The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy. Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job. That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff. Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence. On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness

du

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Hi, If it's any consolation, you would most likely not have learnt anything about administration in CS. The closest I came was a networking module but it was very generic stuff - the OSI model, TCP, IP, UDP, crypto etc etc. Good things to know about for sure, but you can't set up a domain controlor if all you've been taught is the difference between a switch and a hub. Cheers, Ben. On 11/1/13, Katherine Moss wrote:

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness

du

...

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

I don't think we should go overboard here and say a CS degree isn't helpful. Different schools teach different things in ther CS programs. My department once hired someone with a CS degree from another university and I was shocked at how little he knew about the basics of how computers work. I use the stuff I learned while getting my CS degree practically every day and I got my degree 30 years ago. I do linux systems admin for the Math Department at the University of Wisconsin and I couldn't do this job without understanding concepts like structured programming, virtual memory, network routing, parallel processing, and lots of other things. I don't think a CS degree is necessary for most jobs. But it does look good on a resume. Plus it is absolutely necessary for some jobs. On 11/01/2013 04:10 PM, Ben Mustill-Rose wrote:

Hi,

If it's any consolation, you would most likely not have learnt anything about administration in CS. The closest I came was a networking module but it was very generic stuff - the OSI model, TCP, IP, UDP, crypto etc etc. Good things to know about for sure, but you can't set up a domain controlor if all you've been taught is the difference between a switch and a hub.

Cheers, Ben.

On 11/1/13, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness

du

...

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Well, there are two seperate issues here. One involves your technical qualifications and the other is overcoming prejudices against your blindness. I was just saying that I think you are doing the right thing by being open about your blindness. There are different opinions about that, you know. I'm with you though. I take it a step further and include stuff about my hobbies to show that even though I'm blind, I'm not disabled. I agree that you don't want a two page resume at this point in your career. That's reserved for big shots. President Obama can have a 2 page resume. You can't. But including pictures of your home improvement projects or an article written about you in a newspaper doesn't count. They don't have to read that stuff. You hope it makes an impression but you don't want to waste their time. Regarding your technical qualifications, not having a degree in an technical field is a drawback. Employers often get so many resumes that they look for any reason at all to eliminate as many as they can. And not having a degree in an IT field is one easy way. I think you will do a lot better once you get the networking degree. If it were me doing the hiring, a BS in English and an associate degree in networking would be fine. I wouldn't give that a second thought. You might even be able to turn the English degree to your favor by playing up your communications skills. Communications skills can be a big problem for many IT professionals. I don't know if you can do this but The day before the interview, I used to email or call and tell the employer that I have some stuff I'd like them to look at. I'd send them links to systems I'd configured or programmed. I'd even let potential employers log into my linux machine at home. Again, I don't think you can hit them with too much stuff before the interview. I think you can easily make a pest out of yourself after the interview but not before. I would not call the employer after the interview. You can send a thank you note but I've never heard anyone even consider that when deciding on a new hire. But I'd hit them with everything I had before the interview. You want to go into the interview with them already thinking you are one of those hyper-competent blind people they are always hearing about on TV. The problem is that it is difficult for even sighted people to get jobs these days. The employer may be interviewing fifteen or twenty people for that job. How are you going to make yourself stand out above all those others? If you are blind, not only do you have to overcome any minor flaws in your resume, you have to overcome being blind. There is no magic formula that is going to make that easy. You just have to do your best and hope to stumble upon the one person willing to give you a chance. There is really nothing to do but keep trying.

-----Original Message-----

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access software is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very contravercial, but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy. Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job. That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff. Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence. On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness

du

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

I think you are underestimating how reluctant many people are to hire a blind person, Brian. I think a lot of people would *like* to hire a blind person but they don't think they can take a chance. Employers are worried about whether you can do your job and it's up to you, as the applicant, to convince them that they needent worry. Maybe your qualifications are so outstanding that you don't have to worry about that. But if you, as a blind person, go up against another applicant with pretty much the same qualifications, why would any employer take the risk of hiring the blind person? Even if they don't say anything, they are going to be wondering how you're going to get to work in an emergency, how you're going to read the department memos, whether you're going to sue them if it doesn't work out. I think you've got to convince them to take a chance on you. I just don't think it is realistic to go into a job interview acting as if your blindness is not an issue. It is. It's up to you as the applicant to convince the employer that it doesn't matter because very few employers will come to that conclusion on their own. On 11/01/2013 07:46 PM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access so ftware is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very contravercial , but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness

du

...

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

The last time I tried to do that, my Dell Latitude E6530 laptop had an issue right in the middle of a screen reader demo. I mean, I never planned for that, but I was told that the job description didn't meet my qualifications anyway. The question I still have to this day though is, was it my qualifications or lack thereof, or was it my blindness they had a problem with? -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 9:56 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist I think you are underestimating how reluctant many people are to hire a blind person, Brian. I think a lot of people would *like* to hire a blind person but they don't think they can take a chance. Employers are worried about whether you can do your job and it's up to you, as the applicant, to convince them that they needent worry. Maybe your qualifications are so outstanding that you don't have to worry about that. But if you, as a blind person, go up against another applicant with pretty much the same qualifications, why would any employer take the risk of hiring the blind person? Even if they don't say anything, they are going to be wondering how you're going to get to work in an emergency, how you're going to read the department memos, whether you're going to sue them if it doesn't work out. I think you've got to convince them to take a chance on you. I just don't think it is realistic to go into a job interview acting as if your blindness is not an issue. It is. It's up to you as the applicant to convince the employer that it doesn't matter because very few employers will come to that conclusion on their own. On 11/01/2013 07:46 PM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access so ftware is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very contravercial , but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness

du

...

