[Ohio-Talk] Employers, Job Seekers and Interested Participants

[Todd Elzey]

Good evening. When Vice President Turner sent out the email about the
NFBV's Washington Seminar I initially filed it away mentally as something
to promote to others. I really didn't consider this for myself because, as
many of you know, I work as a freelance writer and I run my own news
website. What you may not know is that at this point in my life, for a
number of reasons I would prefer not to return to the traditional workforce
unless I absolutely have to. So I was prepared to promote the job fair, but
not to sign up myself. Then I had a thought - I wondered if the NFB had
ever considered expanding the job fair to include promoting connecting
blind individuals interested in freelance/contract work to employers. So I
emailed the Chair of the NFB's employment committee to see if they would
consider this idea for future job fairs. The swift response I got back was
a bit of a shock. The Committee Chair emailed me that some of the employers
who come to our job fairs are in fact looking for freelancers/contractors,
not just traditional 9-5 employees. He also said that the NFB encourages
individuals looking for these types of opportunities to attend the job
fairs as they can be a good way to get a foot in the door for
freelance/contract opportunities. So I did indeed sign up and I encourage
anyone else out there who is looking for freelance/contract style work to
also sign up.

Finally, when I was signing up for the Washington Seminar I also came
across something else that doesn't always get mentioned in the promotions
for the job fair. One of the questions asked was if you consider yourself
underemployed and are looking for better opportunities. We know that
roughly 70% of the blind are unemployed, and while we don't put a statistic
to it, we also know that of those 30% who are employed, many are way
underemployed. If you find yourself in that category and would like to find
out if better opportunities are available, the NFB job fairs are also a
great opportunity to achieve that goal as well.

I hope this information is helpful, and I hope you will consider sharing it
with others who might benefit.

Todd Elzey

On Sun, Jan 16, 2022 at 1:55 PM Suzanne Turner via Ohio-Talk <
ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:

>
> Employers, Job Seeker, or Job Developer for the Blind: Register for 2022
> February 7 Career Fair
>
>
>
>
> Join the National Federation of the Blind at our Washington Seminar Career
> Fair on Monday, February 7, 2022, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. eastern time via
> Zoom. There is no charge for the fair. Registration is open now.
> Registration forms for each group are available at
> <
> https://nfb.org/programs-services/advocacy/washington-seminar/washington-se
> minar-career-fair
> <https://nfb.org/programs-services/advocacy/washington-seminar/washington-seminar-career-fair>
> >
>
> https://nfb.org/programs-services/advocacy/washington-seminar/washington-sem
> inar-career-fair
> <https://nfb.org/programs-services/advocacy/washington-seminar/washington-seminar-career-fair>
> .
>
>
>
> Registration opens on Wednesday, January 12 and closes on Tuesday, January
> 25, 2022, at 8:00 p.m. eastern. Nobody will be able to register after
> that.
>
>
>
> The National Federation of the Blind Employment Committee runs the career
> fairs and other employment activities during the year. It is our goal to
> bring employers who are interested in hiring blind people in contact with
> blind people who are looking for employment. We do seminars and other
> activities to help blind job seekers develop interviewing and other skills.
> We also recruit employers and answer their questions about hiring blind
> people.
>
>
>
> Our career fairs usually bring in around 100 to 200 blind job seekers,
> including some agency job developers who are looking for jobs for their
> blind clients. The number of employers ranges from twenty to forty-five.
> Employers will be seeking blind and low-vision persons with all levels of
> skills and experience. There will be full-time jobs, part-time and seasonal
> jobs, and internships. Post-COVID, an increasing number of jobs will
> involve
> remote work, but many will require onsite work, and some will require
> relocation.
>
>
>
> Each employer who attends our Washington Seminar Career Fair will get a
> Zoom
> room, which they can customize to meet their needs. The room is expandable,
> so they can have a waiting area in which job seekers can get general
> information about the organization and its career offerings, and breakout
> rooms in which recruiters can conduct screening interviews. Job seekers
> will
> enter the main room on a first come, first serve basis. If too many job
> seekers show up at one time, some may be asked to return later.
>
>
>
> Deafblind job seekers are encouraged to attend the career fair. Please
> arrange for interpreter services with your state rehab agency. Any
> deafblind
> person who has difficulties getting agency support should email or text
> Dick
> Davis or John Dubay well before the career fair. See their contact
> information at the end of this letter.
>
>
>
> We strongly encourage all job seekers to attend our seminars on January 17
> and 24. "Zoom Etiquette and Tools for Blind Job Seekers" will teach them
> technical and interviewing skills needed to interview for jobs in the Zoom
> environment. "Fearless Interviewing for Blind Job Seekers" will further
> build their self-confidence and interviewing skills. Attend our seminars -
> don't show up on February 7 wondering what to do!  If you need extra help,
> including help using Excel spreadsheets, contact us well in advance, and we
> will attempt to find someone to help you personally.
>
>
>
> Career Fair employers need to attend our "Employer Zoom Room Training"
> seminar. It will provide them with the skills they need to run their Zoom
> rooms, get their questions answered, and learn helpful hints on how to
> interview blind people. Employers need to have at least two persons to run
> their Zoom room: one with technical skills and one with recruiting skills.
> We cannot provide someone to run an employer's Zoom room, but will be able
> to help with problems employers encounter before the Career Fair.
>
>
>
>
> Seminar Dates and Times
>
>
>
>
> *       Monday, January 17, 7:00 to 8:15 PM eastern time, seminar: "Zoom
> Etiquette and Tools for Blind Job Seekers" via Zoom. Closed captions
> available. (see registration page for link).
> *       Monday, January 24, 7:00 to 8:15 PM eastern time, seminar:
> "Fearless
> Interviewing for Blind Job Seekers" via Zoom. Closed captions available.
> (see registration page for link).
> *       Monday, January 31, 3:00 to 4:15 PM eastern time, seminar:
> "Employer
> Zoom Room Training" via Zoom. Closes captions available. (link will be
> provided to registered employers).
>
>
>
>
> Career Fair Timeline
>
>
>
>
> *       Tuesday, January 25, 2022, 8 PM eastern time: End of registration.
> *       Wednesday, January 26, 2022
>
> *        Distribution of registered employer Excel spreadsheet to
> jobseekers
> and job developers.
>
> *        Distribution of registered job seeker and job developer Excel
> spreadsheets and jobseeker resumes to employers.
>
> *        Employers, job seekers, and job developers can contact each other
> and set up interview times at the career fair.
>
>
>
> *       Week of January 31, 2022
>
> *        Distribution of Zoom rooms to employers.
>
> *        Job seekers and job developers receive access links to employer
> Zoom rooms.
>
>
>
> *       February 7, 2022: Career Fair 11 AM to 1 PM ET.
>
>
>
> Registered individuals and organizations will receive additional
> information
> prior to the Career Fair. If you have questions in the meantime, please
> contact one of the following members of the Employment Committee. If
> emailing, please include your phone number in case we need to call you. We
> look forward to a successful career fair!
>
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
>
>
>
> Dick Davis, Chair
>
> NFB Employment Committee
>
> 612-719-0753
>
> dickblind at gmail.com <mailto:dickblind at gmail.com>
>
>
>
> John F. Dubay, Employer Liaison
>
> NFB Employment Committee
>
> 410-671-4850
>
> jdubay at leadsatscale.com <mailto:jdubay at leadsatscale.com>
>
>
>
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