I used project management software to be a great organizer.” And I think this is perhaps a simple example, but I'm trying to open up the mindset that volunteer work, projects at school, internships — all these things — relay over how we developed excellent skills through a variety of experiences. So this demonstrates what we want to get to. That's the potential.

So, you know, when I grew up, my dad liked trains, and so I became a little bit of a train kind of set kid. Well, maybe you grew up, and you worked with your dad on cars, and you got in a kind of an interest in the mechanics field from that, and you do have skills, but that weren't paid work. Tell that story somehow, you know? Or the time management through projects. There's a lot of different ways you could go with that one too.

A lot of us have babysitting experience. You could leverage that too as a skillset development. Just think of how you develop the skills, where they came from, and then work on how you share the story. Don't get too focused on just the prior paid work experience. That could be limiting for too many.

Ray >> Okay. Thank you, Derek. It's a related question, but could you get a little more specific on what happens to a work gap that many of our folks are experiencing because of their disability?

Derek >> Yeah, thanks, Ray. This is Derek again. Yeah, you know, that is a personal choice. Like if I had a gap in employment because of a disabling condition, you have a choice to make, and I think talking with your influencers, friends, or family members, hopefully counselors from employment service providers, you'll feel what your comfort level is in talking about that. If it's helpful, you can look at the things that you've been doing while unemployed. So if you've been volunteering, if you do something at a church or a synagogue as a volunteer, then these aren't experience gaps. And what we're looking at on that resume isn't a paid work gap because you've replaced that with an experience or performance activity. So we need to do an asset inventory and an experience inventory, and again, that would shift us away from that work gap. So in my life, you know, we had three kids, and we were in a house that, for a while, we had one person working and one person not working, and that employment gap could have been explained as, oh, I raised kids, and, you know, that was a privilege that was had. Or it could be explained as I raised three kids, and that was the hardest job I ever had, and here are all the amazing skillsets that I got out of that. So I bring them up as a couple different ways. Think about it as an experience inventory, less of a stoppage of work inventory, and that might position you to a better mindset for a position of confidence. And that's what we're looking for, telling your story with more confidence in a comfortable way that the employer doesn't hear that, “oh, I'm not sure how I can help you” But we get to the point about because of these skills I can help you in that job. Hope that helps, Ray?

Ray >> Yeah, Derek. Thank you, that helped a lot. I want to switch off to the Ticket to Work right now. I've never had a job. Can the Ticket Program help me?

Derek >> Thanks, Ray. This is Derek again. Yes, the Ticket Program can definitely help somebody who hasn't worked before. Well, let's say in a paid job before. I'm a believer that a lot of people have had these experiences and that it brings skillsets to employers, but if somebody has never had paid work, the program is designed to help you too. And in fact, we encourage you to explore work. You know, one of the things that a lot of us want to do is be able to work, and if you've been on the benefit, both of the benefit programs, and you haven't had that, then that's kind of not where you want to be. We want to help change that. You know, like people say, well, what is it that you do? In our culture, it commonly means work. The Ticket Program is a vehicle to help you if you want to work, get there for the first time so you'll have access to professionals through the employment service provider team to navigate that. And it might seem challenging today, but we know of thousands of people that have been there at this point and decided that I'm going to do this and that turned that challenge into a supported plan that gets you to be more confident when approaching employers. So, I think the key on that is just know if you're going to approach it, no, you don't have to do this alone. There's an entire team there. We'll talk about them in a little bit, but the Ticket Program is designed to specifically help those who do not have work experience as well, and we would love for you to participate in that program with us.

Ray >> Okay, Derek. Thank you. We are at time to turn back to the presentation, so I'm turning it over to you.

Derek >> Thank you, Ray. And remember, keep the questions coming in. Ray will be back for a second Q&A, and we'll take more of those in just a little bit. All right, I mentioned we do resumes and cover letters. I also talked about preparing for the interview — that's this section — and then we'll talk about the employment team and those that can help present your best self to employers, and then Ray will be back.

All right, so preparing for an interview. This is the opportunity to showcase everything we've been talking about, the paper resume or paper/digital resume with the cover letter, and maybe that portfolio gets you in the door. And now this is the opportunity to showcase your qualifications, and perhaps your enthusiasm. And we'll review some tips on how to prepare now and to make that positive impression in the interview.

