|
JOB SEEKING TIPS
FOR BLIND AND
VISUALLY IMPAIRED JOB SEEKERS
by Rob McInnes
Finding Job Openings
Networking
When to Disclose
Accommodation Requests
Transportation Issues
Useful Links
Job seeking is seldom an easy
task; but it is so much more difficult if you are Blind or have a
significant visual impairment. Locating job openings can certainly
be a challenge – especially when so many “clues” are in printed
form of one kind or another. Have you ever wondered how many “Help
Wanted” signs you walk by every day?
One of the first things that
you want to do is to develop strategies to help you be appraised
of the openings that are out there. You may need someone to scan
the classified ads for you. If you are interested in openings at a
particular company, you may need to contact them to arrange for
you to get copies of job postings in alternate formats. Some
companies post all their jobs on internal bulletin boards. You may
need an ally to read those postings for you.
Be sure to find ways to peruse
online job postings. In addition to the job posting sites like
Monster.com and others, many companies post their openings on
their own sites. Unfortunately, the majority of online job sites
are not designed to be user-friendly to people with disabilities. If online sites present barriers to you, get a
“surfing buddy” to spend a few hours a week with you. Of course,
if you are working with an organization that has Job Developers,
they can do a lot of that for you.
One great resource that is
available in most States is
America’s Jobline®. It is a free public service
provided by state agencies with assistance from the National
Federation of the Blind and the United States Department of
Labor. Essentially, it can provide you with personalized
services, via telephone, to search America's Job Bank or a
comparable statewide job order database.
So, do your best to develop
strategies to locate those publicized job openings; but don’t at
all be discouraged because you can’t cover all the bases. Here is
a little fact to keep in mind: More than 50% of people employed
attribute the success of their job search to “Networking”.
(Return to Top)
Networking
Sure, as someone visual
impairments, you are bound to miss out on a lot of the posted job
openings out there. But remember that a lot of those jobs are
filled before they are posted. Remember too that posted jobs are
like the part of an iceberg that is above water – most job
openings are like the 88% of an iceberg below the water – they
never even get posted.
Networking is probably your
single most powerful job-search tool. Make everybody you know part
of your job-search “Team”. Friends, family and acquaintances –
recruit them all! Hey, they are going to see those “Help Wanted”
signs for you!
One of my favorite examples of
Networking was devised by a young woman who is blind. She set up
an electronic Networking “team” that I was part of. She carefully
explained her career objectives to all of us and gave us each
copies of her resume (in hard copy and electronic format). Once a
week, she sent us all an email that outlined her efforts in the
preceding week – the advice she had been given, the calls she had
made, the interviews she had gone to, etc. and always asked us for
feedback. It took a couple of months, but she got the job she was
looking for and, when she later left that company, she used the
same technique to find her next job.
(Return to Top)
When to Disclose
I’d recommend holding off on
that until the interview or just before it. Let’s face it, many
employers are going to be a little awkward about your disability –
so let them fall in love with you before you give them your
“little secret”!
Seriously, present employers
first with your skills, your qualifications, and your enthusiasm.
When they are sold on your talents, they will happily work with
you to resolve accommodation issues.
Always project your confidence
in your abilities and your sincere interest in the job you are
applying for. Schedule the interview and then consider calling a
day or two in advance with something like: “Hi, I’m scheduled for
an appointment on Thursday and I forgot to mention that I’ll be
bringing my guide dog with me – just in case anyone in the office
has an allergy to dog hair.”; or “Hi, I have an interview
scheduled later this week. In case there are any documents that
you would like me to review at that time, it would be helpful to
me if they were available in large print – say a #24 font size.”
(Return to Top)
Accommodation Requests
Confidence, confidence,
confidence… I can’t emphasize it enough. You need to project
self-confidence on your abilities in every exchange with your
prospective employer. (And don’t get it confused with
“cockiness”!) This goes for issues of accommodations too. Don’t
frame your accommodation requests as “things that you need to do
your job”; but as “tools that enable you to be productive on the
job”.
Be as prepared as you can to
thoroughly (and confidently) explain your accommodation
requirements, how they will work for you, how proficient you are
with them, how readily available they are, how much they cost
(including any grants or funding sources that might offset them),
etc. Be totally knowledgeable about your accommodation needs and
totally confident in your ability to perform well with them.
To do this, you will need to
research the job as thoroughly as possible. You may want to
consult with local accommodations specialists. You may also find
the services of the national
Job Accommodation Network to be invaluable.
(Return to Top)
Transportation Issues
Let’s face it, with many jobs
requiring timeliness and/or travel, and with most people relying
on their own cars to meet those requirements, an employer is
likely to be concerned about your ability to get to work on time,
attend off-site meetings, etc. Given that the employer might be
hesitant to bring up the issue, work something into your
conversation that explains how you get from place to place.
Something like: “I arrived here a little earlier than planned
today. My brother works nearby and told me that this commute
usually takes about an hour. Even with one transfer, the bus got
me here in 30 minutes!”
Something similar might work if the job entails
air travel. Dropping a few comments about your recent vacation in
South America couldn’t hurt!
(Return to Top)
Useful Links
-
Jobline®
is a free public service provided by state agencies with
assistance from the National Federation of the Blind and the
United States Department of Labor. All that is required is a
touch-tone telephone to establish your personalized job-search
profile.
- The national
Job Accommodation Network has some great information on
accommodation alternatives for people with varying degrees of
visual impairment.
-
eSight
Careers Network has online career management resources for
people who are visually impaired.
(Return to Top)
|
