[nabs-l] If or where to include center training on a jobapplication.

Sat Jul 21 08:27:04 UTC 2012

I don't think the problem is your resume at all.  8 month gap means
nothing really.  I had 5 year gap of unemployment on my resume.  It
looked really bad and some guy even asked about it over the phone.  I
didn't tell him about being blind or doing rehab really slowly over 2
or 3 years.  I didn't like the sound of the guy anyway and didn't want
to work for him.
  But I got some very good jobs despite the recession and bad resume.
  The mistake you are making is simply submitting applications or
sending in resumes.  They don't even look at all the apps or resumes.
To get the job I am currently working at I looked up their
information, learned about them, sent them an email asking to talk to
them on the phone (if I had more courage I could have just called
because their phone numbers are listed on the website).  I told them I
liked their work and where they worked at and wanted to know more
about working there.  I had all ready submitted an application but
they told me that if I had not called they probably would never seen
my app in the database.  They just look up what they can and don't go
through the full ppool of resumes.  They were happy to talk to me and
were looking for interns.  So it was great and I got the job that way.
  I got my previous job from a friend who recommended me to someone he
used to work for who was looking for interns but didnt want to post
the job opening.  She wanted word of mouth recommendaitons instead of
interviewing endless people on the street.
  The best way to get a job I learned from a career counselor is to
simply call them up or email them (make sure you research them some so
you know what you are talking about) and simply introduce yourself.
Networking is the best, fastest way to get a job.  Tell everyone you
know you are looking for a job and the story of your job search --
even telling people when you make random small talk at starbucks could
end up landing you a job.  You never know.  Call people, email people,
meet people, make friends etc. is far better than submitting
applications which is a waste of time mostly.
  For me actually calling people and talking to them was terrifying
and took a lot of courage.  But it got me what I needed.

There is some more information at the following website which is
written by the career counselor who I took a class from.  She counsels
engineering and computer science fields but really it applies to all
jobs.
The website is http://www.seriousjobseeker.com/

--Bill

On 7/21/12, Joshua Lester <jlester8462 at students.pccua.edu> wrote:
> She already answered the question.
> She attended Blind Inc, in St Paul, MN.
> Blessings, Joshua
>
> On 7/20/12, Brandon Keith Biggs <brandonkeithbiggs at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hello,
>> What center did you attend?
>> You could possibly say something like:
>> Colorado center for the Blind     Advanced skills training program
>> or
>> CCB    Intensive training program
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Brandon Keith Biggs
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Cynthia Bennett
>> Sent: Friday, July 20, 2012 4:40 PM
>> To: National Asociation of Blind Students
>> Subject: [nabs-l] If or where to include center training on a
>> jobapplication.
>>
>> I am currently job searching and running into a quandary.
>>
>> If a stranger looked at my resume, it would appear that I ended work
>> in August of 2011, and that I have not worked since. When in reality,
>> from September to April, I was attending BLIND, Inc. and could have
>> not worked very much even if given the opportunity.
>>
>> Sharing the blind thing before appearing at an interview has always
>> been a tossup for me. I always love giving my first impression in
>> person so I have more control over the first impression than allowing
>> some HR assistant’s mind to marinate in all of the possibilities of
>> bad stereotypes only to throw my application out because of some
>> “excuse.”
>>
>> But I am starting to think that maybe this gap on my resume is hurting
>> me more than including blindness training as a part of my education.
>> But therein lies another problem. I do not have nearly enough space on
>> my resume to properly explain blindness training. I have included
>> supplemental documents sometimes. If I feel it is appropriate for a
>> certain job, then I go ahead and divulge it. I provide a plethora of
>> information and give the website and contact information if they are
>> so inclined to learn more. I definitely do this when gaps in
>> employment require explanation.
>>
>> But right now, I am working with an online application with no place
>> to upload a supplemental document. There is just one place for a
>> resume, and in my cover letter, I want to focus on the job
>> qualifications rather than explain 8 months of unemployment. Normally,
>> I would submit my application and be done with it, but as I keep
>> submitting more and more unanswered applications, I am always
>> wondering what I could be doing better.
>>
>> Thoughts?
>>
>> If there is a short way to convey that I went to a great center and
>> learned great skills, what is it?
>>
>> I know that we could go on for volumes about whether blind people are
>> still discriminated against in the workplace, good job finding
>> strategies, etc. but I would appreciate if direct replies to this
>> message pertained to the question at hand and that emails regarding
>> other blindness and job related issues be introduced with another
>> subject line.
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> Cindy
>>
>>
>> --
>> Cynthia Bennett
>> B.A. Psychology, UNC Wilmington
>>
>> clb5590 at gmail.com
>> 828.989.5383
>>
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