[nabs-l] Disclosing That I am Blind on job/internship application process?

Fri Jul 24 17:17:19 UTC 2015

Hi, Miso and all,

I'm in a position where my field helps people who have disabilities.
I would be very selective in using this, but if I'm applying to work
in a school's special needs program I might say, "As someone who is
disabled I believe I will have a greater sense of empathy and
knowledge of disability issues than someone who does not have a
disability."  That could also lead into talk about role modeling and
the student feeling more comfortable discussing disability issues with
me than their non-disabled parents, teachers, friends, etc. However,
if I'm applying for a job in someplace like a hospital setting, where
disability is not the main thing, I would say the same but say, "As I
have been hospitalized as a child to undergo surgeries and other
treatments," instead of the disability bit.

I currently hold two jobs and am waiting to hear back from another
where blindness was a factor in my hiring process.  One sounds similar
to yours in that it is an accessibility tester for my school, and the
other is at a center for the blind in my hometown where I work the
phones at the front desk.  I have 2 separate resumes to use when
applying for one or the other kind of job; for jobs that don't want to
hear about blindness stuff I've got a very clean-cut resume, but for
jobs like this and the disability services office one I interviewed
for I have one that mentions the access technology I can use, the
braille codes I know, my experience working with others who have
disabilities, etc.

You also have to be careful on resumes with the scholarships; my
"clean" one doesn't mention the word blind at all, except for that I
volunteered at one place for the blind for a significant time under
music therapists and the center where I was a receptionist.  The other
one mentions it far more, including my NFB scholarships at the
national and state level, the camp I counsel for, etc.  Also on the
clean copy I use "visually impaired" when describing positions that
have me working with blind people.  Not that I'm a fan of doing that
in normal life, but in my field it is the politically correct
terminology and it isn't as jarring as saying blind.

