Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Questions about employment issues

Andrew and any other UK people, re giving people an oppertunity to ask questions about your disibility, how do you handle this? I was under the impression that this was against the DDA and whilst this doesn't overly bother me, I always assumed employers wouldn't want to ask questions because of this? Cheers, Ben. On 5/21/14, Mika Pyyhkala wrote:

We have had some good discussions about the state of the state, but I'm not sure what could be done about it? Other than to have a huge carot for companys that hire disabled people and a huge stick for those who don't.

Other than that it seems to just be luck.

I know both jobs I got out of college it was through knowing people. I also got an interview and a job offer at a large Boston financial institution and I got in the door there because my roommates mother was a vice president.

So they say knowing people, but it could be as simple as a friend or acquaintenance like a roommate or someone you meet on a train or plane.

Best, Mika

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John Heim Sent: Wednesday, May 21, 2014 5:00 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Questions about employment issues

Well, sure, an employer's main concern is whether you can do the job. But there are a lot of misconceptions on what a blind person can and cannot do. Some percentage of employers are going to assume, incorrectly, that a blind person can't manage a help desk, for example. It's impossible to say what percentage of employers that is but from what I've heard on this list and others, the percentage is substantial.

There have been studies that have shown that even something as innocent as having an African-American first name on your resume makes it less likely for you to be called for an interview. Other studies have shown that being over weight makes it far more difficult to get a job. So Being blind has to have some effect. Even something as simple as establishing a rapore with the interviewer is going to be harder for a blind person because it is harder to make eye contact and some people are just uncomfortable around the disabled.

On 05/21/14 15:07, Lee, Amanda wrote:

...

I have never disclosed that I was blind prior to an interview. I've even walked in off the street to a job fair held by a company seeking professionals and became employed by that company. Rarely wil you be rejected. As I said, their main concern is can you perform and can you do the job.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John Heim Sent: Wednesday, May 21, 2014 2:40 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Questions about employment issues

I suspect you can get more interviews by not disclosing that you are blind but I'm not sure that's a good thing. I went to an interview once and when the woman who was going to interview me saw that I was blind, she at first refused to go ahead with the interview. I talked her into it but it was clear from the start that I had no chance. It was just a big waste of time. I was glad I had taken the bus to the interview because if I had taken a cab, it would have been money thrown away for nothing.

On the other hand, getting hired is just so much BS. It's so much a random process. I worked for a company where the manager threw away any resume that wasn't printed with black ink on white paper. Send him a cream colored resume and it went immediately into the trash. But a manager will over look almost anything if they just like you enough. Maybe that works in favor of not disclosing that you are blind. Maybe you get that one interview and just happen to hit it off with the person doing the hiring. But I think you need to get them thinking of hiring a blind person in advance. Pique their interest.

Employers love initiative. I think the stuff we blind people do every day, like crossing streets, seems like a remarkable demonstration of initiative to your typical sighted person. My opinion is that you should play that stuff up. Not only is it fair, it's true. I think mostblind people have no idea how often sighted people slide by in life. They don't care about their jobs and they are not particularly good at them. But they show up every day and they get paid. It almost never works out like that for blind people. The truth is that the people on this list do have more guts and more initiative than the average worker. We wouldn't be here otherwise.

On 05/21/14 11:59, Andrew Hodgson wrote:

...

Hi,

I agree with you on point 1 and 2, however, I haven't really managed to successfully complete an interview solely on my own merit, as I knew people before coming into this current job, and haven't been able to find anything since. I always used to make a point of telling people about my visual impairment in a letter before as part of the application process, but found I got more interviews when I didn't do this. I also give people the opportunity to ask questions about my impairment.

Wishing you all the best, Andrew.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Scott Granados Sent: 21 May 2014 17:56 To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Questions about employment issues

Hi there, I think this is ok and on topic. I know it's been discussed before and there have been specific discussions and even groups formed to cover accessibility and it's impact on the work place.

To answer your questions, there are no clear cut answers but here's what my experience has been and what has worked for me. 1. I really don't disclose my vision status during the interview process until the in person happens and then obviously everyone figures it out really rapidly. By that point hopefully your resume stands for itself and that helps to ease the situation. In some cases recruiters who I have worked for before are familiar with my situation and may on their own prep the possible client of the situation ahead of time. This has worked out well for me and the issue can be dealt with in a way that the recruiter has experience with. (they know their customer)

2. As for the discussing how you work I like to give the client a chance to ask questions in this area. I volunteer this though since I'm not sure legally how much they can ask about your disability. I find by bringing it up during the interview process it eases concerns. Maybe bring your laptop with you and demonstrate a screen reader and how it helps you work etc.

3. Finding people open to working with a blind engineer is tricky. I don't know of a stock way of answering that. I'd say that geography place a part in this. Places like San Francisco or New England might be tending towards more integration than say Stillwater Oklahoma. This is of course a gross generalization though and you can find exceptions on either side. One thing I will say is the more work I successfully complete the easier this process gets. Now that I have over 20 years experience the clients tend to see this first and foremost and blindness is way down the list of things they worry about. I could be lucky though. I find though that searching for work in places where there are a concentrated amount of blind people can be easier. Not sure if that helps at all but that's been my experience.

Thanks Scott

On May 21, 2014, at 12:45 PM, Jad Wauthier wrote:

...

I sincerely apologize if this is an inappropriate topic for this list. Does anyone know of any resources like forums, other mailing lists, etc which deal with issues regarding blindness and employment in tech industries? I am a developer, and I have always found it difficult to find employment in spite of my ability to demonstrate my skill sets.

Some of the questions I am looking for answers to are:

1. When is the ideal time to disclose my visual limitations 2. How best to approach the topic of how I work 3. How to find tech companies that are comfortable working with people with a different approach to interfacing with their technologies

I realize that some questions don't have clear cut answers. I'm really looking for various view points and possibly something that might prove helpful in my current job search. I've had so many close calls. I would appreciate any insight anyone could offer. You can contact me directly if you feel comfortable doing so.

Thanks.

Jad

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