The issue of when to disclose your disability has come up from time to time on many lists that I am on. The conventional wisdom is to never disclose it and to wait until they see it for themselves at the interview. In my opinion, this is a mistake. I think you just end up going to a lot of interviews where you have no chance of getting the job. The last time I was looking for a job, I made a point of telling the employer that I am blind. I even attached a couple of pages of pictures of construction and woodworking projects I had done. I said in the cover letter that I knew that attaching that kind of thing was unusual but I wanted to demonstrate that I don't let my disability stop me from doing anything. My opinion is that to get a job, you need to find someone willing to take a chance on hiring a blind person. You and I may know there is a lot we can do but a typical manager is going to have a lot of reservations. You either have to be so good they will overlook your disability or you have to find someone who will take a chance on you. So I think playing up the "super blind guy" thing is legitimate. Let them find out later that blind people don't really have super spidey sense or whatever. Regarding explaining how you use a computer, I used to bring a laptop with a screen reader to job interviews. I actually diagnosed someone's network issues during a job interview that way. They were having periodic problems with their linux dhcp server. I plugged in my linux laptop, asked for a lease, and got an error message that it was out of leases. I figured it probably wasn't releasing leases when a machine is disconnected so I asked if rebooting the dhcp server tended to fix the problem. They said yes so I gave them my theory and how to fix it. They had a Windows tech guy there who didn't know how to manage the linuxmachine but he had made some change and that was probably what caused it. Of course, I'll never know if I was right but I didn't get that job. They sent me a letter saying they really needed a linux guy who could also create images for their web site. I think that's a mistake, of course. Anybody can do that. Finally, regarding where to find companies willing to hire a blind person, I recommend government agencies, especially colleges and universities. For one thing, the managers aren't so much responsible for the bottom line. Productivity is still important, even at a university buta manager at a university doesn't have to constantly worry about the profit margin. On 05/21/14 11:45, 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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