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November 27, 2007
Help Hiring Managers Become Change Agents
As a job seeker, you can align yourself with the top
attributes inclusive-conscious hiring managers seek in
employees as they move through each decision-making
stage -- from recruitment, selection, and placement to
development.
Consider, for instance, how you can capitalize on the
fifth-most-important recruitment strategy eSight members have identified for hiring managers -- those who seek to make their recruitment activities really inclusive.
That fifth inclusive recruitment strategy is this:
Avoid tokenism in recruiting and hiring individuals
with disabilities, believing that one such employee on
your payroll fulfills your company’s “obligation.”
Inclusion involves actively addressing outdated
perceptions people hold, largely because, by habit,
they are relying on what they may have learned from an
early age and have not taken time to update those old perceptions with new knowledge as adults. Tokenism is one of those outdated perceptions.
Check "Telltale Signs of Inclusion."
A hiring manager can be an important change agent
within a corporate environment by helping colleagues
update their knowledge about how people with
disabilities can contribute to the company’s success.
A hiring manager can lead by example -- by hiring,
placing, and grooming the best individuals with
disabilities he or she can find.
But, hiring managers need your help.
Carefully prepare answers to unasked questions about a
hiring manager's fear of appearing to be uninformed
about your disability. That’s an additional
preparation step –- a step beyond the routine
questions you'll be asked about your experience,
skills and attributes and how they can be applied to
the job at hand.
In doing so, you’ll be on solid ground for a
“conversation” with any hiring manager.
In assuming such an “educational role” during your job
search, you may just find yourself with a couple of
job offers -- because you’ve demonstrated your skill
at identifying a need and subtly showing how you can
help meet that need.
Here is this week’s discussion question:
What do you think is the best way to show hiring
managers you meet during your job search that they
have this opportunity to become change agents for
disability employment within their companies?
Posted by Jim at 05:53 PM | Comments (4)
November 20, 2007
What I’m Thankful For
Here are 10 things for which I’m thankful during this Thanksgiving 2007 in the U.S.
- I’m thankful for the co-worker who calls me by my last name (an indication he has accepted me as just “one of the guys,” despite my disability).
- I’m thankful for the hiring manager who tells me, “Bob has been with us five years. Like you, he has a disability -- and has worked out fine for us. Now, what do you believe you can do for us in this job?”
- I’m thankful for the ADA. In my travels, I’ve found the Americans with Disabilities Act has made the U.S. one of the most disability friendly countries in the world in terms of curb cuts, convenient parking, transportation options, doorway accessibility and elevator access.
- I’m thankful for the recent Towers Perrin survey which shows only 29 percent of workers in the U.S. are “engaged” on the job (ready to expend some extra effort at work). Since higher “engagement” translates into lower turnover rate, I can target companies with low turnover rates (and probably better management), showing them how managing my disability has taught me how to apply perseverance and dedication to a worthwhile team effort.
- I’m thankful for job candidates who are so dedicated to carrying out their personal branding that life becomes a self-centered, plastic “campaign” for them. That just opens up more opportunities for me to show my authenticity. I look forward to getting beyond myself and grappling with give-and-take circumstances under which I can help lead others to a common good.
- I’m thankful for the orientation of my nieces and nephews, all of whom are "millennials," those born between 1980 and 1995 and now entering the workforce. To reduce job hopping within this generation, employers are providing “accommodations” for them --- costly adjustments in the traditional business routine which should, I would think, take the “accommodations” issue off the table as a concern when employers consider hiring a person with a disability.
- I’m thankful for my employers over the years. They did not overlook 13 percent of the U.S. labor market. In 2006, the overall percentage (prevalence rate) of working-age people with a disability ages 21 to 64 in the U.S. was 12.9 percent. That means more than 22 million of the almost 173 million working-age individuals in the U.S. have one or more disabilities.