All right, so the first section here we'll talk about maybe to no surprise is, once again, we have research leading off. So researching the company is critical, and when we say company, that's kind of a broad term. So it could be a company, but it could also be another organization, a nonprofit organization or a university. But researching that organization or company is key. And we've mentioned it before, but here we're talking about that step for preparing because it shows your genuine interest in the position, yes, but really in the broader objectives of that employer. So we think about their mission, vision, and values that I mentioned before. What have they achieved? Do they have reports of some level of achievement? Now, that could be a large employer saying they reached a certain value for their customers. They served so many customers. And in a local area, that could be, you know, I have a cleaning company, and I have, in 2025, a 4.8 Google star rating, and I served 500 clients. And you know, congratulations to that small business cleaning company for having such an excellent Google rating and achieving the most ever served customers. So that's the type of thing that you would want to know.

You would also like to be able to try to figure out what challenges they've had because, in the end, employers are really looking for talent to help them solve the challenges they're facing today and the challenges that are coming tomorrow. So that can inform a lot of the things that you would talk about. You know, so what do you know about the company? Why do you want to work for us, and what can you bring to this company? So the research should really be framed around those big three questions. And if you're not sure about them, again, we recommend talking to people, and you can do that with your close friends and family, of course, but with the service providers. Or maybe you could look, do some research online. What are people talking about with those three questions? Is there something in the news, not just on their website?

Next, we have practice answering questions, and this is an important one. This will boost your confidence and help you communicate clearly, for sure. So, we have the three here, preparing for a mix of questions. These can be the softball ones — like I call them softballs, maybe they're hard for people — tell me about yourself. Well, we can all do that, but we have a problem if we're not practicing it because we might kind of puddle through it a little bit. So practicing is important, but also role-specific questions related to the job, they would be a good one to have too. You could do that by looking online. What are the top 10 most common interview questions? And that would allow you to think those through, even write down some specific responses if needed, and practice them because you're bound to get one or two of them in any interview. And then we encourage you to practice, so give five or six questions to somebody and sit with them. And whether that's on the telephone or in person, and then ask them to ask a follow-up question, something that comes to their mind. So if you do that two or three times, you'll be more confident, for sure.

Next, when we think about practicing, you can also — there we go, sorry — prepare questions to ask the employer. And this is critical because all the work you've done on your personal brand will come down to, “I worked on my resume. I told my story in the cover letter. My portfolio is rocking, and I prepared for the interview. Now I'm here, and the last thing that that employer will say is, and what questions do you have of us?” And most employers are looking for how you react. It could be a nervous position, of course, but we encourage you to have at least one, if not two questions ready to go. We have examples here. What is a typical day or week like? What would be the training for me as I onboard? What's the most important thing someone like me would need to accomplish in my first three to six months in this position?

I like the next one. What's your favorite part about working in the business? You know, it looks like you've worked here for a long time. Can you tell me about your experience? How did you start? How did you get into the job? And what's your favorite part of working here? The key tactic there is all of a sudden they're talking about themselves and their career, and most people like that, so keep that tactic in mind. Of course, if you don't have clarity on the next steps before you go, it's a hard question to ask, but we encourage you to say what are the next steps in the hiring process?

I have a relative who received a job offer yesterday, and for four days, she didn't know in the middle of the process what the next step was because she didn't ask. And so while we were excited for her, for sure, to be offered a position as a recent graduate, we also said, “well, why didn't you ask what the next steps were so you had clarity?” And it's a great question, and it could be a test by the employer if they haven't told you, “well, is the person analyzing what they should know and asking what they want to know?” So some good questions to consider here. Again, you could look up more online too.

All right, we do have a slide. It used to be called Dress for Success, and everybody would look the same, and employers, and now we have a lot more flexibility here. We talk about dressing for the job. Dressing appropriately for an interview is really important, and it shows the interviewer that you're professional but also that you have an understanding for the sector or the employer's work. So if you're applying for an office job, they might prefer, you know, a bit of a professional look, a suit or getting dressed up with nicer clothes. If you're applying for a service position, like a technical job, or in this case, a welding job, then maybe more protective gear and more comfortable clothing for that field would be a good match. No matter what, we want to make sure that you have clean, kind of wrinkle-free clothes, but if you don't know what to wear, it would be important to ask in advance of the interview. So, again, make sure that you have the confidence, and if you need to practice, go ahead and practice.

