For a jobseeker who has worked hard to rebuild, prepare, and move forward, receiving a job offer can feel like the finish line.
It is an important victory. But it is not the finish line.
The real outcome is not simply getting hired. It is building stable employment that lasts long enough to produce a dependable paycheck, stronger routines, renewed confidence, and a genuine opportunity for advancement.
That is why Avar Institute is building its work around a clear milestone: still employed at day 90.
The First 90 Days Are Where Good Intentions Meet Real Life
A candidate may be qualified, motivated, and ready to work. An employer may be willing to offer an opportunity. A referral partner may have done excellent work helping that person prepare.
Even then, an employment match can unravel quickly.
Transportation may fail during the first week. A shift may conflict with supervision requirements or a required appointment. The gap before the first paycheck may make work boots, fuel, or childcare difficult to afford. A misunderstanding with a supervisor may grow because neither person knows how to address it early.
These problems do not necessarily mean that the employee is uncommitted or that the employer made a bad hire. Often, they mean that a manageable barrier appeared and no one was positioned to respond before it became a resignation or termination.
Avar exists for that space between job readiness and lasting employment.
A List of “Friendly” Employers Is Not Enough
Justice-impacted jobseekers are often given lists of employers believed to be open to hiring people with records. Those lists may be well-intended, but they rarely tell the whole story.
Hiring practices can vary by position, worksite, customer contract, background history, and the person making the decision. An employer that has hired one justice-impacted person in the past may not be able to consider every candidate for every role. A company with no public reputation for second-chance hiring may still be willing to consider a well-matched applicant.
That is why Avar does not rely on labels.
We verify opportunities role by role. We speak directly with employers about the work they need completed, the essential requirements, the wage and shift, the hiring process, transportation realities, and how background history is evaluated for that specific position.
This gives jobseekers a more realistic opportunity and helps employers receive referrals that reflect what they actually need.
Verify. Match. Retain.
Avar's approach is built around three focused responsibilities.
Verify
We begin with the employer and the role. Before making a referral, we work to understand the position clearly: what the employee will do, when they will work, what requirements are essential, and how the hiring decision is made.
The goal is not to collect employer names. The goal is to understand real opportunities well enough to make responsible referrals.
Match
We then look beyond a resume.
A strong match includes work experience and skills, but it also includes schedule, transportation, wage needs, required documents, relevant restrictions, and the candidate's current readiness to begin and sustain employment.
When the fit is real, Avar prepares the referral and confirms the practical details that can otherwise derail the opportunity before the interview begins.
Retain
Our responsibility continues after the person is hired.
Avar follows up during the early stages of employment, including structured check-ins at days 7, 30, 60, and 90. When a problem emerges, we help clarify it, solve what we can directly, and connect the employee with trusted partners when another service is needed.
We do not replace the employer, the probation officer, the workforce provider, or the reentry organization. We help connect their work around the employment outcome everyone wants to see.
Avar Is Designed to Complete the Work of Existing Partners
Avar Institute is not another training school, and we are not trying to duplicate the work already being done by workforce programs, community organizations, or supervision teams.
Those partners help people become ready. Avar focuses on what happens next: identifying a verified opportunity, making a deliberate match, and remaining engaged through the period when a new job is most vulnerable.
For probation officers and referral partners, that means a focused employment resource for people who are ready to pursue work now.
For employers, it means candidates screened for a specific role and a partner invested in helping the placement succeed.
For jobseekers, it means honest expectations, thoughtful referrals, and continued support after the excitement of the job offer has passed.
The Outcome That Matters
We will always celebrate the interview, the offer, and the first day.
But Avar is being built for the days that follow.
We want to see the employee develop confidence and consistency. We want the employer to feel that an Avar referral means something. We want referral partners to know what happened after they sent someone to us. Most importantly, we want justice-impacted jobseekers to have a genuine opportunity to build stability through work.
The job offer opens the door. Retained employment is what allows someone to keep moving forward.
Connect With Avar
Employers: Tell us about the roles that are hardest to fill and the qualities that help an employee succeed in them. There is no fee to interview or hire an Avar referral.
Probation officers, workforce providers, and reentry partners: Connect with us about referring jobseekers who are ready to pursue employment.
Jobseekers: Ask your probation officer, workforce provider, reentry organization, or another trusted partner about a referral to Avar.
Jake Shafer
Executive Director
jshafer@avarinstitute.org
avarinstitute.org