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Why would it be overwhelming to get a resume with a couple of pages of pictures attached? I am quite sensitive to the idea of being a pest when applying for a job. I don't think applicants should call the employer after the interview as many people suggest. I don't even think a thank you note mis necessary. But of all the hiring committees I have been on, I've never heard anyone complain about receiving extra material from an applicant. Seriously, I don't see how it can possibly hurt. On 11/01/2013 09:25 PM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

Hi John: Sorry for the confusion. I'm not saying you should just leave blindness aside. You're blind, end of story. That will present some additional challenges. End of story. Of course the employers are worried about all of the things you mentioned, and can you completely blame them? We've all had sighted people ask us stupid questions I'm sure, but on the other hand, a lot of honest, just curious questions too. It's a visual world, and we're not visual. So, absolutely blindness needs to be a part of the interview process. I think sending in extra articles, etc. before even going on the interview is a little overwhelming though. Again, I recommend going to the interview, fitting in as much as you can, but don't have the blindness. At the end the interviewer will ask if you have any questions. Say something like "Do you have any concerns about hiring a blind employee?" Just be up front about it. How will you get to work in the event of an emergency? Tell them. How will you read the company memos? Tell them. Be honest. Its really all you can be. Sending pictures of home improvement projects in might impress the employer that you can function as well as a sighted person, but its not going to show them how you'll do that job in that company that you're interviewing for. If you have a laptop with a screen reader, perhaps offer to show them the screen reader. I've had mixed results with that, the company that hired me didn't want to see it then and there but they did later. I've had others that want to see it right away. Just be yourself, don't hide your blindness, but don't make it a big de al either. If anything, keep the conversation casual, use some self-deprecating humor, if you show the interviewer that you're comfortable talking about it, they'll be more likely to open up with any concerns and you can go from there. If that doesn't work, showing them wonderful things you've done probably won't either. That's just my $.02, who knows. One final thought, is a company that's so up tight to hire a blind person even after you've been casual about it, been very open and engaging with them a place you really want to work anyway? Having fears and concerns is one thing, but being so closed mouthed and politically correct about it that you're scared of stepping on toes does not lead to a good harmonious environment. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 7:56 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

I think you are underestimating how reluctant many people are to hire a blind person, Brian. I think a lot of people would *like* to hire a blind person but they don't think they can take a chance. Employers are worried about whether you can do your job and it's up to you, as the applicant, to convince them that they needent worry.

Maybe your qualifications are so outstanding that you don't have to worry about that. But if you, as a blind person, go up against another applicant with pretty much the same qualifications, why would any employer take the risk of hiring the blind person? Even if they don't say anything, they are going to be wondering how you're going to get to work in an emergency, how you're going to read the department memos, whether you're going to sue them if it doesn't work out. I think you've got to convince them to take a chance on you.

I just don't think it is realistic to go into a job interview acting as if your blindness is not an issue. It is. It's up to you as the applicant to convince the employer that it doesn't matter because very few employers will come to that conclusion on their own.

On 11/01/2013 07:46 PM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

...

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access so ftware is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very contraverci al , but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administrati on and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness du ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

---

Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

OK, put yourself in the employer's shoes. They have several hundred resumes to go through, in adition to their normal work. One resume has these extra pictures and things attached to it that, at a glance, have nothing to do with the job. If anything, that might make you a less likely candidate because you're making the employer go through more work and wade through more stuff, when they have a bunch of others out there who have gotten to the point. Following up after an interview is different in that at that point, the employer has talked to you, they know who you are, and they have a working relationship at some level. A quick thank you or follow up is different at that point because it shows continuing interest, and at this point it does start setting you aside. That simple. Ryan -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 8:44 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist Why would it be overwhelming to get a resume with a couple of pages of pictures attached? I am quite sensitive to the idea of being a pest when applying for a job. I don't think applicants should call the employer after the interview as many people suggest. I don't even think a thank you note mis necessary. But of all the hiring committees I have been on, I've never heard anyone complain about receiving extra material from an applicant. Seriously, I don't see how it can possibly hurt. On 11/01/2013 09:25 PM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

Hi John: Sorry for the confusion. I'm not saying you should just leave blindness aside. You're blind, end of story. That will present some additional challenges. End of story. Of course the employers are worried about all of the things you mentioned, and can you completely blame them? We've all had sighted people ask us stupid questions I'm sure, but on the other hand, a lot of honest, just curious questions too. It's a visual world, and we're not visual. So, absolutely blindness needs to be a part of the interview process. I think sending in extra articles, etc. before even going on the interview is a little overwhelming though. Again, I recommend going to the interview, fitting in as much as you can, but don't have the blindness. At the end the interviewer will ask if you have any questions. Say something like "Do you have any concerns about hiring a blind employee?" Just be up front about it. How will you get to work in the event of an emergency? Tell them. How will you read the company memos? Tell them. Be honest. Its really all you can be. Sending pictures of home improvement projects in might impress the employer that you can function as well as a sighted person, but its not going to show them how you'll do that job in that company that you're interviewing for. If you have a laptop with a screen reader, perhaps offer to show them the screen reader. I've had mixed results with that, the company that hired me didn't want to see it then and there but they did later. I've had others that want to see it right away. Just be yourself, don't hide your blindness, but don't make it a big de al either. If anything, keep the conversation casual, use some self-deprecating humor, if you show the interviewer that you're comfortable talking about it, they'll be more likely to open up with any concerns and you can go from there. If that doesn't work, showing them wonderful things you've done probably won't either. That's just my $.02, who knows. One final thought, is a company that's so up tight to hire a blind person even after you've been casual about it, been very open and engaging with them a place you really want to work anyway? Having fears and concerns is one thing, but being so closed mouthed and politically correct about it that you're scared of stepping on toes does not lead to a good harmonious environment. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 7:56 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

I think you are underestimating how reluctant many people are to hire a blind person, Brian. I think a lot of people would *like* to hire a blind person but they don't think they can take a chance. Employers are worried about whether you can do your job and it's up to you, as the applicant, to convince them that they needent worry.

