[nabs-l] Disclosing That I am Blind on job/internship application process?

Fri Jul 24 22:54:34 UTC 2015

Afternoon, Justin,

         The hell it doesn't!
I am proud of my occular seers not existing furthermore,
i think that people-first construct is a wholotta bullshit 
myself..-----Original Message-----
>From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kaiti Shelton
>via nabs-l
>Sent: Friday, July 24, 2015 1:17 PM
>To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>Cc: Kaiti Shelton <crazy4clarinet104 at gmail.com>
>Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Disclosing That I am Blind on job/internship
>application process?
>
>Hi, Miso and all,
>
>I'm in a position where my field helps people who have disabilities.
>I would be very selective in using this, but if I'm applying to work in a
>school's special needs program I might say, "As someone who is disabled I
>believe I will have a greater sense of empathy and knowledge of disability
>issues than someone who does not have a disability."  That could also lead
>into talk about role modeling and the student feeling more comfortable
>discussing disability issues with me than their non-disabled parents,
>teachers, friends, etc. However, if I'm applying for a job in someplace like
>a hospital setting, where disability is not the main thing, I would say the
>same but say, "As I have been hospitalized as a child to undergo surgeries
>and other treatments," instead of the disability bit.
>
>I currently hold two jobs and am waiting to hear back from another where
>blindness was a factor in my hiring process.  One sounds similar to yours in
>that it is an accessibility tester for my school, and the other is at a
>center for the blind in my hometown where I work the phones at the front
>desk.  I have 2 separate resumes to use when applying for one or the other
>kind of job; for jobs that don't want to hear about blindness stuff I've got
>a very clean-cut resume, but for jobs like this and the disability services
>office one I interviewed for I have one that mentions the access technology
>I can use, the braille codes I know, my experience working with others who
>have disabilities, etc.
>
>You also have to be careful on resumes with the scholarships; my "clean" one
>doesn't mention the word blind at all, except for that I volunteered at one
>place for the blind for a significant time under music therapists and the
>center where I was a receptionist.  The other one mentions it far more,
>including my NFB scholarships at the national and state level, the camp I
>counsel for, etc.  Also on the clean copy I use "visually impaired" when
>describing positions that have me working with blind people.  Not that I'm a
>fan of doing that in normal life, but in my field it is the politically
>correct terminology and it isn't as jarring as saying blind.
>
>On 7/24/15, Bryan Duarte via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> > I would like to share my recent experience with this topic. I was
> > recently contact by Google to explore my career opportunities with
> > them in the Software Engineering field. They had a copy of my resume
> > in hand already and I do not disclose that I am blind but I do make
> > several references to my research focus areas, student organizations I
> > am apart of, and my student clubs I operate. Each of these areas on my
> > resume give insight to my focus on the blind and low vision community.
> > I also make reference to the different tools I use and am proficient
> > in including the screen readers I use and Braille display.
> >
> > Now during this initial contact I talked with the recruiter for about
> > an hour before he eventually began telling me how the interview
> > process would operate. I would be expected to use google hangouts to
> > share my screen and google docs to share with an engineer so they
> > could watch me write code collaboratively. This part was ok I still did
>not disclose my blindness.
> > Next he explained that if I were to be moved to the next stage of the
> > process they would be flying me out to Mountain View California for a
> > series of follow up interviews with four more engineers where I would
> > be expected to write code once again, but this time it would be
> > writing it on a white board. For software engineers this is a common
> > way of laying out code when working on teams so I was familiar with
> > the possibility this would be asked of me. Now I had a decision to
> > make here. I could disclose my blindness and give them the opportunity
> > to make accommodations for me a head of time, or I could show up to
> > the interview concealing my disability and potentially set myself up
> > for failure. I continued to listen intently to how the process was
> > going to work and when he asked me if I had any questions I took this
>opportunity to say, "Yes actually I do have a question and a few comments."
> > I went on to explain that I have no problem using google hangouts and
> > google docs to write code, but I did have a little issue with white
>boarding code.
> > My exact words were something to the effect of, well you might notice
> > my references to all the focus on blind accessibility and assistive
> > technology, he replied yes, and I told him it is because I am a
> > software engineer who has no problem developing software with the best
> > of them but I do it as a blind person. As you might guess he was able
> > to read between the lines when he reviewed my resume and already had a
> > pretty good idea but as a good recruiter he was not going to ask the
>question unless I first brought it up.
> >
> >
> > To sum this up I will be having an interview with Google engineers
> > this August and if I should make it to the second stages of interviews
> > they are well aware of my disability, my need for accommodations, and