Then we move to be mindful of time. Now, if we're going to an interview, we want to make sure that you're there a few minutes early, so make sure you have the directions. If you need to practice on getting from where you are to where you need to be a day before or the similar time of day before, that would help. And then you have extra time to get there in case something happens. And then be respectful of the interviewer's time so you can give your full attention, but also know we were allotted 30 minutes. I know that we're coming up to the end of the time. I do have two questions I'd like to ask before, but also the respect point in this next one is turn off your phone and bring a professional situation, if needed, to that environment.

I once read in the Washington Post somebody brought a cat to an interview once, and the cat was sitting on the person's lap. So obviously that's probably not going to help get you that job. And then follow up with the interview to thank them and demonstrate in that follow-up that this is your post interview thank you letter, and an opportunity to connect a couple missing dots if you wanted to reinforce your skillsets and asset inventory could do so. And reinforce if you have an updated portfolio. You can send them that too with any of your recent achievements, you can point to those. So one more way to compete for that position.

Speaking of somebody that competed for a position, we have Walter's success story, and as Ray says, we always love sharing our success stories here. Walter created, or I'm sorry, let's talk about Walter here and his success that he created for himself through the Ticket to Work Program. Walter was born with a developmental disability. He was living in upstate New York, and he had to work really hard to acquire his skills. He began receiving Supplemental Security Income —SSI — but, you know, like everyone else, Walter dreamed of living independently and buying a house, and he decided to set himself a goal to find work and earn an income. So when he transitioned out of high school, he was referred by a high school guidance counselor to a local Employment Network, and that's where he found the help to get him those skills to reach his goals.

And the great news is that Walter created an Individual Work Plan — what we call an IWP — with his employment counselor, career counselor, and in that he identified both short- and long-term goals. He set first a goal to improve his soft skills, including things like professionalism, dress, timeliness, and the ability to follow directions and of course communicate about all these things. And after working on those, he was able to take on more hours and gain new responsibilities. That allowed him to start at Ithaca College. And after a few years of gaining those responsibilities, he applied for and received a permanent position as a custodian with his dream employer, Cornell University. And so with that, Walter said, “For me, work is not just about the paycheck. It's about the other things that go with the job. I like being part of the Cornell community. Now I get to go to work every day in a place where I'm comfortable, where I can be myself.” So that's fantastic. So congrats to Walter, and thank you for showing us how Employment Networks can help individuals with both soft skills, things like preparing for interviews, job readiness, and of course employment success.

All right, with that, let's dive into those service providers and the other, well, Employment Networks and other service providers that can help you present your best self to employers. So as we've been talking about, there are people out there that can help you. And while I hope some of these ideas have got you taking some notes, and you'll watch the replay of this WISE webinar to reinforce some of the ideas that you may take away, we also have a team out there who can help you. While you're thinking about returning to work or maybe a career change and restarting work, you are going to have questions and need follow-up support.

So connecting with the Ticket Program service provider can definitely help you develop achievable goals and establish — you know, that Individual Work Plan will do that — and establish a path to find and maintain employment in that career field. The service providers can even help you identify the type of job or career you might enjoy, and any of those skills or experiences you have. And you're trying to refresh or develop the asset inventory, they can figure out how to transfer those from what you've done to what the employer is looking for. And that's an amazing talent that Employment Networks and other service providers have, which some of us aren't trained in. So when thinking about “how do I make my asset inventory?” the Ticket Program service providers are fantastic at doing that.

And let's look at two of them today in a little bit more detail. I've been mentioning Employment Networks, and they're available through the Ticket to Work Program, and we also have Vocational Rehabilitation agencies that are in each state. Both of these service providers specialize in helping eligible people with disabilities explore work. What does that mean? The options that are available for employment, the way to connect with employers and businesses, and how to navigate the rules around disability benefits, really three key areas that both ENS and VRs — is what we call them — Employment Networks and Vocational Rehabilitation agencies do. So these two are the core anchors of your employment team. If you want to participate in Ticket to Work, they can offer the guidance, the specific resources, and importantly, the encouragement. Sometimes we know the journey to financial independence through employment can be tough, and getting that employment team with you and your broader team around you is going to help you.

So let's take a closer look now at the Employment Networks. I mentioned them. The ENs are a public or private organization that has a written agreement with the Social Security Administration to provide free employment support services to people who are eligible for the Ticket Program. Remember, eligibility: receiving SSDI and/or SSI, ages 18 through 64, and wants to work. So these ENs are available to do that, and Social Security wants them to do that. Now, there are some state public workforce systems that are ENs too. We call those American Job Centers. They're all across the country. Those are a subset of ENs called workforce ENs, so they're available to assist you as well. Now, ENs do operate nationwide, but their services vary, and some can focus on a specific zip code area or a region. Or others can be national in nature. So it's really up to you to find an Employment Network that's either local or regional, or if you prefer for virtual services, then you can also get a national one. So it's really, you know, that flexibility and choice is yours. We encourage you to make that choice.

