[nfbmi-talk] Fw: [acb-l] employment strategies and disclosure
Fred wurtzel
f.wurtzel at comcast.net
Wed Apr 6 05:53:15 UTC 2011
Well, I'm glad she's part ofanother outfit.
-----Original Message-----
From: nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of joe harcz Comcast
Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2011 12:59 AM
To: nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org
Cc: miadaptleaders at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [nfbmi-talk] Fw: [acb-l] employment strategies and disclosure
Dear All,
This is a self proclaimed bigot. Her services such as they might be should be boycotted.
----- Original Message -----
From: "J.Rayl" <thedogmom63 at frontier.com>
To: "Mitch Pomerantz" <mitch.pomerantz at earthlink.net>
Cc: "Acb List" <acb-l at acb.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 05, 2011 10:37 PM
Subject: Re: [acb-l] employment strategies and disclosure
> Well, I can guarantee you that, even though I am blind, were I
> interviewing for a position in my office, I'd be downright ticked off,
> and that is putting it mildly, if some blind person wasted my freaking
> time by applying for a job, then waltzing into my office without
> telling me she / he was also blind. And, I'll be danged if they'd get
> the pleasure of wasting much of it. First, I'd wonder just what else
> she / he was hiding.
> Second, most people just don't think its so cool to be surprised or
> embarrassed or downright humiliated--and that's exactly what it is.
> Yes, as a potential employer, I have the responsibility not to be
> discriminatory, and I'm not. Other people with disabilities have the
> responsibility to be halfway respectful and reasonable as well.
> And, I'll give you a perfect example. My office is not wheelchair
> accessible. So someone called whose husband uses a wheelchair. She
> didn't bother to ask if it was wheelchair accessible, and the
> appointment was for her, not him. So, she jumps out of her van and
> proceeds to bust in, running off at the mouth about filing a complaint
> against me. I asked whether she wanted information about Human Rights
> or my license Board, and for what reason. She informed me her husband
> wanted to come with her and my office was not WCA.
> I said, "Well, before you really file that complaint, you might want
> to reconsider. Had you asked, I would have told you that no, it is
> not; however, I make accommodations to people who need this in another
> place that is." Well, the wind blew straight out of her little sails.
> So it really doesn't pay to be quite so arogant sometimes.
>
>
> Jessie Rayl
> EM: thedogmom63 at frontier.com
> PH:304.671.9780
> www.facebook.com/eaglewings10
>
> "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they
> shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run, and not be
> weary"--Isaiah
> 40.31
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mitch Pomerantz" <mitch.pomerantz at earthlink.net>
> To: "'Jessi Rayl'" <thedogmom63 at frontier.com>; "'peter altschul'"
> <paltschul at centurytel.net>
> Cc: <acb-l at acb.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, April 05, 2011 7:22 PM
> Subject: RE: [acb-l] employment strategies and disclosure
>
>
> Jessie:
>
> I essentially agree with you and as my friend Peter has indicated, he
> and I have rather differing views on this issue.
>
> As someone who has conducted my share of interviews over the years, I
> can tell you firsthand that interviewers absolutely do not like surprises.
> That
> is why I mention my blindness prior to going in for the interview.
> That initial 30 seconds or one or two minutes (Andy is being generous,
> I think) where interviewers are making their initial assessment
> shouldn't be taken up with the interviewers' shock over having a blind
> candidate with a cane or guide dog in the office. And, as Andy has
> pointed out, pre-interview computer tests are quite prevalent; that's
> one way to obtain a writing sample that you know hasn't been doctored
> ahead of time.
>
> Because I've been involved in blindness and disability activities for
> as long as I have, my resume is chock full of mentions of ACB, CCB,
> and my time with the California Governor's Committee on Employment of
> Disabled Persons.
> Right now, if I were applying for another job, I'd list the fact that
> I've been appointed by the former Governor to serve on the California
> Commission on Disability Access.
>
> My bottom line in all of this is that 1. my time is too valuable to
> waste on an employer who can't be told upfront that I am blind; and 2.
> not telling that employer is more likely than not to result in the
> would-be employer attempting to get over his or her surprise at having
> to deal with one of us.
> Truly, I've never heard of someone getting a job where he or she
> overcame the interviewers' initial surprise. It's probably happened;
> but then again, if the blind candidate got the job, he or she may well
> have gotten it if they'd been upfront from the get-go.
>
>
> Mitch
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: acb-l-bounces at acb.org [mailto:acb-l-bounces at acb.org] On Behalf
> Of Jessi Rayl
> Sent: Tuesday, April 05, 2011 3:28 PM
> To: 'peter altschul'
> Cc: acb-l at acb.org
> Subject: Re: [acb-l] employment strategies and disclosure
>
> Hi. Well, I do a couple things here. First, I make my coverletter /
> resume about my work, my education and my abilities. It probably will
> not state, specifically, that I am totally blind, however I am
> associated with blindness-related things and will not leave these off
> nor will I go to any great lengths to hide that, or other, obvious
> give-aways to disability.
> Also, when obtaining that interview, I will, once I get it, let them
> know of this fact. There are several reasons: 1. I never, ever have
> anyone take me to an interview. If they do, they park well down the
> block and drop me off and I find my own way, which means I've got to
> get some pretty specific directions, but I get their on my own--even
> if it means the office staff have to tell me (no they do not come out
> to get me) how to get there.