> > more than willing to make those necessary accommodations. I think we
> > as people with a disability in a world that is becoming more and more
> > aware of our presents and drive for equal and competitive employment
> > it is in our favor to wait for the right time and place to disclose
> > our disability in a way that makes it known we will be doing things
> > differently but we can and will still be committed to the opportunity
> > just as the rest of the people who interview. I hope this helps.
> >
> > Go Devils!
> >
> > Bryan Duarte
> > ASU Software Engineering
> > QwikEyes CEO
> >
> >> On Jul 24, 2015, at 8:57 AM, Justin Harford via nabs-l
> >> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >> You could put blind related experience on your resume. For example,
> >> if you served on the board of the Association of blind students at
> >> any level, you could put that on your resume as part of your experience.
> >>
> >> This is if you were looking to disclose.
> >>
> >> Sent from my iPad
> >>
> >>> On Jul 24, 2015, at 6:00 AM, Suzanne Germano via nabs-l
> >>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> My opinion if you put in on a resume you make it look like maybe it
> >>> is an issue. It is like at a career fair it would have been awkward
> >>> for me to say Hi I am Suzanne I am looking for an internship and I
> >>> am legally blind.
> >>> What
> >>> i did do was use my cane so they would know why I was squinting and
> >>> holding paperwork to my nose.
> >>>
> >>> If it is just an inconvenience then why put it on a resume? just
> >>> show up at the interview with your cane or dog.
> >>>
> >>> You resume should only speak to why you are a fit for the job. Now
> >>> don't hide it for example if you received and NFB Scholarship then
> >>> you add that under awards.
> >>>
> >>> Suzanne
> >>>
> >>> On Fri, Jul 24, 2015 at 7:38 AM, Carly  via nabs-l <
> >>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> Morning, Justin,
> >>>>
> >>>> If blindness remains like a party line insists, nothing more than a
> >>>> what
> >>>> do they call it,   mere inconvenience, then why aren't we encouraged to
> >>>> be
> >>>> forthright about this personal characteristic? Feels a little
> >>>> dishonest to me. Aren't we supposed to embrace this personal
> >>>> characteristic? For my part, I love my blindness, want people whom
> >>>> mix with me also to regard this blindness in a positive light.
> >>>> Car
> >>>>
> >>>>> disability of any sort.  However, some situations do benefit you
> >>>>> to disclose such.  Usually, I wouldn't disclose until you have the
> >>>>> interview for sure, and I wouldn't do that unless my disability
> >>>>> was obvious upon sight.
> >>>>> So,
> >>>>> if
> >>>>> you have a cane, dog, or something to indicate you have a
> >>>>> disability, in other words, your disability is not hidden, telling
> >>>>> the interviewer before you arrive lessens the shock value, and at
> >>>>> least gives you a better chance of having an honest interview.  It
> >>>>> also gives you the ability to better access whether or not the
> >>>>> place in question is a good fit for you; you are interviewing them
> >>>>> as much as they are interviewing you. Of course, you can just go
> >>>>> to the interview not having told them anything if you think that
> >>>>> is best, you are not required to disclose at all.  If you are in
> >>>>> need of an accommodation during the interview application or
> >>>>> interview process, then you have to disclose in order to receive
> >>>>> the appropriate accommodation.
> >>>>>  I
> >>>>> hope this helps.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Justin.
> >>>>> -----Original Message-----
> >>>>> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Miso
> >>>>> Kwak via nabs-l
> >>>>> Sent: Friday, July 24, 2015 3:11 AM
> >>>>> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> >>>>> Cc: Miso Kwak <kwakmiso at aol.com>
> >>>>> Subject: [nabs-l] Disclosing That I am Blind on job/internship
> >>>>> application process?
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Hello everyone,
> >>>>> What are your thoughts about disclosing our blindness when
> >>>>> applying to internships and/or jobs?
> >>>>> I currently have a job (which is my first official job) so I have
> >>>>> done it once, but I had an easy way.
> >>>>> My blindness was a major factor in being hired because I work for
> >>>>> making an accessible campus map for my university. I got recruited
> >>>>> because I was a blind student who was active on campus, so I did
> >>>>> not have to think about when and how to disclose my blindness.
> >>>>> I am currently applying to different internships with hope of
> >>>>> getting one to complete one of my minor requirements.
> >>>>> So I am a bit confused and concerned on how I should handle
> >>>>> disclosing that I am blind.
> >>>>> Would you do it on case by case basis?
> >>>>> For instance, if you were applying to an organization that mainly
> >>>>> serves blind client, would you disclose that you are blind,
> >>>>> whereas, if you were applying for a corporate internship or a baby
> >>>>> sitting job, you would not?
> >>>>> I'd just like to hear your thoughts on this matter.
> >>>>> Thank you in advance.
> >>>>> Miso Kwak
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
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> >>>>>
> >>>>>
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> >>>>
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>
>--
>Kaiti Shelton
>University of Dayton-Music Therapy
>President, Ohio Association of Blind Students 2013-Present Secretary, The
>National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts Division 2015-2016
>
>"You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back!"
>
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