Maybe your qualifications are so outstanding that you don't have to worry about that. But if you, as a blind person, go up against another applicant with pretty much the same qualifications, why would any employer take the risk of hiring the blind person? Even if they don't say anything, they are going to be wondering how you're going to get to work in an emergency, how you're going to read the department memos, whether you're going to sue them if it doesn't work out. I think you've got to convince them to take a chance on you.

I just don't think it is realistic to go into a job interview acting as if your blindness is not an issue. It is. It's up to you as the applicant to convince the employer that it doesn't matter because very few employers will come to that conclusion on their own.

On 11/01/2013 07:46 PM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

...

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access so ftware is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very contraverci al , but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administrati on and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness du ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

---

Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

I think this less of a problem than it used to be and again depending on the part of the world. People in big cities are more familiar with the blind now. There are more blind engineers and it’s much more common. Will it always be a problem, sure, but I think it’s improving, certainly since I’ve started my career. On Nov 1, 2013, at 9:56 PM, John G. Heim wrote:

I think you are underestimating how reluctant many people are to hire a blind person, Brian. I think a lot of people would *like* to hire a blind person but they don't think they can take a chance. Employers are worried about whether you can do your job and it's up to you, as the applicant, to convince them that they needent worry.

Maybe your qualifications are so outstanding that you don't have to worry about that. But if you, as a blind person, go up against another applicant with pretty much the same qualifications, why would any employer take the risk of hiring the blind person? Even if they don't say anything, they are going to be wondering how you're going to get to work in an emergency, how you're going to read the department memos, whether you're going to sue them if it doesn't work out. I think you've got to convince them to take a chance on you.

I just don't think it is realistic to go into a job interview acting as if your blindness is not an issue. It is. It's up to you as the applicant to convince the employer that it doesn't matter because very few employers will come to that conclusion on their own.

On 11/01/2013 07:46 PM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

...

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access so ftware is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very contravercial , but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness

du

...

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

I'm definitely not getting a CS degree, nor am I moving out of New England if I can help it; there are so many skills I need right now before I can even think about moving. I need to learn to cook, clean, and all of that stuff before I can worry about that. But I'll keep an eye out; I've got some stuff lined up for tomorrow with a recruiter in Boston, so it could be interesting. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Scott Granados Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 8:33 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist I think this less of a problem than it used to be and again depending on the part of the world. People in big cities are more familiar with the blind now. There are more blind engineers and it's much more common. Will it always be a problem, sure, but I think it's improving, certainly since I've started my career. On Nov 1, 2013, at 9:56 PM, John G. Heim wrote:

I think you are underestimating how reluctant many people are to hire a blind person, Brian. I think a lot of people would *like* to hire a blind person but they don't think they can take a chance. Employers are worried about whether you can do your job and it's up to you, as the applicant, to convince them that they needent worry.

Maybe your qualifications are so outstanding that you don't have to worry about that. But if you, as a blind person, go up against another applicant with pretty much the same qualifications, why would any employer take the risk of hiring the blind person? Even if they don't say anything, they are going to be wondering how you're going to get to work in an emergency, how you're going to read the department memos, whether you're going to sue them if it doesn't work out. I think you've got to convince them to take a chance on you.

I just don't think it is realistic to go into a job interview acting as if your blindness is not an issue. It is. It's up to you as the applicant to convince the employer that it doesn't matter because very few employers will come to that conclusion on their own.

On 11/01/2013 07:46 PM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

...

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access so ftware is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very contravercial , but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness

du

...