> 2. Some interviews are now done via lunch meetings and the last thing
> I want to have happen is the same thing that happened to my blind
> friend who was adamant about not telling of her blindness. She
> waltzed in with her blindness, her dog and was suddenly confronted
> with a group of folks ready to get in cars to go to lunch. Well, she
> had no car, no driver and no way to get there. Guess what she didn't get?
> They rescheduled an interview, in an office, and she didn't get the job.
> So me? I would inquire about how and where the interviews are
> conducted, e.g., are they group, etc. The more info I, and they, have
> ahead of time, the better prepared we all are. And then, if I
> suspected I was not selected, I'd take action at that point. And I
> have, did, and got a job as a result of it too.
>
> Jessie
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: acb-l-bounces at acb.org [mailto:acb-l-bounces at acb.org] On Behalf
> Of peter altschul
> Sent: Tuesday, April 05, 2011 5:37 PM
> To: acb-l at acb.org
> Subject: Re: [acb-l] employment strategies and disclosure
>
> Hi:
>
> As I'm sure others have told you, disclosing is a very personal choice.
> For
> me, I usually find it most effective not to disclose until I actually
> show up for the interview. It's important to stress that my work has
> generally been in the for-profit and noprofit sectors only marhinally
> related to disability. I would disclose earlier for federal
> government jobs because of Schedule A considerations; also, for jobs
> in the disability sector. I wrote an article explaining my rationale
> for this; if anyone is interested, let me know and I will try to find
> it.
>
> BTW, I know our esteemed President disagrees with me on this.
>
> And one more thing: this issue may be less relevant because in many
> cases, an employer will Google your name and will be pretty sure that
> you have a disability based on the information there.
>
> Best, Peter
>
>
>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>>From: "Baracco, Andrew W" <Andrew.Baracco at va.gov
>>To: <acb-l at acb.org
>>Date sent: Tue, 5 Apr 2011 14:11:18 -0700
>>Subject: Re: [acb-l] employment strategies and disclosure
>
>>Job Fairs are very popular today. Dealing with job fairs is part
> of my job. I am either on the other side of the table, representing
> the VA as an employer, or I am there accompanying some of my clients.
> There are so many people there that having someone go with you
>
>>Would not be noticed, but your guide should stay in the
> background, and you should approach the table alone. You can have
> your guide assist you in filling out an app, if that is being done on the spot.
> As for disclosing blindness, usually it would not be a good idea to
> mention it on a resume unless perhaps you are applying to work at a
> blindness or disability services organization, like an independent
> living center, but it should be couched in functional terms, like the
> fact that you taught Braille, or something like that. I used to
> believe that you should never disclose it at all, but my thinking has
> changed a bit over the years. I think that a good time to disclose
> might be when you are contacted about arranging an interview.
> Sometimes as part of the interview process, there may be a test, or
> some kind of functional activity, such as a role play, or perhaps
> doing something with the computer, etc. When scheduling the
> interview, you might want to ask if there will be such an activity,
> and ask if you can bring someone to assist, or if they can provide
> someone to assist. Remember that many people have never interacted
> with a blind person before, and you don’t want to spend your
> interview time helping them to deal with the shock.
> One reason that my thinking has changed on this issue is because in
> 2005 we started a supported employment program for persons with severe
> mental illness. Many have issues that make it difficult for them to
> pursue employment without assistance and support. Many are good
> workers once they get acclimated to the job, but they cannot tolerate
> the stress that accompanies job seeking, and beginning a new job in a
> new place, with new people, etc. The employment specialist often must
> help to sell the employer on giving the person a try. To my surprise,
> we have found that employers are willing to take a chance when they
> know what the issues are, and, in this case, that they have a resource
> to consult if there are problems. If the employer knows that you are
> blind up front, there is the chance that they will balk, but if they
> don’t, you will have the opportunity to make the interview work in
> your favor rather than spending 15 minutes helping the interviewer to
> settle down. Remember that interviewers make judgments within the
> first minute or two, so you want to have the opportunity to use that
> time to sell yourself as an employee, not a disabled employee. I am
> often asked where there are jobs for disabled persons. I tell them
> that there are no jobs for disabled workers, just jobs for good workers.
>
>
>
>>Andy
>
>
>
>>From: acb-l-bounces at acb.org [mailto:acb-l-bounces at acb.org] On
> Behalf Of bookwormahb at earthlink.net
>>Sent: Tuesday, April 05, 2011 1:00 PM
>>To: Acb List
>>Subject: [acb-l] employment strategies and disclosure
>
>
>
>>Hi all,
>
>
>
>>I was wondering about your employment strategies over the years.
>
>>What worked for you? Networking? If so where? Did you join
> certain clubs or interest groups?
>
>>Did you go to job fairs with someone?
>
>>If so, how did you stand out in the crowd from other job seekers?
>
>>I’m intraverted so selling myself and speaking to the
> recruiters is hard.
>
>>I state my education and what I’m looking for and my
> background; but not sure if I stand out from others.
>
>>I go with someone sighted to these because they are very very
> crowded and I need to know where certain tables are.
>
>>Also, when in the employment search do you disclose your blind?
>
>>I do not do this initially on my cover letter or resume; except
> if its for the government.
>
>
>
>>Thanks.
>
>
>
>>Ashley
>
>>ûï¿
>
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