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April 24, 2007
Mainstream: What Do We Do With That Word?
During a webcast of the 2007 United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) Annual Conference opening plenary on April 12, Bob Johansen, Ph.D., Distingushed Fellow, Institute for the Future, highlighted some of the waves of change which will likely shape the lives of people with disabilities over the next decade.
Dr. Johansen's session was part of UCP's Big Sky initiative, which is looking at where people with disabilities are today and how they can re-imagine the future -- a future where they are fully integrated in society.
Imagine a world where "can't" does not exist, where you can go wherever your dreams take you, a world where disability is a characteristic (instead of a definition of who you are).
Imagining a fuiture without limitations for people with disabilities, Dr. Johnansen says, is the first step in turning a present dilemma (problem that seemingly can't be solved) into a positive outcome because we've taken the needed time to gain perception and insight about that tough barrier and develop a strategy to solve it.
Dr. Johansen believes the next decade is going to bring further volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity in how our world works. He notes that people with disabilities generally have experience in navigating such a world, and that should be one of our selling points in entering the workplace, which increasingly puts a premium on the ability to find win-win solutions to problems.
In such a world, clarity will carry you, Dr. Johansen maintains. So, he urges, "be clear about where you want to go (your vision) but be flexible about how to get there. Learn to be comfortable with uncomfortableness."
For me, that's how education served me best. In grade school, I knew I wanted to build a career in writing but had no idea at the time how I would make that dream come true. I gradually learned that I needed to pursue all sorts of avenues in the writing field. Many did not work out, but a couple did.
I learned to let go of those perceived opportunities which were not working and work intensely on those which held more promise.
Dr. Johansen sees a couple of trends working in favor of those of us with disabilities: the power of networking over traditional heirachy; the promise of smaller, lighter and smarter components for a lightweight infrastructure; and a group economy (a new layer between institutions and individuals) that favors diversity and responsiveness.
At the UCP conference, he put those trends into context by citing seven fictional stories which illustrate how people with disabilities during the next decade will find meaning in their work. I'll cite three of them here:
First, "Gaurav works in Bangalore, India, wears a Skype headset, takes orders for auto parts from all over North America. That's his night job. By day, he uses the same tools to help others like himself, with limited mobility, dexterity and resources. He taps into craigslist, looking for wheelchairs, hands-free phones, a pair of glasses. When he's not looking for equipment, he's looking for jobs for his buddies."
Second, Moira "didn't get around too much. Then she got her videophone and, with her friend, Ruth, she developed a new mission in life: to hook people up with her simple tool, to share the world as they see it. Ruth turned them into the Rainbow Videographers Union and showed them how to tell their stories over video and how to be friends by phone. Now Moira has daily excursions with her friends via digital video. She's even been on the local YouTube community programming channel."
Third, Sandra is a "career policymaker in disabilities. She sees the bigger picture such as global shifts that could take everyone into a harsher realm and trends that threaten to turn the human species into a sick herd -- that could rapidly increase the number of people with disabilities. She looks beyond the individual solution to the community solution, the environmental intervention."
If the next decade is going to bring further volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity in how our world works, what attributes do individuals need to resist these negative forces and turn barriers into positive outcomes?
Dr. Johansen urges people with disabilities to highlight their vision, understanding, clarity and agility in the job market.
He notes that baby boomers consider death as an option and will soon redefine or replace the word, "retirement." Possible replacements: "redirection," "regeneration," "refirement."
I believe it's also time for those of us with disabilities to start knocking no-longer-useful words out of our every-day language. It's one small step in helping to create our preferred future.
For instance, consider the word "mainstream" -- such as "mainstream job market." Doesn't that denote there's a separation in job opportunities between abled and disabled job seekers? The word may have been useful in a school setting 50 years ago, but why are we using it today to describe the job market?
Using your vision, understanding and agility, how would you resolve this problem with the word, "mainstream?"
Posted by Jim at 02:35 PM | Comments (5)
April 09, 2007
Cues for Connecting With a Job Interviewer
In his submission to the eSight Networking Forum a
couple of weeks ago, eSight member Jeremiah Taylor
wrote this comment:
“In all situations, an engaging, outgoing personality
is a great way to connect with people. So,
when interviewing, use your personality
like a tool. The more positive the conversation the
less your disability matters! Employers want to hire
individuals who have the necessary skills, but they
also want to hire individuals who are positive,
pleasant and fit into their work environment.”