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

I'll agree with that; but honestly. What have I done, not much but chosen to geek out on technologies because I feel like it. I help the open source community. I'm learning to code for my own enjoyment, and soon you should see some open source projects out there on Microsoft's CodePlex. But most of my experience comes from "doing it because it's cool". What good is an employer knowing that I have an active Directory environment set up at home? What good to them is it that I taught friends of mine to do the same if they want? It's all just stuff, not "work". And what good is it that I've learned about this stuff by setting it up in a live environment; I didn't go to school for it. Not to mention, since I want to learn so much and I'm making network-wide changes, my family gets the brunt of it lol. My father though, he's actually all cool with it; he wants to be a part of my setup around here. But what about the fact that the Sharepoint 2010 project I started under the guidance of my mentor and friend down there at Gordon College? He's taken it off premises, but still, as far as I know, my ideas for the project live on and are being worked on via Office 365. Just last week, in fact, he emailed me back about an update I gave him, and at the end of it, whereas he could have just as easily asked the official support channel at the college, those who are hired to work there, he asked me about a family tech situation; what the best way to handle it would be, and I told him. I mean, how meaningful is that? Obviously not very since I've not gotten many bites lately. But like I said, I do have a conversation with a recruiter tomorrow in Boston, so that should be interesting. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 11:13 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist I know this is hard to hear but I don't think there is anything to be gained by putting a pretty face on it. I can point you to studies that show it is harder to get a job if your name is Leroy than it is if your name is Brad. There are studies that show it is significantly harder to get a job if you are overweight than it is if you are thin. There are studies that show it is significantly harder to get a job if you are unattractive than it is if you are good looking. If you think being blind is insignificant, you are kidding yourself. You can't gauge the problem by looking at the people on this list. We are a self-selected group. We are here in large part because we have succeeded. I would challenge the people on this list to do what I have done which is to get out there into the blind community and start asking questions. Find out what is really going on. I'll give you an example... There is a guy named Tim Cordes who got a medical degree from the University of Wisconsin. He applied to dozens of other medical schools before he happened to try the University of Wisconsin. Dozens of medical schools turned him down even though his credentials were impeccable. The admitting people at University of Wisconsin said, "Wow, look what this guy has done in spite of being blind. We have to get him." But how much different would Tim Cordes life have been had he not happened to apply at the University of Wisconsin? Would he have found another school that saw his disability that way? How many other Tim Cordes are there out there who just didn't happen to come across the one person or persons willing to take a chance on them? Blind technologists face an additional hurdle which is a phenomna I call "getting backwatered." Mew technologies tend not to be accessible so blind people tend to not get assigned to those tasks within a company. The plum assignments go to sighted people who aren't going to have accessibility issues. Gradually, the blind person gets stuck dealing with older and older technology. And then when layoffs come, he is the one to go because, in all fairness, he truly is the least important member of the team. I will bet that nearly everybody on this list has faced that phenomena to one degree or another in their jobs. I am not the VMWare administrator in my department because it was just easier for my manager to give that job to my sighted co-worker even though, well, frankly I am way better than him. All else being equal, I'd have gotten that assignment. But it is just so easy for him to click the right button whereas I have to find a workaround for so many things that it simply wouldn't have made sense to give me that assignment. The vast majority of blind professionals get their jobs two ways. One is through a vocational rehab agency. That is probably the majority. The second way is by happening upon someone who admires their pluck, someone who says, "Look at what this person has done in spite of being blind. Lets get him.".In very, very few cases is blindness not an issue at all. But the fact is, that if you are on this list, you probably do have pluck. You probably are a cut above in terms of willingness to work hard and to try anything. You probably could be home right not on disability but you choose not to be. Not only that, you succeeded against all odds. You have done things that most people would indeed find pretty amazing. I think it's important to point that out in a job interview. A job interview is no time to be humble. This is my advice to all blind people, not just aspiring technologists -- be that amazing blind person. Of course, I know on this list I'm preaching to the choir. By and large, the people on this list don't need that message. Being the amazing blind person takes a lot of hard work and determination. It also takes a good measure of luck. But mostly, it's attitude. Don't be afraid to fail. And don't let your failures stop you. If you fail, try again only harder. And if that doesn't work, try again even harder still. Or try something else. If you do that, not only will you be more likely to succeed, you'll find it far more gratifying. Some people climb mountains because they're there. Well, you don't have to go looking for a mountain, one has been dumped on you. On 11/04/13 07:33, Scott Granados wrote:

I think this less of a problem than it used to be and again depending on the part of the world. People in big cities are more familiar with the blind now. There are more blind engineers and it's much more common. Will it always be a problem, sure, but I think it's improving, certainly since I've started my career.

On Nov 1, 2013, at 9:56 PM, John G. Heim wrote:

...

I think you are underestimating how reluctant many people are to hire a blind person, Brian. I think a lot of people would *like* to hire a blind person but they don't think they can take a chance. Employers are worried about whether you can do your job and it's up to you, as the applicant, to convince them that they needent worry.

Maybe your qualifications are so outstanding that you don't have to worry about that. But if you, as a blind person, go up against another applicant with pretty much the same qualifications, why would any employer take the risk of hiring the blind person? Even if they don't say anything, they are going to be wondering how you're going to get to work in an emergency, how you're going to read the department memos, whether you're going to sue them if it doesn't work out. I think you've got to convince them to take a chance on you.

I just don't think it is realistic to go into a job interview acting as if your blindness is not an issue. It is. It's up to you as the applicant to convince the employer that it doesn't matter because very few employers will come to that conclusion on their own.

On 11/01/2013 07:46 PM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

...

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access s o

...

...

ftware is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very cont ravercia l

...

...

, but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administra tion and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openne

ss du

...

