[BlindTlk] Please, a request

[Shane Lowe]

Hey Bob,
No problem! I've pasted it below for your convenience. :)

Sometimes, as a blind person, we come across positions where a visual
impairment gives us the edge we need. My job with Supersense is a
perfect example of this since I'm a member of the blind community and
can give the company insight into our customers' wants and needs.
However, I haven't always been as fortunate to work for a company that
valued my blindness from the start. Many employers are put off by
their own preconceived ideas about the extra cost and time that would
need to be put into a blind employee, regardless of their validity. In
this post, I will share a few job-hunting stories as a blind person to
provide insight on when talking about your blindness before an
interview will get a potential employer into your corner.
man in blue shirt writing on paper
Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash
I'll begin with more of a humorous story from a couple of years ago.
At the time, I had just been laid off and considered myself a bit of
an accessibility crusader. I was prepared to meet the corporate sector
head-on about accessibility issues. I figured I'd start with a
rapidly-growing company in the security industry. I applied to the
company as a technical support specialist. At some point during the
hiring process, I was asked if I used their services. I said I
couldn't. When they asked why, I pointed to the product's lack of
accessibility. Not to my surprise, my application was declined. In the
clarity of hindsight, I can tie my explicit accessibility critique to
part of the reason why.
In my experience, pointing out ways in which the company can improve
the accessibility of their product during the application process, or
in other words, how the company can restructure their entire plan for
future development, and increase their expenses for the blind market
which probably doesn't fit into their business goals, is not a great
first impression. In fact, many companies are so afraid that hiring a
blind person would increase their costs and disrupt their operations
that introducing blindness too early into the conversation can be
off-putting in itself. Therefore, I choose to make visual impairment a
more discreet part of my resume.
For example, I don't often mention my years of schooling at the
Kentucky School for the Blind. But instead, I would say that I
represented the blind community on the International Congress of Youth
Voices, a nonprofit platform for writers and activists worldwide. The
goal here is to present blindness as an unequivocal strength, and not
leave it to the HR person's misconceptions as, unfortunately, most
employers, who are not a part of the blind community, will be unsure
how to approach a visual impairment.
My rule is, if you're not sure how your blindness will be received, it
is best not to mention it straight away and instead highlight what
makes you the best person for that particular role in the company. So,
I always try to mention my blindness in the most impressive light
possible and juxtapose it with my work experience in business or the
technical field.

As blind people, we often receive unique opportunities to promote and
represent our community. For example, you might get featured in a
commercial, But don't take it only at its face value. You also just
served as a televised spokesperson for the blind community. This is
usually a great place to start thinking of ways to use language to
make blindness a strong part of your resume without alienating a
potential employer.
If this approach doesn't work perfectly for you, there are still other
ways to highlight blindness as an irrefutable positive. One is to use
visual impairment as a reinforcement for your other strengths. For
example, a common strength of blind people is that we bring a unique
perspective to the workplace, but we also have a network like no
other. If you are involved in the blind community, you likely have
connections to people with all sorts of talents. In my most immediate
circle of blind friends, I know music producers, web designers,
programmers, lawyers, and teachers. Even if your crew doesn't carry
heavy accolades, everyone you know is talented in something. If you
have a good relationship with them, you can leverage their skills to
help the company.
As long as you stay creative and remember to highlight the most
significant ways a company can benefit from your presence, you'll be
sure to find a great position that values you and your unique skill
set. As the awareness in society towards blind people increases, the
misconceptions about blindness and it is being a hindrance rather than
an opportunity will fade. And the more you'll apply for jobs, the
quicker you'll learn to navigate the waters of the employment process.

On 9/7/20, Robert Feinstein via BlindTlk <blindtlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Shane, this is bob.  I am using an older system.  Could you possibly cut
> and paste the piece you wrote about blindness in a resume in the body of
> an email for me?  I'd enjoy reading it.  I am no longer job searching as I
> turned 70.
>
> Kind regards,
> Bob
>
>
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