Overview of Recent Accomplishments

• Publishing of eSight's NetWork News, one of the premiere benefits offered to registered members of eSight Careers Network. This no-cost, weekly e-mail newsletter, full of career management ideas and contacts (from a disability perspective), goes out to subscribers each Wednesday. Last year eSight distributed over 139,000 copies to subscribers. (Appendix A)
• Launched three new features to help members market their skills and facilitate networking:
  1. ePortfolios
     Provides selected individual members with disabilities the opportunity to publish their ePortfolios to showcase skills and experiences as they search for meaningful jobs in the mainstream workplace.
  2. Networking Forum, Your Link to Meaningful Work
     This online forum is where people who wish to form mutually beneficial networks meet, share resources and discuss issues.
  3. Pathways to Success
     A series of articles profiling eSight members' personal career paths. Insight from such self-knowledge shows what works best in disability employment because it is based on real-life experience. (Appendix B)
• Tapped the personal expertise of our growing community of experts -- people who speak with the authenticity achieved by real-life experience. Members posted more than 120 suggested solutions on eSight's Member Net Forum in response to questions about disability employment issues.
• Engaged community members in 21 facilitated online discussions as part of eSight's "Swimming in the Mainstream," a venue for sharing insights about breaking barriers to disability employment and identifying what works best in managing a career from a disability perspective. (Appendix C)
• Published six Insights for Employers articles and circulated 23,339 related press releases to corporate recruiters, workforce development staff, and professionals who work with people who have disabilities.
• Invited five Guest Bloggers to share their networking expertise.
• Facilitated 21 online discussions about networking. (Appendix D)
• Added 307 job postings to eSight's job search database.
• Posted more than 180 resources, job fairs, internships and announcements on the eSight Community News blog.

Why is eSight Careers Network needed?

Blind and disabled individuals face significant career barriers. Often geographically isolated, many are unable to network with each other, have little access to career management resources and do not regularly share experiences that will help them gain the prerequisite skills for employment.

How Do People Benefit from eSight? What Do People Tell Others About eSight?

Appendix: E - Recognition Received

Appendix A - eSight NetWork News - Topics Featured

July: Dispel a Disability Employment Myth Learning From our Own Misconceptions Needed: Tips About Re-entering the Hospital Chaplain Field Avoiding Condescension August: Employment Services for Mid-career Professionals When Have You "Seized the Moment" to Network? Help for Visually Impaired Students at Universities Pulling the Plug on Your Fountain of Youth Addressing 20 False Assumptions September: "I have six months to find another job" A Career Beyond Selling Avon Your Special Rules for Survival It’s Time to Weed Out Workplace Paternalism October: Responsibility Demands a Response Win an Award-winning FreedomBox Pass Key, Year of Service Time for a Career Change? Creative Survivors: Who We Are, Why We’re Needed November: Gaining an Equal Footing for Advancement What Discussions with Prospective Employers Are Not Appropriate Under the ADA? Is Your Visual Impairment a Disability Under ADA? The Issue of Being Out But Not Yet In Taking Responsibility for "Easy Mark" Solutions December Recognizing Career Rites of Passage Taking a Career Risk Defining Workplace Inclusion

January: Ready to Reach Out Not-so-final Thoughts: A Switch in Perspective You’re Helping to Increase Awareness of Disability Employment Issues Special Edition: And the Winner Is... February: How to Meet People Who Want to Form Mutually Beneficial Networks What Have You Learned From Rodney? 10 Seconds to Who You Are Enrolling People We Know in our Job Search March: Where Can I Find a Good Reader? Successfully Using a Reader While at Work Advancing Your Career - What Works? Home Sourcing Opportunity: Is It Legitimate? Breaking Into "Non-traditional" Workplace Settings April: When to Tell About Your Guide Dog Becoming Independent Through Networking Making the Transition From School to Work Putting Job Interviewers at Ease May: Getting Job Placement Help While Still in School Making Up for Lost Skills Reciprocating for Help From Others The Networking Opportunities in Accepting Help Tapping Your Network in Time of Need June: Disability in the Eyes of the Beholder Your Most Important Teaching Moment 10 Key Skills Needed in any Professional Career 38 Skills Needed in any Professional Career

Read the current issue of eSight’s NetWork News
Searchable archives for eSight’s NetWork News

Appendix: B - Pathways to Success

Over the past year we have acknowledged and celebrated success stories that have come in all shapes and sizes. Searching for a meaningful job can be a long process when you are a person with a disability. So each step of the way eSight makes a point of acknowledging accomplishments.