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

I'll agree with that; but honestly. What have I done, not much but chosen to geek out on technologies because I feel like it. I help the open source community. I'm learning to code for my own enjoyment, and soon you should see some open source projects out there on Microsoft's CodePlex. But most of my experience comes from "doing it because it's cool". What good is an employer knowing that I have an active Directory environment set up at home? What good to them is it that I taught friends of mine to do the same if they want? It's all just stuff, not "work". And what good is it that I've learned about this stuff by setting it up in a live environment; I didn't go to school for it. Not to mention, since I want to learn so much and I'm making network-wide changes, my family gets the brunt of it lol. My father though, he's actually all cool with it; he wants to be a part of my setup around here. But what about the fact that the Sharepoint 2010 project I started under the guidance of my mentor and friend down there at Gordon College? He's taken it off premises, but still, as far as I know, my ideas for the project live on and are being worked on via Office 365. Just last week, in fact, he emailed me back about an update I gave him, and at the end of it, whereas he could have just as easily asked the official support channel at the college, those who are hired to work there, he asked me about a family tech situation; what the best way to handle it would be, and I told him. I mean, how meaningful is that? Obviously not very since I've not gotten many bites lately. But like I said, I do have a conversation with a recruiter tomorrow in Boston, so that should be interesting. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 11:13 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist I know this is hard to hear but I don't think there is anything to be gained by putting a pretty face on it. I can point you to studies that show it is harder to get a job if your name is Leroy than it is if your name is Brad. There are studies that show it is significantly harder to get a job if you are overweight than it is if you are thin. There are studies that show it is significantly harder to get a job if you are unattractive than it is if you are good looking. If you think being blind is insignificant, you are kidding yourself. You can't gauge the problem by looking at the people on this list. We are a self-selected group. We are here in large part because we have succeeded. I would challenge the people on this list to do what I have done which is to get out there into the blind community and start asking questions. Find out what is really going on. I'll give you an example... There is a guy named Tim Cordes who got a medical degree from the University of Wisconsin. He applied to dozens of other medical schools before he happened to try the University of Wisconsin. Dozens of medical schools turned him down even though his credentials were impeccable. The admitting people at University of Wisconsin said, "Wow, look what this guy has done in spite of being blind. We have to get him." But how much different would Tim Cordes life have been had he not happened to apply at the University of Wisconsin? Would he have found another school that saw his disability that way? How many other Tim Cordes are there out there who just didn't happen to come across the one person or persons willing to take a chance on them? Blind technologists face an additional hurdle which is a phenomna I call "getting backwatered." Mew technologies tend not to be accessible so blind people tend to not get assigned to those tasks within a company. The plum assignments go to sighted people who aren't going to have accessibility issues. Gradually, the blind person gets stuck dealing with older and older technology. And then when layoffs come, he is the one to go because, in all fairness, he truly is the least important member of the team. I will bet that nearly everybody on this list has faced that phenomena to one degree or another in their jobs. I am not the VMWare administrator in my department because it was just easier for my manager to give that job to my sighted co-worker even though, well, frankly I am way better than him. All else being equal, I'd have gotten that assignment. But it is just so easy for him to click the right button whereas I have to find a workaround for so many things that it simply wouldn't have made sense to give me that assignment. The vast majority of blind professionals get their jobs two ways. One is through a vocational rehab agency. That is probably the majority. The second way is by happening upon someone who admires their pluck, someone who says, "Look at what this person has done in spite of being blind. Lets get him.".In very, very few cases is blindness not an issue at all. But the fact is, that if you are on this list, you probably do have pluck. You probably are a cut above in terms of willingness to work hard and to try anything. You probably could be home right not on disability but you choose not to be. Not only that, you succeeded against all odds. You have done things that most people would indeed find pretty amazing. I think it's important to point that out in a job interview. A job interview is no time to be humble. This is my advice to all blind people, not just aspiring technologists -- be that amazing blind person. Of course, I know on this list I'm preaching to the choir. By and large, the people on this list don't need that message. Being the amazing blind person takes a lot of hard work and determination. It also takes a good measure of luck. But mostly, it's attitude. Don't be afraid to fail. And don't let your failures stop you. If you fail, try again only harder. And if that doesn't work, try again even harder still. Or try something else. If you do that, not only will you be more likely to succeed, you'll find it far more gratifying. Some people climb mountains because they're there. Well, you don't have to go looking for a mountain, one has been dumped on you. On 11/04/13 07:33, Scott Granados wrote:

I think this less of a problem than it used to be and again depending on the part of the world. People in big cities are more familiar with the blind now. There are more blind engineers and it's much more common. Will it always be a problem, sure, but I think it's improving, certainly since I've started my career.

On Nov 1, 2013, at 9:56 PM, John G. Heim wrote:

...

I think you are underestimating how reluctant many people are to hire a blind person, Brian. I think a lot of people would *like* to hire a blind person but they don't think they can take a chance. Employers are worried about whether you can do your job and it's up to you, as the applicant, to convince them that they needent worry.

Maybe your qualifications are so outstanding that you don't have to worry about that. But if you, as a blind person, go up against another applicant with pretty much the same qualifications, why would any employer take the risk of hiring the blind person? Even if they don't say anything, they are going to be wondering how you're going to get to work in an emergency, how you're going to read the department memos, whether you're going to sue them if it doesn't work out. I think you've got to convince them to take a chance on you.

I just don't think it is realistic to go into a job interview acting as if your blindness is not an issue. It is. It's up to you as the applicant to convince the employer that it doesn't matter because very few employers will come to that conclusion on their own.

On 11/01/2013 07:46 PM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

...

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access s o

...

...

ftware is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very cont ravercia l

...

...

, but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administra tion and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openne

ss du

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ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

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-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

That's what we have to avoid doing; instead of saying, "the command line works, so let's use that", let's work with companies and organizations to educate them on accessibility. Otherwise, the worldly attitude's never gonna change. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Chris Smart Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 11:41 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist As someone currently taking IT courses in hopes of finding meaningful PAID work, is there an area of the computer industry that is less proan to accessibility challenges than others? Is there an area I can go into where the tools are more likely to be accessible, or even where lots of commandline and other non-graphical knowledge is a definite asset and would get me a leg up on the point-and-click sighted competition? That's probably a pipe dream, but I thought I would ask here anyway. Good information is hard to come by. Chris _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Just so you know, the International Association of Visually Impaired Technologists (www.iavit.org) has a project underway in which we hope to work with VMWare on accessibility of their EXXI suite of programs. We got a grant of $300 from the Lions Club to get started. And I've spoken with VMWare Cheif technology officer, Steve Herrod, about it. We have no official commitment from VMWare yet because I have yet to officially ask for support. But that is coming soon. Anyway, some of us blind people are working on this whole idea. We are not giving up on accessibility. To tell you the truth, the main drawback has been lack of interest among blind systems administrators. To be quite honest, when I wsay "we", I mean myself and a couple of people I've dragged into the project. Why is it up to me to spearhead this project on VMWare accessibility? I'm not a VMWare administrator. It is rather frustrating. Well, I know it's up to people like me to get this stuff done. It's not like somebody out there struggling to make ends meet, sending out a dozen resumes a day, can manage a project like this. I just wish that more of us who have made it would take an interest. (Hint, hint.) On 11/04/13 10:46, Katherine Moss wrote:

