[humanser] for Lisa Fwd: Job and job interview preparation

[Hooper, Robert M.]

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From: "Hooper, Robert M." <hooper.90 at buckeyemail.osu.edu<mailto:hooper.90 at buckeyemail.osu.edu>>
Date: April 13, 2015 at 11:03:43 AM EDT
To: "'humanser at nfbnet.org<mailto:humanser at nfbnet.org>'" <humanser at nfbnet.org<mailto:humanser at nfbnet.org>>
Cc: "Social Sciences List (social-sciences-list at nfbnet.org<mailto:social-sciences-list at nfbnet.org>)" <social-sciences-list at nfbnet.org<mailto:social-sciences-list at nfbnet.org>>
Subject: Job and job interview preparation

Hello list(s):

First, a logistical prefatory note: I am writing this message to both the Human Services NFB list and the Social Sciences NFB list in order to solicit advice from as wide a pool of wisdom as possible, so thanks for your indulgence and my apologies for the duplicate emails, for those of you who, like me, are subscribed to both lists.

I am currently a fifth year student at The Ohio State University, graduating this May with a degree in Psychology-I have also studied neuroscience. During my frantic scrambling to assemble something like a proper life after graduation, I was offered an interview at North Central Mental Health Services in Columbus for a position as Case Manager. Although I have had plenty of experience in research labs, volunteering at various summer camps, fund-raising, etc. I have never had a job nearly as relevant to my field (it is my ambition to become a professional clinical counselor). I have some ideas about what I would be doing as case manager-it is the prospect of actually interacting with clients that I find so appealing about the job. It is my intention that I gain some work experience before I reapply to graduate schools, in order to strengthen my application and prospects-this job would fulfill that requirement spectacularly. However, I have some concerns about the position and interview process. It is my understanding that case managers do a lot of traveling-mainly to visit clients and such. This would be the biggest hurtle to employment-and quite a frustrating one, as the act of slipping keys into an ignition and using my feet, hands, and eyes to pilot hundreds of pounds of metal about the city is entirely unrelated to the skills required to be a good employee in my chosen field. Have any of you had jobs as a case manager? What was the everyday experience like, and did you have to creatively get past any travel requirements? If so, how did you manage this, and were your employers and colleagues supportive, cooperative, and understanding in these matters? I'm looking for any input whatsoever, so don't feel compelled to limit your responses to the parameters of my hastily written questions.
In addition, what have you found to be the "best" ways to handle the inevitable blindness-related interview questions, both generally and the travel-specific ones? I want to focus on the things I can do, not the things I can't-so rather than just saying, "Um, yeah, I can't really drive so..." I would like to be proactive with my approach to providing solutions, especially for the travel component. I should note that I was offered an interview after speaking to an HR coordinator at a career fair-in fact, I've met her previously, as she did my BCI and FBI background check and fingerprinting for a volunteer position at the suicide prevention hotline, which North Central operates. She didn't seem overly concerned about the travel component, seeming to dismiss it with the air of "Oh, we'll work something out," so this gives me the impression that they will be receptive to suggestions-that is, I don't feel as strongly on the defensive as I otherwise might. Nevertheless, my experience with the brutal competition of graduate school (and life, generally) has left me jaded and skeptical about all things related to the job market, so I am inclined to thoroughly prepare for this interview. I would love your experience, advice, soapbox rants, blog entries, novels, essays, musings, research, guidance, and any other fathomable piece of rhetoric or verbiage you can muster with regards to this topic. As I stated before, feel free to mention anything you feel is relevant-my questions are a product of my concerns and inexperience, so doubtless I have left out something. Also, as a final aside, I believe that I will be required to do some record keeping. Having seen some less-than-optimistic posts on the subject of such on these lists, will this be another one of those frustrating problems whose prevalence costs us as blind people the respect and equality of consideration engendered by the lack of accessibility standards? Thanks for reading this post, and I look forward to (hopefully) officially joining the ranks of those in the Human Services field.
Regards,
Robert Hooper