[nfbwatlk] Job hunting

Sat Nov 8 00:36:03 UTC 2014

https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm99/bm990611.htm <https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm99/bm990611.htm>

> On Nov 7, 2014, at 4:21 PM, Mary ellen via nfbwatlk <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> I believe the correct title for that speech is "Competing on Terms of
> Equality."  It was delivered at a JOB seminar and was distributed widely to
> JOB applicants.  It appeared in the Kernel Book "The Freedom Bell."  The
> link is:
> https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/books/kernel1/thefreedombell.html#co
> mpeting
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbwatlk [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
> Nightingale, Noel via nfbwatlk
> Sent: Friday, November 07, 2014 1:16 PM
> To: Mike Freeman; NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Job hunting
> 
> Mike,
> 
> Will you send us the link to the Jernigan speech about employment?  I've
> never read it and it sounds like a good one, but when I went to the NFB
> site, it came up with thousands of search results.
> 
> Noel
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbwatlk [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Mike
> Freeman via nfbwatlk
> Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2014 8:55 AM
> To: 'debby phillips'; 'NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Job hunting
> 
> Debby:
> 
> This post is going to be in the nature of a bucket of cold water in the face
> or, put another way, a reality check.
> 
> First, why do you even *care* whether the class hand-outs etc. are
> accessible. After all, what you want is certification that you've been
> through the class. Just go, listen and get out of it what you can. If people
> don't discuss things and all they do is play with computers, consider that
> you have three hours more to sleep! There are plenty of good resources on
> the net to deal with the subjects of the class. All you're doing is showing
> that you've jumped through the hoops. If stuff isn't accessible, don't worry
> about it. Just take the hand-outs home and get them read if you're truly
> curious. And if Craig balks, I'd suggest having a heart-to-heart with him
> and asking if he truly cares whether you're happy or not and if yes, why is
> he so stubbornly reluctant to help you. After all, the world will *never* be
> totally accessible to you; Craig might as well get used to the fact that by
> marrying you, he has become (albeit vicariously) a member of a minority, the
> blind.
> 
> Moreover, have you talked to Colorado Center people? What would *they* say
> when you moped about waiting for people to make things accessible to you?
> I'd bet they'd tell you to be inventive and not to get into a twit over
> every minor frustration.
> 
> The Colorado Center has placed folks in call centers but they worked with
> said centers to make things accessible -- not always feasible when said
> centers work merely hiring temps. I know a few years ago, there was a push
> to get blind people to consider hiring as temp workers but technology wasn't
> as much a part of the job scene then.
> 
> And speaking of accessibility, when was the last time you saw a talking cash
> register in use? We are still a minority and, in my view, cannot always
> expect access tech to be installed by everyone just to give the blind a job.
> There are certain laws on the books that require accommodations in certain
> situations. But as we've all discovered, they are not truly enforceable.
> Example: there's no way that any court or ALJ would have forced Bonneville
> to shut down its computer power control center just because I couldn't
> remotely administer Windows Server 8R2 systems without installation of
> Remote JAWS and this would have violated security required following the
> 2003 northeast blackout.
> 
> Same would go, I imagine, for the Barns & Noble job although you might look
> at this one more closely -- schedule an informational interview to see what
> the job entails.
> 
> There have been plenty of blind insurance salespersons, claims reps and the
> like. Dr. Jernigan sold insurance at one time. I don't know how these jobs
> have changed as modern technology has taken over, though.
> 
> But the bottom line is that, like everyone else reentering the job market,
> you will have to acquire and demonstrate a marketable skill -- not such an
> easy thing at age sixty-one.
> 
> And we won't even talk about tacit and implicit age discrimination, despite
> the law.
> 
> Should you stop trying? Heavens no. But dial down the worrying by 98.275
> percent, please. Life ain't worth getting ulcers.
> 
> And look on the NFB site for an address Dr. Jernigan gave: My Experiences in
> Employment. It'll give you some idea of the attitude you'll need to have to
> cut it in the work world on a basis of equality. Even though he gave the
> address in 1980, much of it is still relevant.
> 
> As I say, this is not meant to criticize. It's just a pale of water in the
> face.
> 
> We're all pulling for you. And rest assured *I* couldn't get a job easily
> now without retraining even though I hold a B.A. and M.s.
> 
> Cheers!
> 
> Mike Freeman
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbwatlk [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of debby
> phillips via nfbwatlk
> Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 2014 10:52 PM
> To: nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nfbwatlk] Job hunting
> 
> Well, I just spent the evening looking at jobs.  I found a company that I'm
> going to contact, though I think their call center jobs are all temporary.
> The last one they posted was for people to help folks with the Affordable
> Care Act.  I wish I'd known about this job last winter.  I might have
> applied for it.  
> It would have only lasted four months, but it was a great call center job.
> 
> So okay, I have questions.  We talk about how blindness shouldn't get in the
> way of living the life we want.  So right now, I want to get a job and I
> pretty much don't care what I do.  My broad goal is customer service.  Boy,
> that includes everything from truck driver to selling cars at Camp
> Chevrolet.  Lol.  So here are a few jobs that I'm wondering if blind people
> have done, and how; cashier at a store; there also is a job for a book
> seller at Barnes and Noble.  I love books, and wonder if you all know of
> anyone who's done this kind of job.  Also, what about selling or working at
> an insurance company like State Farm? (They seem to be hiring like crazy
> around here for whatever reason).
> 
> Okay, next question.  I have to go to the Employment Service Division Office
> for a three-hour class on Monday.  (If I don't go, I could be denied
> unemployment benefits).  If I call them tomorrow and tell them that I'm
> blind and will need assistance, will I get it? I have a folder with my most
> current resume, and applications that I've done, which I'll take.  But Craig
> says that he doesn't think he should go with me, that they should give me
> stuff in an accessible format (which they won't).  The purpose of this class
> is to learn how to write resumes, I guess, and some other stuff.  Other then
> showing up to fulfill their requirement, is this going to be a waste of
> time? (I don't really have that many sighted friends here, so if Craig
> doesn't go with me and they can't or won't help me, is this just going to be
> a three hour time of frustration?
> 
> It irritates me that I already know that I'm going to walk in the door and
> they will all freak out because they won't know what to do about this blind
> lady who's going to come to their class.  I don't mean to sound whiny.  I
> probably do.  Sorry about that.  
> But any suggestions about how to approach this class and at least get
> something out of it, would be appreciated.
> 
> I guess I'd best go to bed.  After the elections, I'm afraid we're all going
> to find ourselves falling backward about 20 or 30 
> years.    Peace,    Debby
> 
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