[humanser] Drivers license requirement for employment

[JD Townsend]

Sadly some folks are prejudice on the outset.  I took a 2 hour trip for an 
interview once and the interviewer told me at the door that the job was too 
intense for me, without even letting me speak;  seems my white cane said all 
she wanted to know.

I learned after many interviews that I had to compete not as a blind 
applicant, but as the best applicant.  Some people tell an interviewer on 
the outset that they are blind or visually impaired, but I have never seen 
the wisdom in this.  I find that the initial hand-shake and the walk down 
long corridors to the interview room, finding my seat and addressing the 
real issues of the job have served me well.  When I have taken this 
attitude, ignoring my blindness as an issue, the interviews have gone much 
better.  I tell the interviewer that I dislike paperwork, but that I sleep 
much better when it is up to date;  should they ask me how I do it I say 
that I have PC add-ons that have served me well in the past and that it 
should not be a problem with whatever system they are using.  Should they 
ask about transportation I tell them that I got here on my own and on time 
and that I should have no problem.  It isn't my job to explain about 
adaptive equipment or transportation, just that I can do the job, then I 
re-focus on my strengths as a clinical social worker and how I might fit my 
skills into serving the agency.

If we allow disability or adaptations to become a focus of an interview 
instead of our skills and work ethic we have no chance for employment.

Just my opinion, sorry for the lecture.

JD