[humanser] reflections on my interview

Wed Mar 9 19:09:54 UTC 2016

I'll try to respond to your questions. But first I'll share a little more
information.  

Here's some background. Two of the three interviewers know me well enough to
know that I have needed  reading accommodations when I took a number of
classes through their agency. One of the interviewers was one of two persons
who selected me to attend last year's PRA Conference. When she made my hotel
reservations she requested a "blind room". Earlier during the interview I
was asked about my strengths. I emphasized that my two college degrees have
enabled me to excel at writing reports. I also emphasized that I have done a
lot of presentations and have facilitated groups. All of these items can be
found in the online job description. 

Justin, I'm pretty sure that perspective employers cannot ask if reasonable
accommodations are needed prior to an interview. Also, the seven year old
article started out on someone's hard drive or was kept in computer file. 

I guess instead of feeling better about the interview I'm a bit depressed.
This is in part because of past issues getting print materials in digital
content and now there's the added issue of their somewhat inaccessible
website and the awkward questions during the interview. Is all of this
typical for most of you who have interviewed? 

From,
Lisa   

-----Original Message-----
From: humanser [mailto:humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of justin
williams via humanser
Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2016 6:07 AM
To: 'Human Services Division Mailing List' <humanser at nfbnet.org>
Cc: justin williams <justin.williams2 at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [humanser] reflections on my interview

Oh yes, paperwork is required in the jobs, but if you don't ask everyone
that question, you can't ask her that either and then penalize her, which we
arne't sure that's happened yet, so I'm not jumping to conclusions. I'm not
a proponent of showing technology on an interview in most cases; feeling as
if that is trying to hard to justify myself to the employer, and for fear of
it possibly detracting from me the applicant, but in this case, using
technology to assist with the interview would be okay and necessary.    
 Justin

-----Original Message-----
From: humanser [mailto:humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Reyazuddin,
Yasmin via humanser
Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2016 8:52 AM
To: Human Services Division Mailing List <humanser at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Reyazuddin, Yasmin <Yasmin.Reyazuddin at montgomerycountymd.gov>
Subject: Re: [humanser] reflections on my interview

Hi Lisa, and Justin,
About 4 years ago I applied for a job here in the county government. All
applicants coming for the interview were given 5 questions to review before
answering them during the interview. As the panel knew that I am blind and
they did not know how to give me the questions in Braille or an alternative
format, they changed their policy. They did not give the questions to any
applicant. 
It is important to show and shine your abilities to the panel of employers.
Paperwork is required in most of the jobs. How one handles is personal
preference. I would show them that I am able to use the computer and can
manage all the paperwork. 
Hope it helps. Keep trying, you never know. 

Yasmin Reyazuddin 
Aging & Disability Services 
Montgomery County Government 
Department of Health & Human Services 
401 Hungerford Drive (3rd floor) 
Rockville MD 20850 
240-777-0311 (MC311) 
240-777-1556 (personal) 
240-777-1495 (fax) 
office hours 8:30 am 5:00 pm 
Languages English, Hindi, Urdu, Braille 

This message may contain protected health information or other information
that is confidential or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient,
please contact the sender by return mail and destroy any copies of this
material. 

Thank you.

-----Original Message-----
From: humanser [mailto:humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of justin
williams via humanser
Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2016 8:31 AM
To: 'Human Services Division Mailing List' <humanser at nfbnet.org>
Cc: justin williams <justin.williams2 at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [humanser] reflections on my interview

Were you told about the article before you went onto the interview?  A human
reader is an accommodation, but it does place you at a distinct disadvantage
which could have been avoided if they had e-mailed the article to you,
especially if you had your laptop there.  Did they ask you if you needed any
accommodations for the interview?  Did you tell them you were a person who
is blind?  I'm just asking to understand more about the interview.  Second,
asking someone about how they will complete paperwork especially if they
don't ask this of other job interviewees is illegal.  "I have earned two
master's degrees thus far" or something similar would have been my response.
I'm wondering if the article is something they are not supposed to give out.
If so, you could have been offered a pc there to use, but they probably
didn't have a version of jaws, so they could have given you a thumb drive to
use with the article on it.  Of course,     you made the e-mail and thumb
drive suggestions.  What was their response to that?  Because, if you had
your pc there, and they could have use the electronic suggestion is how you
would counter the fact that you were given a human reader. Understand that
without your laptop present, the human reader could be considered an
acceptable accommodation, even if it is not fair.   Tantamount to following
the word of the law, and not the spirit of the law, still discrimination in
my book, but maybe not technically.  Unless they had a compelling reason
however, using a thumb drive, or e-mail should have been permissible; it
would be the equivalent of giving you a test on the interview, and making it
accessible.  Also, not making sense of the hiring application can be traced
back to it being an inaccessible website. Is the company state, county, or
private? 
If anyone has anything to add, then please do so.  Feel free to correct me;
I' still learning like the rest of you folks.

Justin

-----Original Message-----
From: humanser [mailto:humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Lisa Irving
via humanser
Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2016 2:42 AM
To: 'Human Services Division Mailing List' <humanser at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Lisa Irving <peacefulwoman89 at cox.net>
Subject: [humanser] reflections on my interview

First, I would like to thank all of you for your prayers; positive thoughts
and advice. Here's what transpired at the interview. Well, I enjoyed the
first half. I'm not sure that I nailed the questions because I kept catching
myself digressing. The good news is that I caught myself and it was
definitely a learning experience. The second half of the interview has left
me questioning myself. In a nutshell, I had to rely on a reader to complete
the second half of the interview. I was expected to read an article. I think
that relying on a human reader is a distinct disadvantage in many
circumstances, including this interview. I had my laptop with me and I
suggested one of the interviewers could email the article. I also suggested
that the article could be downloaded to a thumb drive. I was also unnerved
by the fact the Hiring Manager couldn't make sense of my job application. 

Some of you know that I encountered layers of challenges and turned over all
stones in order to complete the application. The company's Talent Scout
wasn't concerned about my job application, however, the Hiring Manager
rightfully was concerned. Yesterday I emailed her my online job application,
that is, I emailed what I had highlighted and saved into a Word document.
This morning I offered her a hardcopy of what I had emailed her. She didn't
want it. Again, I feel as though I'm at a disadvantage. There were a few
awkward moments during the interview when I was trying to figure out how to
respond to a couple of questions that I wondered if they were actually
permissible. I was told there's a lot of paperwork, I was then asked how I
would complete the paperwork. I asked the person who asked the question if
everyone is asked this question. There was a lot of hemming and hawing   .
What do you do in these situations. I thought I integrated my ability to use
technology into the interview. Well, I'm going to let all of this sit for a
few days and then I'll try to spin this into a very positive experience. 

Thanks again for your support. 

From,

Lisa 

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