[nfbcs] University Engineering Career Fair: How to discuss my vision

[Tami Jarvis]

John,

I like this approach and way of looking at it. When I was legally blind 
but not using a cane much yet, I went that way, bringing it up myself 
with something positive about how I deal with it to do the job, etc. It 
occurred to me that while it is illegal for an interviewer to bring up 
the disability, it's not illegal for me to talk about it voluntarily. So 
learning to do that in a way that helps the other person feel 
comfortable with it can get you a long way.

Suzanne, in your situation, I guess it comes down to whether the 
recruiter of the moment has a more negative view of a druggie or sleep 
deprived irresponsible young person or of visual impairment. I found 
that with folks in general, you never know. You would think a 
professional recruiter would be more put off by someone who looks like a 
druggy or like they didn't bother to sleep before coming to see them, 
but who knows? It's not a comfortable choice. I tend to think that 
honesty is the best policy, and then you just hope for the best.

Don't know if that's helpful, but that's all I know. /grin/ Best of luck 
at the fair, and have fun!

Tami

On 09/29/2014 08:32 AM, John G. Heim via nfbcs wrote:
> I am not sure there is an answer to your question. If there is, I'd go
> with Tracey's suggestion of getting a white cane. Before I started using
> a cane, I did get kind of good, at least in my own mind, at bringing it
> up casually in job interviews. "I do have a bit of a vision problem."
>
> But what I really want to mention is that I strongly disagree with the
> HR people who told you not to mention it. I think that comes off as
> challenging the employer to not hire you because you're blind. To some
> degree, it depends on the size of the company and the level of
> professionalism of the recruiter. Some recruiters are going to know that
> the standard advice is to not  talk about your disability. But in most
> companies, where the boss does the hiring or at best, someone who got a
> degree in Art History is the HR person, not talking about your
> disability comes off as daring them to not hire you because you have a
> disability. They may already be uneasy about offending you and even
> worried about the legal ramifications of turning you down. By not
> mentioning it, you're just driving home the point that it's a taboo topic.
>
> This is all just my opinion, of course. But it comes from actually
> asking small business owners what they think when an applicant doesn't
> mention their disability. I mean, I have actually sat down with small
> business managers and discussed it with them. They don't care that you
> are not legally required to divulge that you have a disability or that
> you don't have to talk about it. I am sure that if these businessmen had
> their lawyers sitting right next to them, they'd have been told to shut
> up.  But if you can get them to be honest, that's what they will say.
>
> Hiring is all about who you like.  A manager will ignore just about
> anything on a resume if they like the candidate enough. Avoiding
> something as huge as a disability is no way to strike up a friendship
> with a recruiter. You have to *tell* them that your disability is not a
> thing. They are not going to spontaneously come to that conclusion on
> their own.
>
> In my opinion, the best thing to do is to get them to think they happen
> to be instinctively good at addressing  a person with a disability. The
> best thing is if you can get to the point where you can say something
> like,  "Wow, I am really impressed by how comfortable you are around my
> disability. A lot of people make such a big deal out of it." Admittedly,
> it can be difficult to get to that point. And you don't want to trigger
> their BS meter. But you'd be surprised how easy it is to convince most
> people that they are truly wonderful human beings. When you tell most
> people they seem unusually comfortable around  you, they'll  say
> something about having a second cousin once removed who wears really
> thick glasses so they are used to it.
>
>
>
>
> On 09/28/14 22:04, Suzanne Germano via nfbcs wrote:
>> Hi
>>
>> I will be attending the ASU Engineering Career Fair and the Grace Hopper
>> Celebrating Women in Computing Career Fair. I am looking for some insight
>> on whether or not to mention my visual disability.
>>
>> I am not ashamed or want to hide it but need to find the correct segue to
>> bring it up.
>>
>> I do not use a cane so the fact that I am legally blind is not obvious. I
>> do squint, as I am severely light sensitive, and wear red contacts. Also,
>> if I am looking at anything I am holding it very close to my face. I know
>> that people are aware and notice these things but tend to make incorrect
>> assumptions. Some of the things people have thought about me or others
>> who
>> are low vision that I know include being sleepy or up all night or on
>> drugs. I feel it is better to acknowledge my disability vs having them
>> make
>> assumptions.
>>
>> I was hoping to casually find a way to include it in my introduction (30
>> second speech).
>>
>> I consulted with someone at ASU who was reviewing my resume and she asked
>> two HR recruiters and they said absolutely do not mention it in
>> conversation or indicate it on my resume.
>>
>> I believe my resume and 4.0 GPA should show the person at the career fair
>> that my disability does not have a negative affect on my ability in
>> computer science.
>>
>> What are your thoughts?
>>
>> Thank You
>> Suzanne
>> _______________________________________________
>> nfbcs mailing list
>> nfbcs at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbcs_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> nfbcs:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbcs_nfbnet.org/jheim%40math.wisc.edu
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nfbcs mailing list
> nfbcs at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbcs_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nfbcs:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbcs_nfbnet.org/tami%40poodlemutt.com
>