"As a blind woman in a third-tier management role
looking to take the next step into tier two and on to
a Chief Executive role within the next five years, I
think the issue is one of belief (or rather the lack
of belief in our capabilities demonstrated by
employers -- time after time).
and use a guide dog in my resume, so those ‘short
listing’ for the role are not surprised to meet me, if
I am interviewed.
of 10, and often it's pretty obvious I'm being
interviewed to satisfy EEO principles or because of
down-right curiosity to meet this blind woman who
manages staff and a multi-million dollar budget.
that's fine because I then have the opportunity to
demonstrate my communication and lateral-thinking
skills etc.
answer the standard interview questions posed to me.
Then I usually advise the panel that I am happy to
discuss my blindness, thus putting them at their ease
regarding their curiosity about this.
blindness is on top for these people because their
questions usually come in rapid bursts.
heard any of my presentation and/or answers to the
standard interview questions.
on the part of employers, I have a question of my own:"
How do we show employees that we are real, capable
people who can contribute much of value to their
businesses?
Vision loss as a working professional comes differently. As in my situation, it came after putting in 25 years of work. Although I had sufficient time and title to retire, I simply believe, "I am too young not to be working."
After floundering several years with diagnosis and rehabilitation, I believe I am now on a track in which the destination point is marked "Return to Employment".
Here is the path I found that is working for me:
Darrell writes:
“I'd put myself up against any similarly qualified
sighted person in my field any time and I'm quite
sure that, most of the time, I'd come up on top.
“I work on a small team of three associates who work
on our company's knowledge base. On a regular basis,
I produce three or four times more work than the
other two associates, and the quality of the work I
produce is objectively considered far superior.
“So, hmm, let's see. Blind guy utilizes reasonable
accommodations to produce more work at a higher
quality than his sighted peers. Doesn't that seem to
be a win-win for everyone?
“I'd put *any* competent, qualified blind person who knows her stuff up against a similar sighted guy or gal anytime. Bring it on!”
Lori, on the other hand, simply asks:
“Why do we always have to be better than everyone
else?”
At some moments, I feel like we’re living in an age in
which lack of competency, even in the legal, medical
and accounting fields, can be unchallenged, rewarded
and even expected.
A judge gets elected to my state supreme court
despite apparent violations of her code of ethics.
My CPA makes a mistake on my tax return, leading to a federal tax audit.
My physician, apparently stressed and with a frown
on his forehead, hurries superficially through my
annual physical exam after announcing he’s behind
schedule in meeting his morning appointments.
I grew up with cerebral palsy in the 60s, and, like
Darrell and Lori, I’ve worked hard to develop skills and
do superior work on the job, thinking I had to be “better than next person” to obtain, keep and justify my job. I had to “do better” to compensate for my disability.
So, please give me your reaction to this question:
Why do we always have to be better
than everyone else?
That being said, with the explosive advancement in adaptive technology, which has vastly leveled the playingfield for people who are blind, the question to be asked is are sheltered workshops still necessary? Shelter workshops often do not promote skills that are transferable to the general workplace and often become the community expert on what kinds of jobs people who are blind can do and how best to train them.
What is your opinion regarding sheltered workshops? Do sheltered workshops do more harm than good?
He recently gave up his private practice because he felt he could no longer perform his job responsibilities at a level he has had always maintained.
Joe is considering his career options. He knows how to set up a small business; was a member of a dental school faculty for 15 years; edited a monthly dental publication; has many articles published in dental literature; and has had experience in meeting the dental needs of children with disabilities.
He has a genuine desire to help other people.
He enjoyed being a dental consultant and staff motivator. And he's been a public speaker in dental associations.
]]> But, Joe is frustrated with the time it's taking him to learn how to use adaptive technology as he searches for the next step in his career.
Surviving and thriving, as a change agent with inadequate support, is an uphill battle. The point here is that often, very often, we find ourselves in a position where the deck seems to be stacked against us. We thought we were hired to do a job that involves change or questioning the status quo, yet there is no support for the change at the level of our job. We are rolling the proverbial boulder up the hill.
