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Return to RecruitABILITY
Using RecruitABILITY
Job Search Tips
Questions from Job Seekers
Job
Search Tips
Is your disability going to
affect your job search efforts? If you have a hidden disability, one that
doesn’t affect your job performance in any way, it probably won’t. For many
people, however, their disability does become an important factor in their job
search. This section is primarily for people whose disabilities are going to
“come into play” in the Job Search process.
Disclosure
For many job seekers with
disabilities, the issue of “disclosure” (if, when and how to alert an
employer to their disability) is a major area of concern.
As you go about looking for
a job, you will need to decide if and when to disclose your disability. There
are no hard rules. It will be up to you to make those decisions. It will all be
a strategic judgment call on you part.
As you know, having a
disability can be a liability in the job search – due to the possible
misconceptions and/or prejudices of the people you will encounter. Sometimes,
however, having a disability can be an asset! When you are applying to proactive
companies like those that use the RecruitABILITY
site, they may have a specific interest in applicants with disabilities.
Probably more important
than “when” you disclose your disability is “how” you do it. They way
that you present your disability can greatly affect how the employer will view
it. Are you presenting yourself as a person with a disability who has some
skills – or a person with skills who happens to have a disability? Don’t be
mistaken, this is an important distinction! Employers don’t hire people
because they have disabilities – they hire people because they have skills.
Make sure that you are presenting yourself as an enthusiastic and qualified
candidate FIRST and someone with a disability, SECOND.
If you don’t have a
visible or otherwise obvious disability, you have the choice of when, how, and
if you will disclose it to any employer. Even if you do require a reasonable
accommodation on the job, you do not need to disclose your need for it until
after you have been offered a job. (Know
your rights under the ADA. Here)
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Online
Recruiting
Job seeking is a true
adventure. It is a lot more than passing out resumes and looking at the jobs
posted in the classified ads. There are skills and strategies that can make your
job search more effective. You can learn these from books, online sources, and
from organizations in your community.
With the advent of the
Internet, Online recruiting has become a favored method for employers to find
qualified candidates for their jobs.
According to HR Magazine, 50% of major companies now do half their
recruiting online.
We think RecruitABILITY
is your best resource for submitting your resume Online. We are doing everything
that we can to make RecruitABILITY work for you and the companies that use it.
We think our best feature is that employers can search our resumes for
FREE! (Most other sites charge a hefty fee for that - and make it impossible for
many smaller companies to find you!)
However, every place that
you are listed does increase your chances! See below for a list of other online
recruiting sites.
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Interviewing
Once you have connected
with an employer that invites you to an interview, the fun really begins! Here
are some ideas to consider as you enter that process…
Requesting Interview
Accommodations
If you need an
accommodation to interview effectively, work with the employer/interviewer. Make
it as easy as possible for them. Remember, you want them to see your disability
as something that can be accommodated reasonably and effectively.
For instance, if you are
Deaf, don’t just send an email saying “I’m Deaf. I’ll need an
Interpreter”. Remember, the employer probably doesn’t know much about
Deafness. Rather, send a message like “I am really pleased to have the
opportunity to interview for this job. However, I am Deaf. To interview
effectively, I will need the assistance of a Sign Language Interpreter. If you
are not familiar with this service, I can help you make these arrangements or
you can call Acme Interpreters directly at …”
Relieving the Tension
You are going to get the
best interview from someone who is relaxed and comfortable.
For good reason, your
Interviewer may be uncomfortable at the beginning of the interview. Think about
it… they probably don’t meet someone with your disability every day. They
are probably concerned about being “politically correct” in reference to
your disability, anxious about the legal protocol demanded by the Americans with
Disabilities Act or similar legislation, and generally nervous about their
ability to interact effectively with you.
You, yourself, can do a lot
to relieve the Interviewer’s tension. Be friendly and personable. You want to
be professional; but you can be professional and relaxed. Humor is often a good
way to break the ice.
Resolving Concerns
An Employer is not likely
to make you a job offer until all of his/her concerns about your ability to do
the job are fully resolved. You should keep one goal foremost when you interview
for a job – giving the Interviewer the confidence that you have the
ability to do the job well.