That's what we have to avoid doing; instead of saying, "the command line works, so let's use that", let's work with companies and organizations to educate them on accessibility. Otherwise, the worldly attitude's never gonna change.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Chris Smart Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 11:41 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

As someone currently taking IT courses in hopes of finding meaningful PAID work, is there an area of the computer industry that is less proan to accessibility challenges than others? Is there an area I can go into where the tools are more likely to be accessible, or even where lots of commandline and other non-graphical knowledge is a definite asset and would get me a leg up on the point-and-click sighted competition?

That's probably a pipe dream, but I thought I would ask here anyway. Good information is hard to come by.

Chris

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-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

I'm in. Talk to my friend about it; he cares. Let me know what you need me to do on this, and I'll do what needs to be done. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 1:04 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist Just so you know, the International Association of Visually Impaired Technologists (www.iavit.org) has a project underway in which we hope to work with VMWare on accessibility of their EXXI suite of programs. We got a grant of $300 from the Lions Club to get started. And I've spoken with VMWare Cheif technology officer, Steve Herrod, about it. We have no official commitment from VMWare yet because I have yet to officially ask for support. But that is coming soon. Anyway, some of us blind people are working on this whole idea. We are not giving up on accessibility. To tell you the truth, the main drawback has been lack of interest among blind systems administrators. To be quite honest, when I wsay "we", I mean myself and a couple of people I've dragged into the project. Why is it up to me to spearhead this project on VMWare accessibility? I'm not a VMWare administrator. It is rather frustrating. Well, I know it's up to people like me to get this stuff done. It's not like somebody out there struggling to make ends meet, sending out a dozen resumes a day, can manage a project like this. I just wish that more of us who have made it would take an interest. (Hint, hint.) On 11/04/13 10:46, Katherine Moss wrote:

That's what we have to avoid doing; instead of saying, "the command line works, so let's use that", let's work with companies and organizations to educate them on accessibility. Otherwise, the worldly attitude's never gonna change.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Chris Smart Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 11:41 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

As someone currently taking IT courses in hopes of finding meaningful PAID work, is there an area of the computer industry that is less proan to accessibility challenges than others? Is there an area I can go into where the tools are more likely to be accessible, or even where lots of commandline and other non-graphical knowledge is a definite asset and would get me a leg up on the point-and-click sighted competition?

That's probably a pipe dream, but I thought I would ask here anyway. Good information is hard to come by.

Chris

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-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Are you interested in the VMWare project specifically, accessibility in general, or helping with IAVIT itself? You can get involved at any of these levels. If you want to help with IAVIT, we could use a wiki administrator. Our wiki keeps getting hacked. I haven't had time to learn how to secure it. I set it up so that you have to register with a real email address and confirm it by responding to an email set to the address. But last time this happened, I hadn't even confirmed my own email address before some hacker got in there ahead of me. I just haven't had time to learn how to secure a wiki. The accessibility committee could use some help as well. Some companies are really good at making their products accessible and some are not. If you ask the ones that are not, many (not all) will say they simply don't know anything about accessibility. They don't know what doesn't work about their products or how to make them work. Why do some companies find it so easy and some don't? The accessibility committee means to address that issue and put together a set of tools for companies to use to change their corporate culture. The idea isn't so much to help them make their products accessible as to help them learn how to do it themselves. Finally, the VMWare team (which is part of the accessibility committee) could use some help. We already have a principle investigator. He is going to learn everything there is to know about VMWare ESXI and write a blog as he does so. But I'm sure he'll need help. This is where someone with good communications skills might be especially helpful. You could also help me with the proposal document and the cover letters I am writing to potential sponsors of the project.

What are you studying? -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Chris Smart Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 10:41 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist As someone currently taking IT courses in hopes of finding meaningful PAID work, is there an area of the computer industry that is less proan to accessibility challenges than others? Is there an area I can go into where the tools are more likely to be accessible, or even where lots of commandline and other non-graphical knowledge is a definite asset and would get me a leg up on the point-and-click sighted competition? That's probably a pipe dream, but I thought I would ask here anyway. Good information is hard to come by. Chris _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

I agree. I guess I'm just trying to pick an area in which to specialize, once the more general course I am currently taking is finished. Right now I'm taking IT Esentials through CAVI, and will take the compTIA A+ after that, probably in February or March. But then I need to decide what to take next. Networking? Security? Linux? Some sort of coding? For those of you with fulltime jobs, what are you doing and how long have you been at it? Chris