I have been in these situations several times in my career. In two of those situations, I gradually built solid programs that were respected by my peers, if not by management. In my most recent position I found a way to use my greatest talent – finding and digesting information, to make myself useful to those interested in listening – my fellow change agents in offices around the state. On the other hand, these positions involved a great deal of emotional stress and frustration.
How did you both foster change and build a constructive work history?
]]>In February 2006, I learned that the customer support project on which I worked would be switching to an inaccessible Siebel CRM implementation. Though the problems could have been fixed by spending approximately an hour of developer time in order to make a "standard mode" implementation available for me, without affecting other employees, the client ignored all requests to do so and my employer was not in a position to compel action by the client due to the outsourcing arrangements in place. I was to have been laid off in two weeks. Obviously, I did not find this eventuality to be something I was just going to lie down and quietly accept without a fight, if necessary.
Time went by while all of us investigated other possibilities for my continued employment on another project and I began the job search process once again. At the same time, I also began a relatively quiet process of advocacy utilizing the contacts I had established directly with the client as a result of the high quality of service I provided their customers. The client in question has thus far done absolutely nothing to address the accessibility of its products, while conducting tens of millions of dollars worth of business with the United States Federal Government. It ultimately took me writing a professional yet rather strongly worded letter to a person in the company's senior management team, making references to obligations under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and the accompanying potential loss of government business in order to turn my situation around in a dramatic fashion. Two days later, I learned that I would be reassigned to their knowledge base team, where I continue to succeed today as the employee creating both the highest quality and quantity of new content. Two years later, I continue to enjoy gainful employment I would have certainly lost had I not chosen to advocate.
A close friend is experiencing a similar issue. He is a totally blind database developer for a major state university. The entire development environment is about to be switched to an Oracle PeopleSoft implementation that is known to be inaccessible with all currently available screen reading solutions. He has a wife and two children. Unfortunately, he does not quite seem to view advocacy in the same light as do I. Instead, he appears to be looking into a couple of other possibilities outside the university without taking a more proactive stance.
As I evangelize accessibility through the Blind Access Journal, I hear from others who are dealing with similar barriers they feel are holding back the advancement of their careers. In all such cases, advocacy is always highly encouraged. If you find yourself in a position where you believe you may lose your job over an accessibility issue outside your control, consider taking one or more of the following steps:
We must all ask ourselves one critical question: Is it acceptable for blind and visually impaired people to lose their jobs due to a circumstance completely beyond their control? Should someone lose their health insurance and their house over a piece of technology that can't be made to function with a screen reader? Let's all make sure we're doing our best with self-advocacy, so that we do not accept a situation that places us at an undue disadvantage or financial hardship through no fault of our own due to an accessibility barrier that may be eliminated or otherwise reasonably accomodated to meet the needs of all concerned.
Review the following short list of organizations and other online resources you may find helpful should you encounter a job related technology access challenge:
]]> Have you experienced a job loss over an accessibility issue or saved your job from such a demise? We would love to hear from you! Please consider adding your testimonials as a comment to this article, or feel free to e-mail me directly at editor@blindaccessjournal.com for additional assistance and information. ]]>In today’s highly competitive world, in which personal branding is becoming a common career-building strategy, that maxim is surprisingly still on target.
It’s especially true for individuals with disabilities -- as two eSight members recently pointed out on the eSight Networking Forum.
Ameenah Lippold wrote:
"I have worked for the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) since 2005 as an IT Specialist, and my work is not disability related in any way, shape or form. I work in an acquisition program, which is replacing legacy command and control systems. As such, we are changing how the DoD does software development and associated processes.
"My job requires me to coordinate interaction among organizational entities and negotiate agreements between said organizations with respect to IT. I am the project lead for standing up a virtual help desk for the soldier/warfighter. As such, this has taken me into the field of Knowledge Management.
"On top of all of that, I am part of a three-year program that trains new government employees for leadership and management positions.
"I would say that I have taken the general attributes and the skills which I have learned associated with being totally blind and apply them to my job: problem solving, advocacy and negotiating.
"Before coming to DISA, I worked at the NFB Jernigan Institute in Baltimore, and that was my first full-time job. While there, I began developing my skills, but I always knew that I wouldn't be working there forever.