An Interviewer who is aware
of your disability may have real concerns about how it may affect your ability
to carry out the job duties. They may be awkward or unsure of how to ask you the
kinds of questions that would help to resolve these concerns. Yet, if those
concerns are not addressed, they will never make you the job offer.
Not all employers are
well-versed in the ADA. Those that are will know that they are not allowed to
ask you disability-specific questions. For instance, if you have only one arm
and the job requires placing bulky items on shelves up to six feet high, the
interviewer might be concerned about your ability to do that part of the job.
They may have no idea how to speak to you about that. (An employer wee-versed in
the ADA would simply ask you to demonstrate or describe how he/she would perform
this function, with or without an accommodation.) If need be, take it upon
yourself to guess what the Interviewer’s concerns may be – and to explain
how you can accomplish all of the tasks related to the job.
I remember once
interviewing a young woman who used a wheelchair. The job involved a lot of
filing. Our file cabinets were 4 and 5 drawers high. Mentally, I had begun to
consider the possibility of converting all the cabinets to 2-drawer units – or
making sure that all the files she would need would be in the lower 2 drawers of
all the cabinets. Those thoughts were interrupted when she said “You may have
some concerns about my ability to use the files in this office. Don’t worry, I
can’t walk; but I am able to stand – so it won’t be any problem.”
Communicating Confidence
The Interviewer needs to
have confidence in your ability. Confidence is contagious! Take it upon yourself
to boldly communicate your confidence in your own abilities. Look for
opportunities to bring meaningful anecdotes about yourself into the
conversation. They can be work-related or not – as long as they are good
examples of your skills and attributes.
I remember interviewing a
young man in a wheelchair once. He wove in stories about his post-accident
motorcycle trips, hang gliding adventures, etc. By doing that, he left me with
little doubt about his ability to overcome any barriers that he might encounter
on the job or anywhere else!
We sincerely hope that RecruitABILITY
will connect you to great job opportunities and that some of these
“tips” will be helpful as you move on to job Interviews.
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Online
Resources
Here are some other Online
Resources that may be helpful to you!
Career Development
eSight Career Networks is an informative employment network
for blind and visually-impaired people.
Here
Job
Opportunities for the Blind - A national program
that will train Blind job seekers for specific job
opportunities with partner companies. Here
Disclosure
The Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation has some good
disclosure guidelines for job seeker with psychiatric disabilities.
Here
Job Accommodations
If you want advice about accommodations that will help you
to be more effective at your job, or a particular task, contact the folks at the
Job Accommodation Network
(1-800-526-7234). They are terrific and,
best of all, they are FREE!
Interviewing
Ball State University has
some great online guidelines on how to prepare for an interview. Here
It might be helpful to study up on the guidance that employers might get on how
to interview people with disabilities. Here are a few selected sites:
-
The City of Sacramento has
some good pointers on Interviewing Etiquette.
Here
-
AmeriCorps has developed some very thorough guidelines for
preparing for interviewing candidates with disabilities.
Here
-
The International Association of Machinists have a great
little "Guide for Interviewing" on a hard-to-read website.
Here
Legal Rights
The Social Security
Administration has an online Handbook of your employment-related rights under
the ADA Here
Job-Search Resources
Project
Able may be a good resource if you are currently on Social Security or SSI disability benefits
Here
Deaf Digest is a free weekly online newsletter on Deaf
Issues. Each issue is accompanied by job postings, (primarily
education-related), from across the country targeted at Deaf applicants.
Here
Resume-Posting Sites
Disability: There
are a small number of other sites that are targeted at candidates with disabilities:
Choice
Employment
Ability Forum
National Business
& Disability Council
Diversity: Some
disability-related sites have partnered with “diversity” organizations. Your
resume will be added to a much larger pool of talented people from other groups
that have historically faced employment barriers (i.e. visible minorities). Some
of these include:
Hire Potential
Job Access
General: Don’t
overlook the online resume bases that are open to everyone. If you have the
talent to compete in the open marketplace, go for it! Here are some of the more
popular ones:
Monster.com
FlipDog.com
Dice.com
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