[nfb-talk] Some Job Questions...

Michael Hingson Mike at michaelhingson.com
Sat Nov 23 20:02:17 UTC 2013


Hi Kerri,

Knowing that you do not want to go into the food business can be a start.
Knowing what you do not want to do is helpful, but looking for positive
input will help you more.  What are you interested in?  What fascinates you?
Might you discuss this with people at LCB?

Knowing where you live may give some of us ideas of people you can contact.
If you have said this I missed it. 


Best,


Michael Hingson



-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-talk [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kerri
Kosten
Sent: Friday, November 22, 2013 08:46 PM
To: NFB Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Some Job Questions...

Hi Everyone:

Thanks so much for all your responses!
Maybe I should give a little more details about my situation.
I have had two years of college previously. Last January, I graduated from
LCB. The problem with me is I have a very hard time motivating myself. At
LCB I thrived because I was always pushed and was held accountable for
everything. But, since I've graduated I've really struggled with motivating
myself, with my self-esteem, my self-confidence, and thinking positively.
I am trying to turn my life around and so I figured I'd check the classified
ads in the newspaper every day and apply for jobs that seem like simple jobs
I could possibly do. I have also applied back to school. I figured if I were
to get one of these jobs I could just work for a while, and if none of these
jobs work out I could go back to school.
I don't exactly know what I want to do;I just know doing nothing is making
me miserable and depressed.
I don't necessarily want to go into the food/restaurant business. I just saw
the ad for Panerra Bread and the pretzel place.
If I contact my business enterprise cafeteria will that prepare me for a
temporary job like I am looking for or will they expect me to actually enter
the food/restaurant business as a career?
Thanks,
Kerri

On 11/22/13, Michael Bullis <bullis.michael at gmail.com> wrote:
> I think you're on the right track if you think about how to do a job 
> rather than how to get the job.  Because, once you're comfortable that 
> you can do it, you can more likely get it.
> So, go down to your local Business Enterprise cafeteria and ask them 
> to let you learn how to run the dishwasher and operate the cash 
> register.  Maybe at first you just start out with the dishwasher and 
> get comfortable with how it works and then where the dishes go, Etc.
> Then, you ask for more responsibility.  Along the way they may or may 
> not pay you.  But you shouldn't focus on that.  Just focus on learning 
> what a food service kitchen and operation is all about.
> I've owned several restaurants and started out in the Randolph-Shepard 
> (Business Enterprise) program.
> As far as making pretzels, try to read some things about how pretzels 
> are made and see if they help you see what's involved in doing it.  
> Then, go to a pretzel making place and ask them to show you how they make
them.
> If they do it by hand or machine it will be different, or, if they do 
> it Like Ben and I did it, like buying them frozen, that's different as
well.
> Most modern places make them themselves.
> The reason I would start out with business enterprise is that they're 
> going to be more comfortable with a blind guy.
> Even today, even having run several food operations for ten or fifteen 
> years, I'm not sure your average restaurant manager would be 
> comfortable with me wandering around in his kitchen.  The average 
> employer doesn't know what you can do and will be nervous about it.  
> If you are comfortable that you can do things, that helps grately.
> Cash registers in the average business don't talk, so, unless you get 
> very lucky, that's going to be a problem.  Although, I do hear some 
> talking registers now and then.  Otherwise, they're all digital and 
> not accessible without substantial modification that costs far more 
> money than a minimum wage employee is worth.  But, again, you have the 
> business enterprise program to learn at because they will have talking 
> cash registers, or, some very old cash registers that don't talk, but 
> also don't do much else, like tracking inventory as it is sold, or
processing credit cards.
> I'd be glad to talk with you more about this off line.  It's a very 
> doable thing you want to do, but, you'll have to know your strengths 
> and skills if you want the average restaurant or pretzel seller manager to
hire you.
> Mike Bullis
> Baltimore
> Bullis.michael at gmail.com
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfb-talk [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
> Prows, Bennett (HHS/OCR)
> Sent: Friday, November 22, 2013 1:46 PM
> To: NFB Talk Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Some Job Questions...
>
> Kerri and Listers,
>
> There are a lot of blind folks in the food industry. The "business 
> enterprises" programs in your state could probably answer some of your 
> questions. I don't know the ins and outs of running a food business, 
> but there are devices that will help a blind person function nicely at 
> a cash register, cooking, etc.
>
> Not knowing the pretzel making duties, I wouldn't' advise in any way, 
> but imagine that it isn't hard to use alternative techniques to make 
> them. I know, that the NFB of Oregon sold "hot soft pretzels" at an 
> October fest for several years, and that only required the microwaving 
> of the pretzels after preparing the frozen pretzel with proper amounts 
> of salt, etc. But that's about as much info as I have on the whole 
> subject. I'm sure there are others on the list that can and will 
> respond.
>
> If you are interested in food businesses, contact our Blind Merchants 
> Division for much more help than I have been.
>
> /s/
>
> Bennett Prows
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfb-talk [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kerri 
> Kosten
> Sent: Thursday, November 21, 2013 3:12 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list; Blind Talk 
> Mailing List; NFB Talk Mailing List; Ed McDonald
> Subject: [nfb-talk] Some Job Questions...
>
> Hi Everyone:
>
> I am considering applying for some jobs and had a few questions.
> Antians Pretzels (a pretzel place in the mall) is looking for "crew 
> members." I have been told this means someone to make the pretzels and 
> serve them to the customers, and someone to likely run the register 
> and take the pretzel orders.
> There is a restaurant called Panara Bread (a popular sandwich chain) 
> opening soon in my area and they are hiring for all positions.
> I am considering applying at these places.
> Is there any way a blind person can run a cash register?
> Is there actually anything I could do at these places as a blind 
> person or will they immediately look at my blindness and turn me away?
> I won't go into full details on a listserve, but I am trying to turn 
> my life around and one of the ways I thought I could do this was to 
> find a simple job that would give me confidence, something to do, and 
> to show me that I can in fact work.
> I'll admit, this is my first time applying for a job. If I apply, and 
> they ask me to come in for an interview, and they say something like 
> "So, what can you do?" if I'm not sure myself what I can do how do I
respond?
> In the past I've just made the excuse that because of my blindness 
> there is nothing I could do when looking for jobs and just given up 
> but if I want to turn things around I have to do something and 
> applying for jobs is one of the things I can think of to do.
> Thanks,
> Kerri
>
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