Hi, I've been thinking about this lately myself. Apple is a decent area, as is Linux. One of my roles is to oversee all of our Apple hardware, iPads, iPhones etc. I manage our Mobile Device management system. These can be hit and miss regarding accessibility, luckily purely by chance the one we use is very accessible, Meraki, which is owned by Cisco. Linux because if you can use the command line you're flying. You can SSH into boxes, not having to worry about expensive remote access software like Serotek's RIM and installing screen readers on the other side to faf with log me in. Barry. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Chris Smart Sent: 04 November 2013 16:41 To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist As someone currently taking IT courses in hopes of finding meaningful PAID work, is there an area of the computer industry that is less proan to accessibility challenges than others? Is there an area I can go into where the tools are more likely to be accessible, or even where lots of commandline and other non-graphical knowledge is a definite asset and would get me a leg up on the point-and-click sighted competition? That's probably a pipe dream, but I thought I would ask here anyway. Good information is hard to come by. Chris _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Remember that Windows allows you to use the command line now too; PowerShell, get strong in it! You can also run SSH on Windows either via Cygwin or via PowerShell server (PowerShell run through SSH directly). -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Barry Toner Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 11:55 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist Hi, I've been thinking about this lately myself. Apple is a decent area, as is Linux. One of my roles is to oversee all of our Apple hardware, iPads, iPhones etc. I manage our Mobile Device management system. These can be hit and miss regarding accessibility, luckily purely by chance the one we use is very accessible, Meraki, which is owned by Cisco. Linux because if you can use the command line you're flying. You can SSH into boxes, not having to worry about expensive remote access software like Serotek's RIM and installing screen readers on the other side to faf with log me in. Barry. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Chris Smart Sent: 04 November 2013 16:41 To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist As someone currently taking IT courses in hopes of finding meaningful PAID work, is there an area of the computer industry that is less proan to accessibility challenges than others? Is there an area I can go into where the tools are more likely to be accessible, or even where lots of commandline and other non-graphical knowledge is a definite asset and would get me a leg up on the point-and-click sighted competition? That's probably a pipe dream, but I thought I would ask here anyway. Good information is hard to come by. Chris _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Pffth! This is the easiest question of them all, IMO. The answer is linux systems administration. Almost everything is still done by editing text files and typing commands at the command line in linux. Furthermore, it's still a fairly rare set of skills. Here at the University of Wisconsin, I've seen jobs remain open literally for years because no qualified candidates applied. Of course, the catch is that they want people with experience. On 11/04/13 10:40, Chris Smart wrote:

As someone currently taking IT courses in hopes of finding meaningful PAID work, is there an area of the computer industry that is less proan to accessibility challenges than others? Is there an area I can go into where the tools are more likely to be accessible, or even where lots of commandline and other non-graphical knowledge is a definite asset and would get me a leg up on the point-and-click sighted competition?

That's probably a pipe dream, but I thought I would ask here anyway. Good information is hard to come by.

Chris

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-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

See I don’t hold such a negative view or at least my experience and the experience of the blind people I know has been steadily improving so I wouldn’t agree completely. I think there are more people willing to take a chance. It’s difficult for me to say in my own case whether people are more willing to give me a chance because they are open minded or because I have 25 years worth of experience and associated references etc. I will say that each successive job search has been easier than the previous with some exceptions but in general and that maybe as much a function as my improved experience as an acceptance of blindness but my gut tells me that things are improving. I know more blind people who are employed now and I feel a lot less discomfort from people than I used to. I’d say 25 years ago my early on experiences were similar to many on the list but at least in the field I’m in things do seem to be improving. I get more of a vibe from people now that they have exposure to the blind at least a little. I also get the feeling again maybe I’m lucky but the feeling I get is people are less fearful now. That’s a good way to put it, they are less fearful. People seem more willing to work with you especially if you approach things very openly and show less of an irrational fear. Is it perfect no and by no means do I mean to say it’s easy but I for one think we’ve made progress. I would agree with you about the accessibility concerns you raise however I’ve experienced this a lot less in my speciality than others. I can’t think of anything in the core Juniper product line that has any accessibility issues mainly because it’s all CLI based and I’d say the same for Cisco. There are some lesser players that are problematic but the major, high paying product areas have strong CLI usage. As you and others have said though we need to push for more accessibility across more platforms not less. I have heard VMWare is problematic and others experienced the same thing you have. People both sited and blind who have focused on either Unix in large Server Environments or Networking in my experience have done well but I’m all for more access in more areas. This is an interesting thread. In the case of your Medical student example, I would like to think and hope that more than one university in the US would have given him a shot. Even if he didn’t find yours I would hope he would have stuck with it until he found one that supported his goals. I’m sure there would be a lot of rejection but let’s hope there are more than one forward thinking college out there. Makes me want to take classes there honestly, sounds like a pretty interesting place. Even as a blind person I could see people’s doubts about a blind doctor but rationally I realize that just because I can’t imagine doing it doesn’t mean someone else hasn’t found an effective way. On Nov 4, 2013, at 11:13 AM, John G. Heim wrote:

I know this is hard to hear but I don't think there is anything to be gained by putting a pretty face on it. I can point you to studies that show it is harder to get a job if your name is Leroy than it is if your name is Brad. There are studies that show it is significantly harder to get a job if you are overweight than it is if you are thin. There are studies that show it is significantly harder to get a job if you are unattractive than it is if you are good looking. If you think being blind is insignificant, you are kidding yourself.

You can't gauge the problem by looking at the people on this list. We are a self-selected group. We are here in large part because we have succeeded. I would challenge the people on this list to do what I have done which is to get out there into the blind community and start asking questions. Find out what is really going on. I'll give you an example... There is a guy named Tim Cordes who got a medical degree from the University of Wisconsin. He applied to dozens of other medical schools before he happened to try the University of Wisconsin. Dozens of medical schools turned him down even though his credentials were impeccable. The admitting people at University of Wisconsin said, "Wow, look what this guy has done in spite of being blind. We have to get him." But how much different would Tim Cordes life have been had he not happened to apply at the University of Wisconsin? Would he have found another school that saw his disability that way? How many other Tim Cordes are there out there who just didn't happen to come across the one person or persons willing to take a chance on them?

