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February 14, 2006
What Have You Learned From Rodney?
Today, Rodney Haynie, a former programmer/software developer, discusses a couple of disability employment issues he has encountered during his career change into information systems -- a shift he deemed necessary due to the onset of Retinitis Pigmentosa.
I'll let Rodney speak for himself, and I'd like to thank him for sharing his story with us. You'll find a new article, "Rodney Haynie Profile: 'I Decided to Talk Myself Out of the Job,'" about Rodney in eSight's Career Management Resources section.
As Rodney tells his story, he mentions several incidents which made his career transition just a little easier for him.
Note, for instance, that Rodney:
- Had students volunteering to help him with assignments which were not accessible.
- Discovered his telephone screening interviewer knew about JAWS for Windows.
- Had two people from previous client work put in a good word for him during the interviewing process.
- Found the HR person at InfoMC had previous experience with recruiting accommodations at a larger company.
- Received an invitation from InfoMC to come back to complete the interview with the company's CIO.
- Went from unpaid volunteer to full-time employment within two months.
- Is working two days a week from his home -- with the prospect of increasing that to four days at home.
Your answer to this question could help us all:
What have you learned from Rodney's story that you can apply to your own situation?
Add your comments to this posting
Posted by Jim at February 14, 2006 03:33 PM
Comments
Rodney confirms everything I've been saying here for years. Be optimistic, be prepared, be honest about your strengths and weakness, be willing to not judge people who you think of as being negative, many times people say or do inopportune things, out of fear, out of ignorance because they haven't had a chance to work with someone with a disability before. Be yourself and be proud of who you are as James Spadar in Boston Legal pointed out to a young beautiful girl who was an artist but also happened to have a disability after she was finally accepted into a private girls school, which had rejected her previously. It's hard having a disability and finding work that is satisfying but it's hard finding work that is satisfying even when you don't have a disability. Just be the best you you can and offer yourself to the world.
Posted by: Liz S at February 15, 2006 02:18 PM
All of these seven incidents (good happenings) I pulled from Rodney's story, I believe, stem back to Rodney’s interpersonal skills and ability to network. He has a knack for attracting people who want to help him.
Sure, he may have been lucky at times, but his story shows he also helped to make that luck happen.
Rodney’s story should be encouraging for job seekers with disabilities, especially those baby boomers who suddenly find themselves dealing with acquired disabilities and who want to continue to work in the mainstream workplace.
The good news is that living with a vulnerability -- or acquiring one -- and working in the mainstream can be done.
It’s good news for job seekers and employers especially in the light of the upcoming labor shortage that is just becoming visible on the horizon -- a time in the not-too-distant future when there’ll be too few people in the U.S. to fill available jobs.
Posted by: Jim at February 17, 2006 09:48 AM