Now, on this slide, what are the specific services and supports? They're quite broad, and we've grouped them up into important areas, but the Employment Networks that are in the program operating service providers are excellent in a variety of areas. We call those services and supports, and they're all designed to help you on your path to financial independence. So, you know, each person needs different help. Most of us need assistance with work goals. Like we might think we know how to communicate our work goals. Well, they're going to help ensure that you're confident with your work goals, and they're going to create short-, mid-, and long-term goals for you, and they're going to help put a timeframe on those goals.

So we're going to develop those soft skills in three weeks. And then in two months, we're going to have the resume and the cover letters worked on, and we're going to be practicing interviews. And then in six months, we're going to have applied and be doing interviews, and we're going to be looking to start work. Great opportunity to work with an EN on that. All the things I mentioned around resume development and strengthening, they're ready to assist. They do cover letters, they can help with the portfolio, practicing the interviews. They're prepared to do that.

And then the last two we haven't talked too much about, but requesting reasonable accommodations. If your disability is apparent, and you know that the essential tasks or job functions will require reasonable accommodation, the service provider will help you in determining when you want to talk to the employer about that. Or if you have a non-apparent disability, the service provider — EN — will talk to you about, you know, if you want to disclose when and how you would request that reasonable accommodation. And last the service provider or EN could connect you with benefits counseling. Some ENs have benefits counseling right through their own services. Others would need to tell you, “okay, you're going to begin work. You have a job offer. Let's bring in a benefits counselor.”And they would refer you to one as part of your employment team too. So great services there.

All right, those are the ENs. And as I mentioned, we also have the State Vocational Rehabilitation agencies, the VRs. They're another valuable resource for people pursuing employment. These agencies offer in-house planning and kind of one-stop services that are a really great fit, and they're quite broad in coverage too. Like if you're launching a business, or if you're just looking to restart and need some new training or education, it could be all across the board. So I think looking at VR in terms of education and training goals is really important. If you think about that, like I have a new work goal, but most employers require an associate's degree for that. Well, that associate's degree is something that Vocational Rhabilitation could help me with and pay for. Let me research that through the state VR agency. So really, you know, long-term vocational rehabilitation or really in-depth training or education is available through the state VR agency, and we would encourage you to think about them as part of your employment team too. Those agencies may also offer benefits counseling, like I mentioned, with the ENS, which is such an important element for successful outcome as you start work as well.
So let's look at some specific ways here that VR agencies can help you. So we have three listed on this slide. Now, VR agencies usually work with individuals who need more extensive services. That means it's more comprehensive service requirements that are documented there, and that's their mission. So they're ready to do that. In some states, this can include that intensive training and education and rehabilitation and those examples I provided earlier, like getting that associate's degree. But it could be vocational school for return to work too, or a specific technical certification. If you're interested in the software design and development, then you might need technical certification for that employment, that type of thing. So it's really a variety of intensive services. They may also provide those other things that we need, like career counseling, job placement assistance, as well as counseling from the benefits perspective.

Similarities between ENs and VRs, there, your employment team can go in different directions for you. I think what you need to do is explore which one's right for you, but understanding that they can work with individuals who need more significant services is of great value. 

Now, we mentioned ENs and VRs. We mentioned workforce ENs too. What we want to do is encourage you, if you're thinking about how to tap into your employment team, is to reach out to find a service provider for you to talk to. And we have a couple options here. You can find one that's a good fit.

To get started, you can go online, if you like to search on your own, to our Find Help page. That Find Help page is at our Choose Work website, and it allows you to look up providers driven by zip code, if you prefer somebody that's local. If you don't, you can look at national or more regional. You can also look at the services that are offered if you're something specific that you're looking for, like pre-employment services, you're looking for, you know, the resume support, the interview prep. If you're looking for job placement services — I would like to find employers. Can you help me find them? Or those job retention services, you know, ongoing coaching or help with asking for a reasonable accommodation. Then we have the disability type, languages spoken at the EN providers, and then that provider type. Is it an EN, a workforce EN, or a VR? So Find Help page is a great option, or you can do the service providers lists that are provided at the Ticket to Work Help Line. Mentioned them earlier.

