[NFBCS] How/when is it a good time to disclose

[Ida B]

On Fri, Apr 24, 2020 at 2:31 PM Tracy Carcione via NFBCS <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
wrote:

> If anyone is Hi Tracy,


> I would be more than happy to take you up on the offer for the braille
> books!


> Feel free to email me At behreini.ida at gmail.com


> Thank you interested, I have a braille copy of Take Charge I'd be happy

to pass along to anyone who wants it.  I think it's maybe 4 soft-cover
> volumes.
>
> There are Accomodations and accomodations.  I may own my own copy of Jaws,
> but I need someone with admin privileges to install it on a company laptop.
> That kind of thing.
> Tracy
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NFBCS [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Brian Buhrow
> via
> NFBCS
> Sent: Friday, April 24, 2020 2:15 PM
> To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List
> Cc: Brian Buhrow
> Subject: Re: [NFBCS] How/when is it a good time to disclose
>
>         hello.  In my experience, it has worked best to disclose when I
> show
> up for the in-person interview.  If I am in the employer's presence, I can
> manage their fears and expectations in real time.  Plus, my  presence and
> confidence in getting to the interview, navigating around the building, and
> answering their questions helps set the tone as well.  Disclosing during
> the application phase of the process rarely goes well for me.  A couple of
> years ago I applied for a series of jobs which I was very qualified for.
> In a fit of madness, I opted to tick the box that said disabled, since it
> said I would receive preferencial consideration.  It was a complete
> disaster and lead to a series of administrative arguments in which I had to
> prove my disability and, while I may have received preferencial
> consideration at some level, it took so long to sort out the administrative
> issues, and the jobs had to be filled in a timely manner, that the effect
> was a complete lack of consideration for the positions at all.  I can't
> prove it of course, but I'm certain that if I'd applied without special
> disability processing, I would have received interview requests and serious
> consideration for the positions.
>         And, just for the record, this mirrored experiences I had while I
> was
> still inc ollege.  If I disclosed too early in the process, I inevitably
> got dropped from the consideration list.  Yes, the ADA is an older law now
> and its provisions are more defined, but people are still people and
> they're afraid of what they don't know and understand.  If you, as the
> blind person, aren't there to help them understand you and how your
> blindness does or doesn't affect the job you're doing, they will have
> questions, won't know answers, won't feel comfortable in asking you when
> you're not in the room and thus won't consider you for the job.
>         As to accommodations, my feeling is that you should do all you can
> to
> minimize any and all accommodation requests at the beginning of any job.
> Your
> disability is not your employer's problem.  When you ask for
> accommodations, you're costing the employer money they might not have to
> spend on another employee in your position.  Thus, the calculus is
> something like the following: if I ask my employer to make this or that
> accommodation, what is the cost of that versus the value I bring to the
> job?  When you're a new employee, your value is an unknown quantity to the
> employer, so, at least in the beginning, you should assume that value is 0.
> After you're employed at the job for a while and your reputation is
> established, then you can start to trade on that value for accommodations,
> though you should always keep the calculus above in mind.
>         this is why, in my positions, I've always tried to make sure that
> any
> specialized equipment and software I use on the job belongs to me, and not
> the employer.  that equipment and software will be useful to me  regardless
> of the job I'm doing and I'm not asking the employer to lay out large sums
> of money up front to gain my employment.  In any case, that's a different
> discussion entirely.
>         I'm not sure if it's still on the National Braille Press catalog,
> but
> if it is, I highly suggest you read a book called Take Charge, by Rami
> Rabi, which discusses the issue of disability disclosure and when to do it
> at length.  The book is a bit dated, but the issues he discusses and the
> reasoning behind his thinking is still very much relevant today.  Rami was
> a totally blind man who spent years working to become an officer in the US
> State Department's foreign service office.  His trials and tribulations
> regarding that process are reflected in the writings of Take Charge, as
> well as many articles in the Braille Monitor from the mid 1980's through
> the early 1990's.
>         I understand and appreciate that in this age of video interviews
> and
> on-line resumes and referrals, it's not always possible to delay disclosure
> until the in-person interview, but that doesn't mean you can't work to
> manage the fear and anxiety on the part of the employer.  In fact, it means
> you hav to work even harder, which means you really want to think about
> what you say and what you ask for during the application process.  And,
> remember, people are still people, and, ultimately, what they want to know
> is how to work with you and how you'll work with them.  If you can do that
> in a positive manner, you'll have much better outcomes when it comes to job
> interviews.
>
> Good luck with the hiring process and let us know when you get the job!
>
> -Brian
>
>
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