[Social-sciences-list] Job interview anxieties with social science professionals

[Alexander Castillo]

Hello Peter, so you're really concerned about not being able to
perform  on the job, and having to stumble and fumble your way through
your job duties after being hired. For most people, this is a
confidence issue.

Some people like to bring in some of their assistive tech to
interviews, for example, an iphone paired with a blue tooth keyboard
and headphones, to make the point that they are tech-smart.

Others simply list on their application that they have had experience
with online record keeping applications or databases, to make it clear
that again, they are competent at doing so and only an accommodation
might need to be made so that they can perform this part of the job.

Unless there is a list of non-accessible databases or record keeping
applications  out there, no one will really know what they will
encounter on the job. Some agencies or organizations do list the type
of software used, but these are rare occasions.

You can learn the application after you are on the job,  and they can
always accommodate you when possible but you wil not be given the job
if you bring up possible reasons as to why they might want to hire
someone else.

I'm sure you've considered focusing on solutions and not issues in the
past, and have been successful at this. It's tough to apply this when
on the job hunt and especially when disclosing or speaking about a
disability.  This is one solution that many people find helpful when
faced with a similar situationins. Instead of putting the focus on
questions they will ask the employer,  they create answers to the
questions of how they will perform, or how they will be able to do x,
y, or z responsibility... They also work in answers to the typical
interview questions which may include a reference to how they dealt
with a situation using some non-visual alternative.

Some blind professionals who seem to be overwhelmed by these and other
issues find themselves often lacking the confidence that they realize
is needed to succeed  in both personal and professional lives. One
solution to this is to attend a good blindness training center . for
those who have never done so, think of it as taking a   well-worth-and
deserved 6 to 9 month skills, confidence building and leadership
training opportunity.

Other times the issue is just a lack of experience in a new career setting.
And, this may be helped by only getting experience through volunteer
or paiy in that type of environment.

Thanks for reading, and of course, you are the experet on you...

Alex

On 7/17/13, Andrews, David B (DEED) <david.b.andrews at state.mn.us> wrote:
> You are putting the cart before the horse, it seems to me.  You are talking
> yourself out of jobs, and talking them out of hiring you before you get your
> foot in the door.  You need to get them to want to hire you first, then see
> if you can work out the access issues.  If you try and do the access issues
> first, you will never get a job.
>
> You need to have ideas about how you would solve certain problems, but
> unless it is a technical job, and/or you are very technical, the access
> issues will be solved by others.  The Air Force has people who work in the
> areas of accessibility and accommodations.  Make them do their jobs.  But
> first you have to make the Air Force want to hire you by showing them what
> you can do  for them
> !
>
>
> Dave
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Social-sciences-list [mailto:social-sciences-list-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On Behalf Of Peter Wolfe
> Sent: Wednesday, July 17, 2013 5:13 AM
> To: social-sciences-list at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [Social-sciences-list] Job interview anxieties with social science
> professionals
>
> Hey,
>
>
>     What questions do I ask in my job interview that pertain to my
> blindness? I'm asking cause lots of technology like software and websites
> aren't accessible to the blind. I don't know which jobs to go for and the
> ones to go for because of this anxiety that I'm having over it. This leads
> to my segway cause I'm always worried about databases being accessible or
> not. For example, I'm about to apply for a job with the Air Force that has a
> child abuse database but not sure its accessible or not. Thanks for whatever
> your thoughts are on this topic.
>
>
> Thanks,
> Peter
>
>
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