"Granted, I can appreciate the fact that I didn't have to deal with colleagues questioning my abilities or thinking that I was amazing because I was blind. Even so, I made a conscious decision to get out of blindness related jobs. Up until DISA, I had always worked in the field of blindness (specifically, access technology).
"I think that it would be imprudent of one to consider their disability as being irrelevant when searching for a job. During my interview for DISA, one of the first things I did was talk about my blindness and how I would perform job tasks at DISA such as e-mail, PowerPoint, and word processing.
"I talked about how I would travel (my current job requires travel to conferences and field sites around the world), and explained that I am capable of independent travel. Over the course of three years, I have had two different supervisors, and each boss has given me positive performance appraisals.
"My supervisor gives me assignments which fellow teammates are unable to complete. I have been recognized for the quality of my work via cash awards.
"In short, it is possible for a disabled person to compete in nondisability-related fields. However, it requires a lot of patience, motivation, and confidence on the part of the individual. Everyday, people will question your ability -- that comes with the territory -- but one must learn to handle these situations with diplomacy."
Barney Mayse, a second eSight member, wrote:
"Tell me what you think I cannot do and watch how I do it. I am not here to inspire but rather to educate myself on how far I can go. I am here to make a contribution with my unique gifts in the way that I am able.
"I am able to do many things but finding the environment which will allow me to make that contribution is a process. If the world understood, none of this would be necessary. So we have an opportunity to educate the world and tell the stories of success, accomplishment and marvels.
"People with disabilities need to stand up and speak out. Life is a challenge for each person -- whether they have a disability or not. Are you competent, confident and skilled in your area of employment? If so, get in the game and do what you do."
Through your actions, you, too, can follow in the footsteps of Ameenah and Barney and develop a reputation for being forthright, attentive, patient, motivated, confident, diplomatic, persistent, flexible and adaptable as well as a problem solver, an effective advocate, an adroit negotiator and a show-and-tell educator.
These are all attributes and skills which you’ve probably worked for years to develop but which also grew from your personal experiences of learning to live well with a disability.
]]> Take this opportunity to tell your brief story. In doing so, you may discover attributes about yourself that you didn’t know you had -- attributes which make you an exceptional job candidate and which you can highlight as you search for the job that’s right for you.Please answer this question:
What qualities have you developed through living with a disability that a prospective employer might find helpful?]]>
First, Gov. Paterson is not a "super crip," an exception. Like all of us, he’s not perfect.During the 1990s, we began to hear stories about "super crips," those of us with disabilities who surprised others with what we could do at work.
Those surprises or even smidgens of success in a mainstream job sometimes yielded "super crip" stories about us at work -- a context others perhaps used to reconcile our apparent physical disabilities with our abilities to meet common expectations for properly applying mainstream work skills.
Thanks to technology and education and diversity efforts, there are many "super crips" nowadays in all walks of life, so the term has become irrelevant.
Second, Gov. Paterson learned to live in the mainstream by attending regular public schools in the '60s.
Learning how to adopt to the world the way it is instead of asking the world to always make an exception for yourself is an important early lesson to learn for us all. But, for those of us with disabilities, it is a particularly important milestone.
Third, as a person with a visual impairment, Gov. Paterson has learned that he can't afford to forget or overlook details.
That’s just one of the side benefits of having a visual impairment in a sighted world.
Fourth, Gov. Paterson's a listener and has learned how to ask questions as a means to gather information sometimes missed by others.
Fifth, Gov. Paterson addresses myths and fears about visual impairment with self-deprecating humor –- as you could see in his swearing-in speech.
Six, Gov. Paterson has learned how to be patient and use persistence.
Seventh, Gov. Paterson has had to develop his problem-solving skills to find ways that work best for him.
Eighth, Gov. Paterson realizes, like anyone else, he's one of a kind, remarking, "I never met anyone who is kind of like me." And, he takes that for granted.
During his swearing-in speech, he said: "To many of you, I am an unknown quantity. But that doesn't matter anymore. What matters is what we are able to accomplish today, tomorrow and all the days ahead. It's Monday and there's work to be done."
Ninth, Gov. Paterson knows his limits. He has lived with personal vulnerability, but that may not mean, as one commentator said, he's "not tough enough" to bring reform to the State Capitol.
Tenth, Gov. Patterson is inclusive, realizing the importance of bringing together people of differing races, abilities, income, and religions.
Through his personal experience, Gov. Paterson can continue to demonstrate the value of diversity to workplaces in particular and to society in general.
I hope employers, by watching Gov. Paterson during his administration, will realize our individual vulnerabilities are valuable -- to our society as well as individual organizations, companies and governmental agencies -- because they stretch our ability to be adaptable as human beings.
In the competitive business world, that kind of reasoning is often lost. An all able-bodied workforce, for instance, can become flabby in terms of creativity and problem-solving, precisely because it lacks diversity and does not include individuals who look at opportunities just a little bit differently than the rest of us.
]]> Individuals with disabilities can be valuablePrior to this, I worked at the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind. While there I created a Summer Internship Program for blind college students. It soon became evident that in order to successfully implement this program, we would have to make a few changes to the way the agency operated. Working with the Director of Technology we were able to shorten the time for a technology assessment and to ensure that a student had the equipment he/she needed to do the tasks for the Internship. I have always wondered if there is a disconnect between the assistance a blind job seeker would like to receive from his/her state agency and the type of services the state agency provides.
]]> Therefore, I would like to invite you to share your ideas, your experiences, your opinions about the type of services you would like to receive from your state agency while job hunting and whether these are the services which are available. Should a state agency offer different services to job hunters who are just starting out versus someone who is seeking assistance to switch jobs?]]>
Elaine brings up some interesting choices those of
us with disabilities have in deciding how to focus
our job marketing campaigns.
Do we tap our disability experience as an attribute
and use it to find jobs in sectors which have a
disability connection?
Or, do we extract more general attributes (such as
problem solving skills) from our disability
experience and position them to match job
qualifications outside the disability field?
Or, do we consider our disability experience as
irrelevant and compete in the job market without
reference to our disability?
Or, do we combine all three options in a mix that
changes continually, based on the job and employer
we are currently targeting?
disability to your best advantage in conducting
your job search or managing your career?
Here is some of what Barney told Diversity World:
"What I find most interesting as a person with a
disability and as an advocate is that, with all of
the agencies, vocational rehab counselors and other
folks out there, the needle for employment of people
with disabilities is not moving. From what I can
tell, and numbers are a moving target, and employment
among people with disabilities has remained
consistent since the ADA was passed. Is there
anything wrong with this picture?
"…Many employers assume (we know what that does)
that they know what a disabled person can
accomplish. I challenge them to tell me what they
want to have done and watch me figure out how to do
it.
"I realize that the transformative change which I
would like to see will not occur with a single
article, but I personally believe that all of the
studies and conferences and other irrelevant
activities are not truly helping people with
disabilities take back their financial independence,
get them off the benefit roles and permit them the
self-esteem which goes with work.
"There is too much time spent telling everyone at
what level the water is in the glass. Analyzing the
problem is not solving the problem. If the time
spent in analysis were spent in solving individual
problems and getting people back to work, the number
of starfish remaining on the beach would be smaller.
"The disabled community needs proactive people who
will not accept the answers we so frequently get.
The American business sector needs to understand
that the risk in not hiring people with disabilities
is greater than the risk of hiring them. The
disabled community needs to understand that the
world does not owe them and they will have to
compete. Permit the competition to occur on a level
playing field…"
Barney's comments prompted me to review the links I've bookmarked recently which show creativity in helping individuals with disabilities find meaningful work -- six initiatives that I find interesting.
Here's my quick list:
First, the U.S. Department of Labor's Workforce
Recruitment Program (WRP) connects federal and
private sector employers with highly motivated
post-secondary students with disabilities who are
eager to prove their abilities in the workplace
through summer or permanent jobs.
Read stories about Amanda, Jessica and the WRP.
Second, the Oregon Business Leadership Network (OBLN) and the Oregon Business Plan are co-sponsors of "Look at my Ability," a new two-minute video about the work ethic and skills employers can find among job seekers with disabilities.
Select one of a variety of links to the video, with or without captions.
Third, in another video, "Talk," The UK's Disability Rights Commission turns the tables on non-disabled
people, who experience first hand what those of us
with disabilities frequently experience as job
seekers.
Note that this video is highly visual with little
dialogue and no description.
Fourth, in a FederalTimes.com article, Karen M. Czarnecki, acting assistant secretary of Labor for disability employment policy, urges agencies of the U.S. federal government to increase the employment, retention and promotion of people with disabilities through use of a new recruiting database, customized employment, and Schedule A hiring authority.
Fifth, Pricewaterhouse Coopers is promoting disability
equality in the workplace. This is example of an
industry taking the initiative to promote awareness
training about how to add individuals with disabilities to the accounting field (and preparing for upcoming labor shortages in some job sectors due to baby boomer retirements).
Check an article about the leadership role Pricewaterhouse Coopers is takling.
Sixth, HirePotential says it helps the best companies hire the best people.
"We can help you expand your diversity initiatives by
enhancing your recruitment and retention efforts
within the Untapped Workforce," it explains.
Also see information about HirePotenntial's quest to "accommodate the changing face of today's workforce."
Those of us at eSight picked up most of these six
resources just by browsing the Net during the last few
weeks.
Like Barney, I think our main challenge is gaining an
understanding of key disability employment issues
among hiring decision makers.
That means we can overcome that lack of information in
a variety of creative ways.
One of them is using the full capabilities of the Internet
to gain interest and promote awareness about job seekers
with disabilities, an under-tapped resource throughout
the world.
What interesting initiative have you found recently
for helping people with disabilities find meaningful
work?
Resumes are on my mind because this Friday, February 29, is the deadline for completing the application and submitting your resume for eSight’s March 12, 2008, through May 6, 2008, eLearning Program, "Online Networking as a Job Search Tool."
There’s still time to apply for this eLearning Program, but you need to do it now.
And please pass the information about “Online Networking as a Job Search Tool” to friends and acquaintances who can benefit from this unique eLearning experience. Be sure to reference the informational link at http://www.esight.org/view.cfm?x=1968
One of the conclusions I’ve drawn by working with a wide variety of eLearners through eSight’s online networking course is this:
Many of us need to rethink how we want to present ourselves via a resume in the light of how human resources people and hiring managers are using today’s technology to decide who to interview for a job, a course etc.
I’ve found that the resume I wrote for myself four years ago is, at best, out-of-date and, worst of all, not relevant to what decision makers need in today’s job market.
If you are feeling the same way about your resume, then I urge you to apply for one of the few seats we still have open for "Online Networking as a Job Search Tool,” an eight-week eLearning opportunity I’m sure you’ll find helpful.
Here’s why: This course offers you personal coaching to develop not only your resume but also research companies, build contact lists, develop an offering statement, create a JIST Card, create your personal brand, develop an ePortfolio and hone your networking skills.
Those are the key tools you need today to get an interview for the job that’s right for you.
One of the many resources this online class will use is a panel discussion involving with Deb Dib, Megan Fitzgerald and Bernadette Martin -- all career coaches and personal branding specialists.
Deb notes the trend toward one or two page resumes (instead of three or four). Resumes, she says, must:
That kind of resume takes work and practice in what Deb calls “career writing” -- a skill I can help you develop in "Online Networking as a Job Search Tool."
You can learn about Deb and each one of the other panelists for the discussion about “Branding Your Resume, Bio or CV: Trends and Tips.”
You can also listen to an audio tape of this panel discussion.
]]> In the light of that discussion about branding your resume, please reply to this question:What is the most important thing you now realize needs changing in your present resume?
I think his historical framework shows how complicated tearing down stubborn perceptions about disability (and converting a worn-out language) can be.
I'm encouraged by the personal-experience stories I'm receiving from job seekers with disabilities who are saying, "Goodbye," to a truly prejudiced prospective employer.
Here's another bit of good news. Most of the barriers job seekers with disabilities face in the job market seem to stem from lack of information or knowledge about disability employment issues -- not prejudice. Those who hold onto a belief in spite of overwhelming proof to the opposite are prejudiced.
But, here's the best news of all. Job seekers with disabilities can tackle fear and ignorance among the prospective employers they visit as part of their job searches. Job hunting is a one-on-one game. We don't have to launch a massive campaign to change the myths held by 300 million Americans about disability and how they relate to employment.
It just takes work and insight on a one-to-one basis. It’s no small task, but it's doable.
However, your comments during the last few days have made me realize there’s more than one way to gain a better understanding of our disabilities among the people with which we play and work.
Do words count more than actions in this regard?
Here’s a sampling of last week’s comments from people who believe words play a key role in how people with disabilities are perceived.
Liz writes:
“I think words can and do hurt you. I have a friend who is working at a nationally known non-profit in Ontario. Her boss does not call her by her given name but calls her 'Gimpy.'
“My friend has a problem with her knee. She's not fully disabled. It's a temporary thing. Being called 'Gimpy' in front of not only her fellow workers but also the consumers of this non-profit gives off the impression that it's OK to use disparaging terms about someone who is disabled. It's the old 'Oh, can't you take a joke?' mentality when, in reality, this organization is geared to those with intellectual impairments and those involved should know better.”
Liz adds:
“At the moment, I'm reading Eckhardt Tolle's book, ‘The New Earth,’ and, on pages 50 and 51, he makes a very interesting point that I believe speaks to last week’s observations.
"’Equating the physical-sense … body that is destined to grow old, wither and die with ‘I’ always leads to suffering sooner or later. To refrain from identifying with the body doesn't mean that you neglect, despise or no longer care for it. If it is strong, beautiful or vigorous, you can enjoy and appreciate those attributes while they last. You can also improve the body's condition through right nutrition and exercise.
“’If you don't equate the body with who you are, when beauty fades, vigor diminishes or the body becomes incapacitated, your sense of worth or identity … will not be affected. In fact, as the body begins to weaken, the formless dimension (the light of consciousness) can shine more easily through the fading form.
“’It is not just people with good or near perfect bodies who are likely to equate it with who they are. You can just as easily identify with a ‘problematic’ body and make the body's imperfection, illness or disability into your identity. You may think and speak of yourself as a ‘sufferer’ of this or that chronic illness or disability… You then unconsciously cling to the illness because it has become the most important part of who you perceive yourself to be. It has become another thought from which the ego can identify. Once the ego has found an identity, it does not want to let go.’
“So, in order to not let others give us an identity with words that we do not wish to be, we must confront those who use words that don’t clearly communicate the facts or are demeaning or offensive.”
Kathy notes:
“’Handicap’ conjures up an image of someone on the street corner with 'cap in hand,' begging for handouts and charity. Various disability rights publications like to tie the ‘cap in hand’ image to the word ‘handicap.’ If you consult an authoritative source such as the Oxford English Dictionary, you will find nothing in the derivation to support this association. There is enough misinformation about disability; we don't need to perpetuate this one.”
Unlike Liz and Kathy, however, some believe words are not as relevant as actions in the attempt each one of us launches to gain “equal dignity” in the eyes of others.
Barney, for instance, writes:
“…Our actions and the actions of others speak far louder than any words anyone can ever say about me. I honestly have neither the time nor the energy to engage in a battle over semantics. I am happy to teach folks about the correct way, but, in the end, I am more interested in how I am treated.”
Jim Elekes agrees with Barney:
“The process of language is complex and, quite often, unintentional. What of the terms ‘white space,’ ‘black ice’ and ‘yellow journalism?’ Are we to presume these terms are derived from an attempted distain for specific racial characteristics? I think not…
“Let's not lose focus on the primary issues at hand: enhanced employment opportunity, equitable/fair treatment and one's individual self-worth. Without these, there is no foothold on which to step-up to other incidentals on the sidelines.”
Maybe picking the path to putting your disability into a perspective that works best for you depends on your circumstances, your personality and your temperament.
For a little bit more about how I have personally handled this issue, read “The Backdoor Into Adulthood.”
]]> What have you done in your own life to break through the misunderstanding about your disability that language sometimes perpetuates?