Jeremiah’s comment caught my attention because, I, too, believe a job seeker needs to learn how to quickly establish a connection with an interviewer. Of two candidates, both with similar skills and experience, the person who can make the interviewer feel
comfortable during the conversation has a much greater chance of getting the job -– even when disability is thrown into the mix.
In preparing for a job interview, however, I often
overlook this task of tailoring my presentation to the
way the interviewer prefers to hear and learn new
information.
Quickly deciding how to “speak” the interviewer’s
language while describing your strengths is not easy,
but it can be learned. You need to make some
assumptions about the interviewer’s style, key values
and motivations -- largely based on observation of
physical clues (the person’s appearance, demeanor,
energy level and body language) as well as word choice and intonation etc.
The following two articles give you tips about how to
take a more educated guess at “reading” a hiring
manager (and his or her company). Those tips can help
you establish a meaningful dialogue during an
interview -- a conversation which will help both of
you decide whether you are a “good fit” for the job
you are considering.
Go to: “How to ‘Speed-read’ Hiring Managers.”
Go to: “Match Your Temperament With the Corporate
Culture of Prospective Employers.”
As these articles show, “reading” an interviewer’s
style, values and motivation is not easy.
That’s especially the case when, due to a visual impairment or other disability, you may not immediately recognize clues which are helpful in making spur-of the-moment assumptions about the person interviewing you. Those cues sometimes point to the most effective way for showing how you can help ease a pain or attain a gain for the company or organization.
Our new discussion question on eSight’s Networking
Forum is this:
As a job candidate, what cues do you use to quickly
decide how to best connect with an interviewer?
Posted by Jim at 06:51 PM | Comments (3)
April 02, 2007
When Key Players in Your Field Hold False Assumptions About You
Today we welcome Deb Cotter, guest facilitator.
I think my experience is a little different than some in our "Online Networking as a Job Search Tool" class because there are times I can "pass" as a non-disabled person.
However, since I know many of the players in the disability advocacy community in Washington, DC, whenever I am interviewed for a position, I am not usually asked about what accommodations I would need. Everyone knows I am a stroke survivor and they assume that my only disability is hemiplegia. I guess I do not disclose my other disabilities to colleagues unless I absolutely have to do so (on a need-to-know basis).
What I find discouraging in job interviews is the assumptions interviewers make about my disability. They only see my physical limitations -- not my multiple hidden disabilities. Indeed, upon being offered jobs, when asked what accommodations I need, my employer soon learns that my vision and hearing loss and chronic pain affect my work/work style more than my physical disability. Fortunately, there are inexpensive ways to help me adapt.
About two months ago (right after I began taking this course), I started a new job and, although I had told my new boss about my hidden disabilities, I had not disclosed to my colleagues (again I was operating under a "need-to-know" policy). After a few days on the job, several incidents (ranging from bumping into people/things to a colleague not being able to get my attention although she had been standing right next to me, tugging on my affected side) spurred me to disclose my disabilities to my colleagues to improve our interactions at work. Hell, I am working for a disability organization, why am I hiding and what am I afraid of?
My question concerns aging with disability and the older worker with a disability. We all know that aging affects us differently and we may develop additional disabilities as we age (secondary conditions etc.). Once you are established in your field and know most of the senior-level people in your field, how do you deal with looking for a job with your peers who may already know of or have assumptions about your disability/disabilities?
It's similar (but with more nuances) to that of the total stranger interviewing you. I have been successful at navigating this terrain in the same manner Alicia and many of you suggested by relating my experience (e.g., doing a lot of reading and using analytical skills while in school) to the functions required in the open job.
During job interviews with total strangers, I can easily refer to advocacy efforts or issues I have addressed in which I have participated. For example, I can say this: "I was able to pull off a Congressional briefing because of my strong interpersonal skills and key contacts... You remember the briefing about Lifespan Respite?"
But, once I find myself vying for a job in which most of the key players -- disabled or not -- already know (or think they know) me, I face a whole different set of circumstances in which people think they know what I can do when actually they may hold false assumptions about what I can really do and can't do. Such barriers are often just as tough to break as the ones I face when I deal with total strangers.
So, this is the discussion question I have for you this week:
What false perceptions do you, an established job seeker with a disability, find yourself confronting when you know all "the other fish in the pond?"
Posted by Deb Cotter at 11:10 AM | Comments (7)