You can call up at 1-866-968-7842 or, through that TTY line, 1-866-833-2967. The Ticket to Work Help Line staff will do some intake questions, you know, verifying your eligibility, and then they'll talk to you. If you say, “I'm looking for an EN or a VR. I'm looking for a service provider because I want to explore assigning my Ticket and trying to make my work plan and try to go to work,” they'll ask you some questions. They'll generate a list of service providers based on your answers to those questions, and then you could reach out to those ENs or VRs and have a conversation. You can ask them, you know, well, this is what I'm looking to do, and then, in effect, you're interviewing them. And those ENs and VRs are going to answer your questions, and if it's a great match, then you assign your Ticket. That means that EN or VR is working with you, and then you get down into those next steps. So that's what we want to get you from here to there. 

And how do you make that first step? Really, the choice is yours. You could use the Find Help page at our Choose Work website, or Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time, call the Ticket to Work Help Line. The team is ready to help. 

Well, I think we are at our second Q&A, and so I'm going to ask Ray to come back in, and we'll see what questions have come in.

Ray >> Okay. Thank you, Derek. We have a couple of questions that I need to respond to from the last time. You know, we have had continual questions about that resume gap, so I wanted to point out that in the Web Links pod there is, at article 12, a Closing the Resume Gap page for you, and I'm going to ask you all to look at that. And back to the Ticket to Work again before we start on this session. Derek, do I need to have a physical copy of my Ticket to Work to get involved?

Derek >> This is Derek. No. That's the answer. You know, it sounds like, you know, as a Ticketholder, there would be a Ticket, like you need to go on a amusement park ride or something. You don't need that. Your eligibility, you can call the Ticket to Work Help Line. They can verify your eligibility, and with that, you can reach out to an Employment Network, tell them who you are, and then, you know, they'll be able to check on that. But you don't actually need a Ticket that someone mailed to you that you have to show somebody. The program's really flexible that way.

Ray >> Okay. Thank you. Our next question is how do I know if I need an EN or VR?

Derek >> This is Derek. Thanks, Ray. Yeah, that's a good question. I don't know if I communicated that really clearly. You know, the more intensive services is a way to lean towards a State VR agency, I think. So, if you need training, education, or rehabilitation, the VR — the State Vocational Rehabilitation agency — might be a better option for you. Again, Employment Networks aren't necessarily designed to do some of those longer-term training or rehabilitation tasks. It's not what the mission of the Social Security Ticket to Work Program is about. That's more State Vocational Rehabilitation. So those more intensive services is a good way to go. If you're ready to enter the workforce, though, and you don't need as many of those detailed kind of longer-term intensive services — so if work is closer to you — then navigating those steps and the benefit changes through benefits counseling or needing help preparing for the interview, the Employment Network is going to be a great option for you.

So we do have something of a fact sheet on our website, “Choosing the Right Employment Network for You,” and you can find that at the Choose Work website. Or you can talk to the Ticket to Work Help Line about that and also reinforcing, you know, which way to go. That's kind of our so-called rule of thumb. More intensive services, VR. If work is a little bit closer to you than that, you're ready to work, then the ENs are a great option.

Ray >> All right. Thank you for that, Derek. Someone out there is working with VR now and wants to know can I work with an EN too?

Derek >> This is Derek. Yeah, you know, we got that question a lot, and it is a good one because it can be confusing. The answer is you can work with both. If you're in the Ticket Program, you just can't work with both at the same time. So, traditionally, somebody will have a Ticket assigned to a State VR agency, and they'll get those more intensive services, and then the VR services will close. And then after those services close — or what they call a case closure —then after you start that, you're working, then you could get a Ticket reassigned to an Employment Network for those retention services that I mentioned. You know, maybe you need a job coach, or you need some assistance to maintain employment to increase your earnings over time. That's when you would want the EN to come in.

So it starts with the VR services. You successfully transition out from those intensive services, you start working, and then the EN could come in for that continued or consecutive service — not at the same time. They call that Partnership Plus. Some states have formal agreements in place between their Vocational Rehabilitation agencies and the Employment Networks, but they don't need to be in place. You can do both. And in fact, if you're working with the VR, it sounds like a great way to go. There's no cost to you, and if you like the service providers you're working with, that employment team, it's like scaffolding around you. It supports through services can stay through the EN, not just the VR, for a longer time to help you with your successful career, and that's what we're all looking for. So I would encourage you to consider that, if that's something that sounded good to you.

