For parents, guardians and educators

What Before Day One is

Before Day One is a free program from Peak Employment Solutions, a staffing company in Augusta, Georgia. It teaches the habits that employers say they notice first and train last: showing up on time, taking feedback well, staying steady when something goes wrong, speaking and writing professionally, and owning your work. It is made of a short private self-check, ten lessons, and a certificate that a person earns by finishing the lessons and writing a personal action plan.

• It is free, with no card, no trial, and no sales call.
• It is not a test. There is no pass or fail and nothing is graded. The questions in each lesson are for the learner to think about, and nobody reads what they write.
• Each lesson is short. Most people can finish one in a sitting. They can stop and come back at any time.
• Privacy. The self-check stays on the learner's own device. Lesson progress is saved to a sign-in that uses an emailed code, so there is no password. Nothing is sent to Peak unless the learner chooses to send their certificate to us. The privacy page has the details.
• Age. The site is made for job seekers and is not directed to children under 13. If your young person is 13 or older, we recommend you read the privacy page together.

How to keep them enthusiastic

Young people do the work they feel they chose. They tend to drop the work they feel was assigned. The best thing you can do is protect that feeling while still showing you care how it goes.

1. Let them own it. Offer Before Day One as an option you think is worth their time, then let them decide when to start and which lesson to try first. Starting with the self-check is a good choice because it is about them.
2. Connect it to something they want. A first job, a car, a team, a raise, a way out of a bad schedule. Ask what they want from work, then show how a lesson helps with that. Nobody gets excited about "professional development" and nearly everyone gets excited about "how do I get hired and keep the job."
3. Ask, do not quiz. "What was in that lesson that you had not thought about?" works. "Did you finish?" starts a fight. A learner who explains an idea to you understands it better and feels respected.
4. Do one together. Read a lesson at the same time, then trade answers to the questions at the end. Adults who admit how they did at their own first jobs earn a great deal of trust.
5. Praise effort and choices, not talent. "You kept going when that lesson was uncomfortable" does more than "you are so smart." The lessons on feedback and effort say the same thing, so you will be reinforcing them.
6. Make the finish line visible. The certificate is real. It shows the date and has a code an employer can check. Talk about where it will go: a resume, a portfolio, a folder, a wall.
7. Skip the bribes and the threats. Rewards for finishing can make the lessons feel like a chore. A small celebration afterward, chosen by the learner, is fine. Taking something away until they finish is not.

Habits that get a young person to the certificate

• One lesson at a time. A steady pace of one or two lessons a week beats a weekend rush that leaves them tired of it.
• A regular time. After dinner on Tuesday is easier to keep than "sometime this week." Put it in the same place as practice and homework.
• The 'try this' step. Each lesson ends with one small thing to try in real life. If they try it, ask how it went. That is where the learning sticks.
• Normal bumps. A lesson may feel uncomfortable because it is about them. That is the point. Remind them there are no right answers and no grade.
• The action plan. After the last lesson they write a short plan. It is private. Ask only if they want to share it.
• If they stall. Do not push harder. Ask what is in the way: time, interest, a lesson that was hard to read. Offer to read the next one together or to take a week off. If something on the site is in the way, call 706-228-PEAK (7325) or email team@peaktcs.com.

How you can follow along

The learner's account and answers belong to the learner, so progress is shared by the learner and not by us. That keeps trust where it belongs. On the course page, a signed-in learner will find a My progress card. It shows which lessons are done, and they can print it or copy a short summary to send you. When they finish, the certificate has a code, and anyone can confirm it on the check a certificate page.

For a class, ask each student to hand in or send the progress card, or the certificate code at the end. That gives you a clear record without anyone sharing a password.

One good question for every lesson

1. Understanding workplace expectations. What do you think a boss expects that is never written down?
2. Showing up. If you were late to a shift because of something that was not your fault, who would you tell, and when?
3. The foundation. Which of the six unmeasurables would a boss notice about you first?
4. Feedback and effort. Tell me about a time someone told you something about your work that stung. What did you do with it?
5. Resilience. What do you do when you are angry or embarrassed and you cannot leave the room?
6. Growing up at work. What is the difference between making an excuse and giving an explanation?
7. Etiquette and presence. What does your phone, your voicemail, or your email address say about you to a stranger?
8. Structure and citizenship. Who would you go to if your supervisor asked you to do something you were not sure about?
9. Situational judgment. You see a coworker break a safety rule. What are your options, and what would each one cost?
10. Merit, excellence and integrity. When nobody is checking, what is the standard you hold yourself to?

Using Before Day One in a class or program

Before Day One works well as a unit in career-readiness, workforce, transition, or advisory classes, and in programs for job seekers of any age. It needs only a device with a browser and an email address that can receive a code.

• Suggested pacing. Week 1: the self-check and lesson 1. Weeks 2 to 6: two lessons per week. Week 7: lessons 9 and 10. Week 8: the action plan and certificate. Adjust to fit your calendar.
• In class. Have learners read a lesson, answer the questions on their own, then discuss one of them in pairs. Use the conversation starters above to open the discussion.
• Record of completion. Ask for the progress card as proof of each stage, and for the certificate code at the end. You can verify any code at beforeday1.com/verify.
• Privacy in school settings. The self-check and the written answers are private to the learner, so please do not ask students to hand them over. If your school has rules about outside online tools, check them before you assign the program. We do not collect school records or learner grades.
• Need something different? Large print, a paper copy, or another format is available. Call or email us and we will help.