Hello Katherine There is no easy answer, however a disability will come into play at times. Although I am blind and have interviewed several candidates for various positions I have never had a person with a vision impairment apply for any with may be one exception. In that specific circumstance the job required preparing and delivering presentations to various levels of managers and directors in the organisation. This person had no experience in using power point or any other tools to prepare and deliver presentations. Although that was not the entire job, it was a significant part of it. I had no say in the screening process, therefore I don't know how HR let the person get that far into the process. Talk about raising someone's expectations. As for all other positions, I will be honest and say that we often look for the best fit. By the time a candidate makes it to me, they have met the essential qualifications and most of the preferred ones. As for the technical skills usually when it is an entry level position or someone from one of the various student programs I am not too concern about what skills they bring. I can teach the technical stuff. What I cannot teach an employee is how to get along and interact with people. What I do is ask the candidates to show up at least half an hour before the interview. They then get a copy of the questions, because I am not there to trick them I want to learn what they know. I will talk to the people in reception to get their opinions on how the person was when coming in. And like it or not, we live in a visual world. For example, during one interview someone showed up in a 1960s style workout clothes, sweat pants and a sweat top, called a wind cheater in some cultures. Although we don't expect people to wear a suit and tie or business suits in the case of women, people expect that a candidate shows up looking like they are interested. No matter what this person said during the interview the sighted people on the board couldn't get passed the fact that they showed up looking like they got out of bed. Also during another one, the person made a huge error in grammar and spelling in their cover letter. People on the board couldn't overlook that error, because they felt the person didn't take the time to review what they submitted. If the job is technical I want to know how a person thinks when it comes to resolving a problem. This can involve a simple question like a person calls and tells you that they are not able to print. Often the simplest solution is the answer, no paper in the printer, the printer is not switched on etc. If the person jumps to something like deleting and recreating the queue, that tells volumes about their problem solving abilities and experience. As a blind person I have to work against stereotypes. I try to be as low maintenance as possible. I don't ask for accommodations just for the sake of having the latest and greatest in technology. If a screen reader is all I need I will not ask for a scanner and a Braille display. This requires knowing what I need to do to get the job done and what tools I need to get that job done. I work on my mobility. I learn how to get to and from the coffee room, washrooms, transit stops etc. In my personal experience the more independent I am the easier it is to have people help me when I need it. I found this is also true when travelling. It appears as if a person sees I am getting around on my own and ask a question there isn't a long term commitment on their part to offer assistance. An example of this is we have an extensive indoor network connecting a huge portion of downtown. If I get disoriented and ask for directions, I don't ask for help to get to my final destination. I ask for a point along the way that isn't too far out. This network can cover up to at least 16 city blocks and I use it extensively, especially in the winter. The bottom line is there is no easy answer. As for the vision impaired community the only thing I can offer is to be employment ready. Don't under estimate the value of personal grooming, make sure a person knows how to format Word or Email documents so they are visually appealing, take time to work on mobility etc. Vic -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Thursday, October 15, 2015 08:44 To: 'blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org' Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] question for the managers ... Hey all, Opinions would be great on this ... which is more powerful in hiring decisions in the IT community these days? (Especially in Massachusetts.) I have a college degree, though it's in English, so I highly doubt it was even considered when I got my helpdesk job here. Someone I know who has no college degree, no IT or industry certifications, and he's sitting here getting all the jobs he wants, while meanwhile, I know someone more talented, not to mention, better at what he does, who's been trying for years to get a job, he's got a certification, and not getting callbacks at all, even though he'd be more than qualified for what he's applying for. You think it's the blindness VS sighted battle again? Or do you think it's college VS no college education? (though correct me if I am mistaken, though aren't certifications nearly as powerful and authoritative as college degrees, especially when you've got someone like me working in IT with a college degree in an entirely different fie ld with zero certifications?) _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org https://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins