Swimming in the Mainstream

"Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside them was superior to circumstances." - John Barton

I just ran across that quote, and I think it fits well with this discussion about how to sell ourselves to job interviewers.

I think the following approach is useful:

1. Research what problems the job is supposed to resolve for the employer.

2. Select a particular problem you feel comfortable and competent to provide a solution for.

3. Gather evidence that you have resolved similar problems (or problems of a like degree of difficulty and related to the topic) in your past employment or other areas of your life.

4. Produce a timescaled and resourced realistic plan of how you would resolve the problem if you were given the job.

5. During the interview, ask the interviewer if you could demonstrate how you would handle an element of the proposed work, don't forget to incorporate areas that might be impacted by your disability and how these could be mitigated.

6. Using the evidence and the project plan succinctly but in sufficient detail to demonstrate that you are confident and knowledgable about your presentation, the problem, your past job history and related experience and your version of a possible solution. Don't be afraid to ask if the recruiter has any questions and be well prepared to answer some.

I think that most recruiters are focused on certain of the applicants characteristics, particularly being able to plan work, execute the plan, be creative and communicate effectively. If your presentation demonstrates this with an indication that you have appropriate subject knowledge, background experience and the courage to take this approach then what reason could they have for not hiring you?

How would you show a hiring manager that you have
the skills required to do the job despite your
disability?

The skills to do the job do not exist despite the disability. The disability has simply created additional issues to be resolved to prove my capability. There are several ways to provide the hiring manager with knowledge of my competency and skills:
1) OFFER TO DO A PROJECT FOR FREE, NOT A MONEY MAKER BUT IT WILL DEMONSTRATE LOUD AND CLEAR WHAT I AM CAPABLE OF,
2) OFFER TO WORK FOR A TRIAL PERIOD FOR FREE, NOT A MONEY MAKER BUT ONE THAT SAYS I WILL PUT FINANCIAL STABILITY ON THE LINE TO PROVE THAT I AM CAPABLE,
3) ASK THEM WHAT CONCERNS THEY MIGHT HAVE ABOUT MY ABILITY AND ADDRESS ALL CONCERNS POSITIVELY AND CONSTRUCTIVELY,
4) ASK THEM HOW SUCCESS IS MEASURED AND USE PAST WORK HISTORY TO DEMONSTRATE HOW I HAVE ACHIEVED SUCCESS,
5) IT IS ABOUT WHAT I CAN DO, NOT WHAT I CANNOT DO. NO ONE IS HIRED FOR WHAT THEY CANNOT DO--THE FOCUS MUST BE ON HOW I CAN CONTRIBUTE WHICH MEANS THE HIRING MANAGER MUST FOCUS ON THE PERSON NOT THE DISABILITY.

Simple right? I wish it were simple for if it were the unemployment rate would not still be sitting at 70% for disabled people. The hiring interview must be an open dialogue. Anything less and I can predict the outcome without too much error.
Each person must be their own advocate and this forum is a great place to see how others achieve and handle their situations. It is time to live our lives full throttle.

As to Dennis's suggestion that Cindy go to the VA Vocational Rehab Agency for assistence in upgrading her assistive technology, until she gets a real job that requires her to use that particular assistive technology they can't help you. This puts the blind in a Catch 22. They want to work, have skills, but to be employable you must have compatible assistive technology with the firms you are applying to. Yet vocoational rehab can't provide this assistive technology unless you are already employed in a job that requires this particular assisitve technology. Making the workplace compatible with assistive technology commonly used by the blind (JAWS, WindowEyes, Magic) is one solution to this common problem.

Hello, this is Betty Banks!

In answer to the employer that is looking for top notch people to fill the job! This is a very delicate group of people that you are dealing with, first of all, as disabled people, we try harder than the next person, so you need to back up and take a long look at what you are doing and what you are asking of this population of people, ex: I am a DeafBlind person and I am a signlanguage interpreter and tutor/ om instructor, I am very good at what I do, so when I meet people like yourself with all these labels and hangups we dont stand a chance, so you really should consider not working with this population of people if that is your attitude!!

To Cindy: you need to continue asking and you will find a listening ear, actually you need a job coach or coordinator, someone to guide you through this! if you are disabled and need guidance, then it is against the law for these agencies not to assist (section 504) americans with disabilities.

Boy the answers here just keep getting better and better. This site is becoming something of a blog.

My own approach would be to bring along some of what I might use on the job.. to show how skilled I am at adapting and how confident and m atter of fact I am about my disability. One way to do this is to be extremely well prepared and knowledgeable about the company.. this shows the hiring manager that you were able to do the research and took the initiative.

I like many of the suggestions made already, although I'm not sure I like the idea of doing work for free. I think people sort of expect us (and other underrepresented groups as well) to provide advice and work for free.

I think we need to remember that finding a job in nontraditional arenas is a real challenge and that regular failures may have more to do with employer issues than with the skill set of the applicant with a disability. I also think that weaving one's disability seamlessly into the interview is a valuable skill to master.