Ray >> That sounds like great advice, and I'm a big fan of Partnership Plus. I think I've got one that's right up your alley, Derek. How do I network if I don't have many professional connections?

Derek >> Yeah, this is Derek. Yeah, I think Ray knows that I really like networking as a skillset, and I think the reason I like it is because this question gets to the heart of nobody teaches us how to network. And yet when we go to find work, it's the one thing that says people, you know, people say is, “oh, yeah, you got to know how to network to find jobs.” It's about knowing people, and that can be intimidating. So there's ways to make it less intimidating, and it's starting by talking to people you already know. And so we have friends and family, and then we might have some teachers, or if you took some vo-tech or community college courses, maybe a professor, and so you start to expand your network through those connections. So if you don't have professional ones, you have those.

When I first tried to develop professional connections, I went back to my voluntary experiences. As a volunteer, I showed up on time. I gave my effort for my community, and what I got back was reciprocation. I got introduced to two people that were professional connections, and because of that, it opened some other possibilities. So I'd look at your network, and I'd write down lists: friends, family, my experience connections — voluntary experiences are a good one — and then also think about where you're trying to go. What's my goal? So if I want to get a job in sales and marketing, do any of those people I just wrote down have relationships so I could have an informal 20 or 30 minute phone call or Zoom-like chat with someone they know who's in sales and marketing? Well, that would expand my professional network with two connections, maybe.

So, I'd encourage you to do that. I think when you think about that, it's also hard because when we get outside of people we know, then we become vulnerable. And so I'll challenge you to become more vulnerable in asking for people's time and making connections with people you haven't met yet. Those weakest connections are most likely to open the most opportunities for you, so think about that. The newest, weakest connections are most likely to lead you to the best employment opportunities.

Ray >> Okay. Thank you for that, Derek. I was right. You were the man for that one.

The last question I want to do — and I know I'm stealing time — is somebody has a really interesting question. This is great advice for in-person interviews, but how do I make a good first impression over the phone or over Zoom?

Derek >> This is Derek again. That's a really good question, and a lot of employers, of course, are doing this, so it's harder to do that if you're a people person like to make that connection through a phone or through like a video platform like Zoom. I think when you're in the job search mode, it's important that you, whenever you pick up the phone, you are acting like that is an employer calling. And if it's your mom or dad, that's fine, but instead of saying, "Hey," you know, answering the phone, "Hello, this is Derek," you know, it starts out in a professional way.

We also want to be in spaces and places where it's quieter so we aren't interrupted. If we answer the phone, "Hello, this is Derek," and it's noisy in the background, then, you know, maybe we're missing our opportunity for a good initial impression, and that's what we want. So if you're in the interview, hunting-for-job mode, think about that.

For video platforms, think about where you're set up to do that for internet connection quality for your background. I'd encourage you to practice using a blurred background screen. I'd also encourage you to practice all these things with friends or family so you can get feedback. How does it look? How do I sound? What do you recommend? Commonly, people won't be in the center of their video image, so we will give them a tip to change the angle, these types of things. I hope those help. Again, you could ask that question through on Google, and you'd get some good advice out there too.

Ray >> Yeah, I think that advice was very good, Derek. And thank you for taking the questions. I'm going to bring us on home now.

Derek >> Thanks, Ray.

Ray >> Yeah. How to get started. You know, there's seriously no wrong door. All of those team members, the Employment Networks, and the benefits planners, and the VR agencies will help you get to the right place if you call any one of them directly. But the most direct way to do it is give the Ticket to Work Help Line a call. You're talking to somebody with no obligation, somebody who's not going to take you for the long run through this preparation, but are going to get you to one of those team members. That Ticket to Work Help Line is 1-866-968-7842 and, for TTY users, 1-866-833-2967. The website is very good. It's easy to use. It's very intuitive, and you can find that website at choosework.ssa.gov — another place where you can do some hunting and exploring without any obligation — or use the Find Help tool that Derek was discussing at choosework.ssa.gov/findhelp. I think I'm on that site several times a week trying to help folks get in contact with some of their local providers.

And how to connect, you know, visit the Choose Work contact page to find to find us on social media and subscribe to blog and email updates. How about opting into receiving text messages by texting Ticket to 1-571-489-5292. Remember that standard messaging rates may apply.

You can opt out at any time. And then email us at tickettowork@ssa.gov, and somebody will be in contact with you.

That brings us to the end of today's presentation. I want to thank you for being with us. Thank you, Derek, for giving us a great presentation, and see you soon, I hope. Take care.