- I’m thankful for interesting individuals I’ve met through eSight. Jo, for example, wrote last week: “I've asked around. I know from blogs, networking, friends, newsletters and the like that the hiring manager likes sports, enjoys good food. This information helps me … ‘achieve chemistry’ so I can get that next interview. My eye is on the prize -- not on (my disability), which disappears with authenticity and good presentation.”
- I’m thankful for the expected labor shortages when baby boomer retire. 10 occupations have been cited by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as those most likely to be affected: secretaries; heavy truck drivers; elementary school teachers; janitors and cleaners; secondary school teachers; registered nurses; bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks; college and university teachers; educational and other administrators; and farmers. That means I can target the industries most likely to be affected: educational services, public administration, transportation, and health services.
- I’m thankful for my parents who gave their son with a disability the foundation to gain an education and build a career -- key steps in my ability to live independently.
Now, it’s your turn.
What one thing ignites gratitude in you during this Thanksgiving holiday?
Posted by Jim at 03:42 PM | Comments (8)
November 19, 2007
Establishing Your Online Personal Brand
When you are in the market for a new job -- whether it's because you are seeking a change or you've been laid off or lost your job for other reasons, one of the most important things we all do is update our resumes.
There are a number of ways to do this. You can work up the “traditional” resume and just add yet another employer or reference, or you can establish an “online” resume, which may be generic but touches on all of your “key” skills.
Another method might be to establish a brochure, an ePortfolio or other type of electronic method to establish your personal brand.
There are many ways you can do this:
ODesk (http://www.odesk.com) allows you to set up a full resume which will list all of your relevant experience, training and skills. In addition, ODesk allows you to rate specific competencies on your own. This also allows you to “headline” your skills. ODesk offers many benefits (at no cost to you as a ”provider”), including competency tests which further strengthen your marketability. You can use ODesk as a tool to direct potential employers to your profile or as a way to bid on jobs.
LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com) also offers online profile development as well as the additional bonus of doing a 'search' of the companies you've worked for or schools you've attended. It also sends to you a list of all the people who have worked for those companies who are linked to LinkedIn. You can also upload your email address book to LinkedIn, and it will match your contacts to those who are already members of LinkedIn. LinkedIn offers both free and paid services and has plugins for your web browser to see how “linked in” you are. This site also offers you the ability to request recommendations from contacts.
Two other networking sites you might want to explore (Jason Alba, creator of jibberjabber.com, calls them "Google friendly"): jobster.com and emurse.com.
Personal Blogs are yet another way to get your name and your personal brand out in front of people.
What online resources have you found most helpful in establishing your personal brand?
Posted by Doreen Martel at 03:50 PM | Comments (5)
November 13, 2007
How to Get Beyond a Hiring Manager’s False Assumptions
eSight member Melissa writes:
“I have to admit that, as a blind person who works full-time, I get frustrated by those who don't work when they probably could. We need to get out there and show the rest of the world that being visually impaired does not mean we cannot be productive members of society.
”I think those that don't work think that those of us who do work are somehow not worthy of being part of organizations for the blind. At least that is the experience I have had with others I have been associated with locally…
“I cannot get out of work anytime I want. I am also a wife, a mother, and a student, so I juggle a lot as it is. But I have many of the same concerns and problems as any other visually impaired person. There are programs in my area that bring the visually impaired together for social outings and so forth. I can never participate because they always plan things during the daytime on week days. Those of us who work cannot participate.
“I feel kind of left out and abandoned by people I thought would accept me.”
This week, let's examine how to align yourself with the fourth-most-important recruitment strategy (out of a total of 18) eSight members have identified for hiring managers -- those who seek to make their recruitment activities really inclusive.
That fourth inclusive recruitment strategy is this:
Evaluate abilities and disabilities on an individual basis, since no two abilities or disabilities are alike.
A hiring manager’s best job candidates with disabilities may have had to develop a sense of personal dignity without the support you would think they would receive from friends and acquaintances who also have disabilities.
That can be a lonely journey. But sometimes it’s an all-too-natural situation some of us have encountered.