Here is a sample of some of the stepping stones to success celebrated and acknowledged this year:

• in-person job interview scheduled (first in over 2 years for this member);
• first article published in a mainstream magazine;
• successful back surgery;
• started a blog;
• decision to write a book;
• return to school; and
• gotten a job/promotion.

Pathways to Success published profiles of eSight members. These candid interviews shared both what they have found helpful, as well as, those things that have not worked in their career journey. They also and provided valuable examples of problem solving needed when a person is disabled and working in the mainstream.

Here is a list of some of the interviews with path-makers, activists, and survivors:

• There's No Good Reason for Learning the Hard Way Like I Did
• Bill Tipton's Comeback at HP
• What My Experiences as a Mainframe Computer Programmer Have Taught Me
• Rodney Haynie Profile: "I Decided to Talk Myself Out of the Job"
• How I Dealt With my Sight Loss at 52

Each personal journey shared shows how someone in the community has found their path and reinforces the belief that individuals with disabilities can and do achieve self-reliance, hope, dignity and purpose through mainstream employment.

Appendix C - Swimming in the Mainstream

"Swimming in the Mainstream (SiM) is a dynamic online networking project that collects, evaluates and shares insights and practical knowledge generated by stakeholders from the disability community on how best to join and advance in mainstream workplaces.

An eSight member wrote:

Outputs from Swimming in the Mainstream included:

Publication of 6 eSight Seed Stories to stimulate discussion: Obvious Limitations, Hidden Potential. The Back Door Into Adulthood Go to Plan B First Payment for Doubt's Benefit Out But Not Yet In Beyond Success

Publication of 6 SiM Discussion Summaries to provide employers with new insight Hire People Who Resolve "Easy Mark" Situations for Themselves Tapping Job Candidates Who Have Transformed Vulnerability Into Authenticity Target Job Candidates With Disabilities Who Are Risk Takers Telltale Signs of Inclusion Unique Confidence building Experiences Weed Out Paternalism in the Workplace

Outcomes for Swimming in the Mainstream project

Weekly discussion topics generated rich insights. Summarized and put into context, this new knowledge has been published and disseminated. Participants are acknowledged in articles and in press releases and can use this recognition to support their job search and expand their networks

Many organizations have shared eSight’s SiM resources with members of their communities in dozens of newsletters, e mail lists, web sites, directories and blogs.

Here are some examples of organizations which have used SiM resources:

1. Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians (AEBC) has selected "20 False Assumptions to Tackle as an Equal Opportunity Employer" to be included in the Canadian Blind Monitor.
2. Disabled Peoples' International, a network of national organizations or assemblies of disabled people, established to promote human rights of disabled people through full participation, equalization of opportunity and development has published these 6 Swimming in the Mainstream resources:
   • Weed Out Workplace Paternalism
   • Explore Link Between Vulnerability and Authenticity
   • Debunk 20 Myths About Disability Employment
   • Give Employers Tips About How to Avoid Condescension
   • Show People Skills in Blog About "Easy Mark" Solutions
   • Show Why Employers Need to Seek Creative Survivors
   
   
3. "HR Newsletter Issue No. 1" Brenda Jean Lycett wrote:

   "...I find the following article enlightening from the perception of people with disabilities about what is preventing their full access and participation in the workplace. Although it is from an American perspective, my ongoing work with people with disabilities and Canadian organizations working toward their employment reveals similar insights"

   "It all took place on eSight's "Swimming in the Mainstream" (SiM) blog as we celebrated the ADA's 15th anniversary during July. Take a look at the insights SiM bloggers generated. They're summarized in a new article, "20 False Assumptions to Tackle as an Equal Opportunity Employer."

4. FindLaw, which describes itself as "the highest trafficked legal Web site, providing the most comprehensive set of legal resources on the Internet for legal professionals, corporate counsel, law students, businesses, and consumers" has included links to the following editorials that eSight posted on our Swimming in the Mainstream Blog to stimulate discussion:
   • Swimming in the Mainstream: Dispel a Disability Employment Myth. Yesterday, 743 state and national disability organizations entered a "statement of solidarity" ...
   • Swimming in the Mainstream: Summary: Transforming Vulnerability Into Authenticity. The discussions on the "Swimming in the Mainstream" blog and elsewhere on ...
   • Swimming in the Mainstream Recent Entries. Not so final Thoughts: A Switch in Perspective · You're Helping to Increase Awareness of Disability Employment Issues · Recognizing Career www.tabinc.org/sim/

Appendix D - Networking Forum

This new online forum is where people who want to form mutually beneficial networks meet. Guests writers share their opinion, ask questions and respond to comments from readers.