Blind technologists face an additional hurdle which is a phenomna I call "getting backwatered." Mew technologies tend not to be accessible so blind people tend to not get assigned to those tasks within a company. The plum assignments go to sighted people who aren't going to have accessibility issues. Gradually, the blind person gets stuck dealing with older and older technology. And then when layoffs come, he is the one to go because, in all fairness, he truly is the least important member of the team. I will bet that nearly everybody on this list has faced that phenomena to one degree or another in their jobs. I am not the VMWare administrator in my department because it was just easier for my manager to give that job to my sighted co-worker even though, well, frankly I am way better than him. All else being equal, I'd have gotten that assignment. But it is just so easy for him to click the right button whereas I have to find a workaround for so many things that it simply wouldn't have made sense to give me that assignment.

The vast majority of blind professionals get their jobs two ways. One is through a vocational rehab agency. That is probably the majority. The second way is by happening upon someone who admires their pluck, someone who says, "Look at what this person has done in spite of being blind. Lets get him.".In very, very few cases is blindness not an issue at all.

But the fact is, that if you are on this list, you probably do have pluck. You probably are a cut above in terms of willingness to work hard and to try anything. You probably could be home right not on disability but you choose not to be. Not only that, you succeeded against all odds. You have done things that most people would indeed find pretty amazing. I think it's important to point that out in a job interview. A job interview is no time to be humble.

This is my advice to all blind people, not just aspiring technologists -- be that amazing blind person. Of course, I know on this list I'm preaching to the choir. By and large, the people on this list don't need that message. Being the amazing blind person takes a lot of hard work and determination. It also takes a good measure of luck. But mostly, it's attitude. Don't be afraid to fail. And don't let your failures stop you. If you fail, try again only harder. And if that doesn't work, try again even harder still. Or try something else. If you do that, not only will you be more likely to succeed, you'll find it far more gratifying. Some people climb mountains because they're there. Well, you don't have to go looking for a mountain, one has been dumped on you.

On 11/04/13 07:33, Scott Granados wrote:

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I think this less of a problem than it used to be and again depending on the part of the world. People in big cities are more familiar with the blind now. There are more blind engineers and it’s much more common. Will it always be a problem, sure, but I think it’s improving, certainly since I’ve started my career.

On Nov 1, 2013, at 9:56 PM, John G. Heim wrote:

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I think you are underestimating how reluctant many people are to hire a blind person, Brian. I think a lot of people would *like* to hire a blind person but they don't think they can take a chance. Employers are worried about whether you can do your job and it's up to you, as the applicant, to convince them that they needent worry.

Maybe your qualifications are so outstanding that you don't have to worry about that. But if you, as a blind person, go up against another applicant with pretty much the same qualifications, why would any employer take the risk of hiring the blind person? Even if they don't say anything, they are going to be wondering how you're going to get to work in an emergency, how you're going to read the department memos, whether you're going to sue them if it doesn't work out. I think you've got to convince them to take a chance on you.

I just don't think it is realistic to go into a job interview acting as if your blindness is not an issue. It is. It's up to you as the applicant to convince the employer that it doesn't matter because very few employers will come to that conclusion on their own.

On 11/01/2013 07:46 PM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

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Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access s o

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ftware is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very cont ravercia l

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, but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administra tion and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openne

ss du

...

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

I'm wondering too, since I have a slight issue with the menus in VMware Workstation, but otherwise, things are fine. It's just that the menubar titles aren't actually read. Kind of odd, but you know how things work. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Vincent van Itallie Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 8:59 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist Hi Ryan, Interesting and good points made. Which spesific inaccessible version / produkt of VMware are you talking about? I am asking because of my earlyer post this week concerning accessibility of vmware. Thanks in advance, Vincent. On 11/2/2013 1:46 AM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access software is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very contravercial, but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness

du

...

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Ok--just my $.02 here also--but 1 thing u might consider is to blog on a specific topic in which you want to get hired. I've read about folks who didn't have the creds, but their passion showed thru so clearly in their content that they got hired. 1 shining example I can think of right off the top is Brian Krebs. He's 1 of the most famous bloggers on security, but his background is actually journalism. He's taught himself much about the technical aspects of security, as well as teaming up w/some high-powered tech folks, & has basically become an icon in the field, intersecting journalism w/technology to spot & report on emerging malware trends, etc. Connect w/those on social media w/whom you wish to establish a relationship, comment intelligently on their blog posts/tweets, etc., offer to help them if u can, &, when the time is right, & you're sure that your post idea is a good fit for their blog, ask if u can guest post for them, giving them an idea of what u intend to write. If they say "yeah", then you've connected w/their audience, which is likely far larger than yours. Don't post the article u intend to write for them to your blog first--most bloggers want content to be exclusive to their blog. U can then present employers with links to such materials, thereby demonstrating both written communications skills & a knowledge of the subject. On 11/2/13, Katherine Moss wrote:

I'm wondering too, since I have a slight issue with the menus in VMware Workstation, but otherwise, things are fine. It's just that the menubar titles aren't actually read. Kind of odd, but you know how things work.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Vincent van Itallie Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 8:59 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hi Ryan,

Interesting and good points made. Which spesific inaccessible version / produkt of VMware are you talking about? I am asking because of my earlyer post this week concerning accessibility of vmware.

Thanks in advance, Vincent.

On 11/2/2013 1:46 AM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

...

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access software is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very contravercial, but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness

du

...

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- Jackie McBride Author of the Upcoming Book “Beyond Baffled: the Technophobe’s Guide to Creating a Website” