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

Arielle Silverman arielle71 at gmail.com
Wed Jul 17 23:27:59 UTC 2013


Totally agree. I definitely wouldn't bring up blindness on a resume or
application. Being ready to offer information about how you do things
during the interview is a great idea. Employers aren't supposed to ask
questions about disability, and if they have doubts, they may not get
those doubts resolved unless you as the applicant bring up the issue
and lay their doubts to rest.

I would apply for whatever jobs sound appropriate regardless of the
software used. I would reason that if the employer likes me enough,
they will figure out what accommodations are needed, either low-tech
or high-tech ones.
As I am starting to apply for long-term jobs myself, I have been
advised not to pass up any job just because I think I might not meet
the qualifications or might not be the perfect fit for that job. Let
the employer make that decision, rather than disqualifying yourself
for jobs by not applying. Of course, you should only apply for jobs
you would actually want to have.

Best of luck,
Arielle

On 7/17/13, Alexander Castillo <alexandera.castillo at gmail.com> wrote:
> 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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>
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