Olegario "Ollie" D. Cantos VII set the tone for this new forum. He wrote: Topics discussed include:

What strength do you believe you offer others in a networking situation ? What information about your job search do you need to give people you know so they can help you uncover the job that's right for you? What is Your 10-second Unique Selling Proposition? What have you learned from Rodney's story that you can apply to your own situation? When you have a disability, what's the best way to meet people who are genuinely interested in forming mutually beneficial networks for career development? What do you recommend as the best place to find contacts who can help you build a meaningful, non- traditional career when you have a disability ? Home Sourcing Opportunity: Is It Legitimate? Have you been promoted to a management position where part of your responsibilities involved supervising others? What is that like? What tips do you have for successfully using a reader while at work? How does a person with a visual impairment who is working in the mainstream job market find effective readers?

What steps do you find most helpful in making the transition from school to work when you have a disability? What is the most effective way you've found to network your way into a mainstream job interview? Do I surprise my interviewer at the door with my dog? How has a strong and loyal network helped you succeed in your personal or professional life? What tips do you have about reciprocating for the valuable help others in your network have given to you? What would you do if you were Patrick, who believes the certified skills he gained through Microsoft are lost due to his unemployment? Do you have a tip for Mudhaffer, who has an MBA and is looking for an entry job in finance and investment/operations management? 10 things employers want you to learn in college. As a blind or visually impaired job seeker, your awareness of and ability to articulate your relevant skill sets can be the edge you need to overcome a prospective employer's hesitancy about hiring you. What's the best way to show potential employers you can use your strongest skill for their benefit? What personal experience can you cite as evidence to confirm or disprove that disability largely lies in the perceptions of others?

Go To The Networking Forum

Appendix: E - Recognition Received

The work of eSight Careers Network has been recognized in print, on the radio and on the Internet by a variety of private and government agencies.

CAREERS & disABLED Magazine

The Fall issue of CAREERS & the disABLED, the nation's first and only career-guidance and recruitment magazine for people with disabilities at college, graduate, or professional levels, includes a feature about eSight's "Swimming in the Mainstream" interactive phone conference "Build A Vast Personal Network" with Olegario D. Cantos VII.

This initiative was funded by the Verizon Foundation.

CAREERS & the disABLED has won many awards, including several "Award of Excellence" acknowledgments from the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. It has a total readership of 42,000.

New York Daily News

Jeremiah Taylor, a member of eSight Careers Network agreed to share his story, "When I Woke Up I Was Blind!" Daily News in its feature "Extraordinary New Yorkers tell you what it takes to reinvent yourself when catastrophe strikes".

Job Accommodation Network (JAN) Recommends eSight

JAN, a free service of the Office of Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Department of Labor published an employment guide for job seekers, "Finding a Job that is Right for You: A Practical Approach to Looking for a Job as a Person with Disability."

The guide cites advice from eSight.

NYPL

The New York Public Library in its "Best of the Web" section has a link to eSight Careers Network with this description: "A great place to find the perfect job. Also offers helpful hints and articles on finding a job."

Explore the NYPL's selection of resources about Visual Disabilities and Blindness

AFB

The American Foundation for the Blind features eSight Careers Network in two sections:

1. Helping Employers Become "Disability-Friendly".
2. "Hiring a Visually Impaired Employee"

DIALOGUE

"eSight: Online Career Management," by Jim Hasse was featured in the August issue of DIALOGUE magazine, a bimonthly magazine on vision impairment that is available in five formats: large print, cassette, braille, disk and e-mail. It is published by Blindskills, Inc.

Sound Prints

Weekly radio program heard in Louisville, Kentucky over Clear Channel's WKJK AM 1080, told listners about eSight during interview with Karen Thomas, eSight member.

Collaboration

The Associated Blind collaborated with The Computer Center for Visually Impaired People (CCVIP) at Baruch College on two projects:

1. Networking as a Job Search Strategy

   Julie Jansen, a professional job coach and author of the best-selling book "I Don't Know What I Want But I Know It's Not This" was the key speaker at the Employment Forum sponsored by CCVIP and eSight Careers Network. The event took place at Baruch College, in recognition of October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

2. Resources for Budding Entrepreneurs with Disabilities

   This panel discussion took place at the Field Center for Entrepreneurship at Baruch College.

   Mårten Tegnestam, eSight’s director of technical development recorded both events and translated the audio into digital format so people who were unable to attend can downloaded and listen to them directly from eSight.org.