On 7/24/15, Bryan Duarte via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> I would like to share my recent experience with this topic. I was recently
> contact by Google to explore my career opportunities with them in the
> Software Engineering field. They had a copy of my resume in hand already and
> I do not disclose that I am blind but I do make several references to my
> research focus areas, student organizations I am apart of, and my student
> clubs I operate. Each of these areas on my resume give insight to my focus
> on the blind and low vision community. I also make reference to the
> different tools I use and am proficient in including the screen readers I
> use and Braille display.
>
> Now during this initial contact I talked with the recruiter for about an
> hour before he eventually began telling me how the interview process would
> operate. I would be expected to use google hangouts to share my screen and
> google docs to share with an engineer so they could watch me write code
> collaboratively. This part was ok I still did not disclose my blindness.
> Next he explained that if I were to be moved to the next stage of the
> process they would be flying me out to Mountain View California for a series
> of follow up interviews with four more engineers where I would be expected
> to write code once again, but this time it would be writing it on a white
> board. For software engineers this is a common way of laying out code when
> working on teams so I was familiar with the possibility this would be asked
> of me. Now I had a decision to make here. I could disclose my blindness and
> give them the opportunity to make accommodations for me a head of time, or I
> could show up to the interview concealing my disability and potentially set
> myself up for failure. I continued to listen intently to how the process was
> going to work and when he asked me if I had any questions I took this
> opportunity to say, "Yes actually I do have a question and a few comments."
> I went on to explain that I have no problem using google hangouts and google
> docs to write code, but I did have a little issue with white boarding code.
> My exact words were something to the effect of, well you might notice my
> references to all the focus on blind accessibility and assistive technology,
> he replied yes, and I told him it is because I am a software engineer who
> has no problem developing software with the best of them but I do it as a
> blind person. As you might guess he was able to read between the lines when
> he reviewed my resume and already had a pretty good idea but as a good
> recruiter he was not going to ask the question unless I first brought it up.
>
>
> To sum this up I will be having an interview with Google engineers this
> August and if I should make it to the second stages of interviews they are
> well aware of my disability, my need for accommodations, and more than
> willing to make those necessary accommodations. I think we as people with a
> disability in a world that is becoming more and more aware of our presents
> and drive for equal and competitive employment it is in our favor to wait
> for the right time and place to disclose our disability in a way that makes
> it known we will be doing things differently but we can and will still be
> committed to the opportunity just as the rest of the people who interview. I
> hope this helps.
>
> Go Devils!
>
> Bryan Duarte
> ASU Software Engineering
> QwikEyes CEO
>
>> On Jul 24, 2015, at 8:57 AM, Justin Harford via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>> You could put blind related experience on your resume. For example, if you
>> served on the board of the Association of blind students at any level, you
>> could put that on your resume as part of your experience.
>>
>> This is if you were looking to disclose.
>>
>> Sent from my iPad
>>
>>> On Jul 24, 2015, at 6:00 AM, Suzanne Germano via nabs-l
>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> My opinion if you put in on a resume you make it look like maybe it is
>>> an
>>> issue. It is like at a career fair it would have been awkward for me to
>>> say
>>> Hi I am Suzanne I am looking for an internship and I am legally blind.
>>> What
>>> i did do was use my cane so they would know why I was squinting and
>>> holding
>>> paperwork to my nose.
>>>
>>> If it is just an inconvenience then why put it on a resume? just show up
>>> at
>>> the interview with your cane or dog.
>>>
>>> You resume should only speak to why you are a fit for the job. Now don't
>>> hide it for example if you received and NFB Scholarship then you add
>>> that
>>> under awards.
>>>
>>> Suzanne
>>>
>>> On Fri, Jul 24, 2015 at 7:38 AM, Carly  via nabs-l <
>>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Morning, Justin,
>>>>
>>>> If blindness remains like a party line insists, nothing more than a
>>>> what
>>>> do they call it,   mere inconvenience, then why aren't we encouraged to
>>>> be
>>>> forthright about this personal characteristic? Feels a little dishonest
>>>> to
>>>> me. Aren't we supposed to embrace this personal characteristic? For my
>>>> part, I love my blindness, want people whom mix with me also to regard
>>>> this
>>>> blindness in a positive light.
>>>> Car
>>>>
>>>>> disability of any sort.  However, some situations do benefit you to
>>>>> disclose
>>>>> such.  Usually, I wouldn't disclose until you have the interview for
>>>>> sure,
>>>>> and I wouldn't do that unless my disability was obvious upon sight.
>>>>> So,
>>>>> if
>>>>> you have a cane, dog, or something to indicate you have a disability,
>>>>> in
>>>>> other words, your disability is not hidden, telling the interviewer
>>>>> before
>>>>> you arrive lessens the shock value, and at least gives you a better
>>>>> chance
>>>>> of having an honest interview.  It also gives you the ability to
>>>>> better
>>>>> access whether or not the place in question is a good fit for you; you
>>>>> are
>>>>> interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you. Of course, you
>>>>> can
>>>>> just go to the interview not having told them anything if you think
>>>>> that
>>>>> is
>>>>> best, you are not required to disclose at all.  If you are in need of
>>>>> an
>>>>> accommodation during the interview application or interview process,
>>>>> then
>>>>> you have to disclose in order to receive the appropriate accommodation.
>>>>>  I
>>>>> hope this helps.
>>>>>
>>>>> Justin.
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Miso Kwak
>>>>> via
>>>>> nabs-l
>>>>> Sent: Friday, July 24, 2015 3:11 AM
>>>>> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>>>> Cc: Miso Kwak <kwakmiso at aol.com>
>>>>> Subject: [nabs-l] Disclosing That I am Blind on job/internship
>>>>> application
>>>>> process?
>>>>>
>>>>> Hello everyone,
>>>>> What are your thoughts about disclosing our blindness when applying to
>>>>> internships and/or jobs?
>>>>> I currently have a job (which is my first official job) so I have done
>>>>> it
>>>>> once, but I had an easy way.
>>>>> My blindness was a major factor in being hired because I work for
>>>>> making
>>>>> an
>>>>> accessible campus map for my university. I got recruited because I was
>>>>> a
>>>>> blind student who was active on campus, so I did not have to think
>>>>> about
>>>>> when and how to disclose my blindness.
>>>>> I am currently applying to different internships with hope of getting
>>>>> one
>>>>> to
>>>>> complete one of my minor requirements.
>>>>> So I am a bit confused and concerned on how I should handle disclosing
>>>>> that
>>>>> I am blind.
>>>>> Would you do it on case by case basis?
>>>>> For instance, if you were applying to an organization that mainly
>>>>> serves
>>>>> blind client, would you disclose that you are blind, whereas, if you
>>>>> were
>>>>> applying for a corporate internship or a baby sitting job, you would
>>>>> not?
>>>>> I'd just like to hear your thoughts on this matter.
>>>>> Thank you in advance.
>>>>> Miso Kwak
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
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>>>>>
>>>>>
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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-- 
Kaiti Shelton
University of Dayton-Music Therapy
President, Ohio Association of Blind Students 2013-Present
Secretary, The National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts
Division 2015-2016

"You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back!"