We can feel caught between two groups of people (hiring managers and others with disabilities). Both don’t understand who we are because both are relying on false assumptions.
Check “Dissension, Reconciliation: Do Unemployed Blind People Resent Those With Jobs?”
Then, reply to this question:
How do you show a hiring manager that you are an individual first and not necessarily a verification of his or her long-held false assumptions about people with disabilities?
Posted by Jim at 06:18 PM | Comments (3)
November 09, 2007
My Predicament: Job Interviews without my BrailleNote
My name is Jessica Barr. I graduated from Keene State
College in May with a B.A in French and a minor in
German, and I am currently seeking a job which will
allow me to use my language skills.
I am totally blind, and I use a BrailleNote mPower and
a computer with JAWS for Windows.
A few weeks ago, my BrailleNote, which plays a vital
role in many of my daily tasks and activities, stopped
working and had to be sent in for service. I am having
trouble getting a loaner because I am no longer in
school and I am not working yet.
I usually bring my BrailleNote and my laptop to job
interviews to demonstrate how they work and explain
how I would use them to do my job effectively.
Although I have not gotten an interview since I sent
my BrailleNote in, I am sure that I would look bad, if
I told a perspective employer that one of the devices
I would rely on a great deal was being repaired, since
most employers already seem to think blind people are
incompetent.
What would you do in this situation? If you have had
similar experiences, please share them!
Posted by Jessica Barr at 03:11 PM | Comments (6)
November 06, 2007
Equal Opportunities for Training and Advancement
I encourage you to check last week's discussion on this forum about how to demonstrate your disability-honed skills in problem-solving to a hiring manager during a job interview.
You'll get some helpful advice about how to create "memorable presence" for yourself during your conversation with a hiring manager. And you'll pick up examples about how you can turn your ability to adapt into ways to make a workplace more efficient.
Thank you, Liz, Jo, and Barney, for your meaty submissions.
This week, let's examine how to align yourself with the
third-most-important recruitment strategy (out of a
total of 18) eSight members have identified for hiring managers -- those who seek to make their recruitment activities really inclusive.
All 18 strategies (and why they're important) are part of eSight's upcoming eBook, which will be available shortly.
That third inclusive recruitment strategy is this:
Offer employees with disabilities the same opportunities for accessible training, career development and internal advancement you provide those who do not have disabilities.
After a hiring manager has chosen and placed you in a job within your department, he has another issue to address: How does he or she provide opportunities for you to advance in the company -- opportunities that are open to any other employee who has been hired?
Equal opportunity in training and advancement for employees with disabilities is as important as equal opportunity in the hiring process. In many cases, those opportunities are not always as forthcoming as you might first expect.
Check "Clear the Way to Achievement for Your Visually Impaired Employees."
Please reply to this question:
Once you're hired, how do you make sure you're on an appropriate path for advancement and have equal access to the training and development resources available to all other employees?
Posted by Jim at 05:43 PM | Comments (1)
November 04, 2007
Needed: Contacts, Advice for International Disability Development Activist
I am Vashkar Vattacharya, a visually challenged person from Bangladesh.
I am struggling to achieve my career goal: to be an international development activist in the disability field.
A few months ago, I started working in an international donor agency named Action Aid. I've been there for four months. They recognized my expertise in disability development but suggested that I improve my English writing skills.
I am one of the experts in Information Communication Technology for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh.
I recognize improving my written English is a key to getting a job in an international disability organization.
I have three questions.
What suggestions do you have for improving my written English, considering my situation, so I can take the next step in developing my career?
I am also asking for your ideas about what international disability organizations need (and don't have) and how I can use and build on my experience so I can present myself as an outstanding job candidate for meeting those needs.
And, I'm looking for contacts within the international disability field -- people who need my perspective and who can give me advice for achieving my career goal. What contacts (names, title, organization and e-mail address) do you recommend I add to my network?
Posted by vashkar vattacharya at 12:13 AM | Comments (6)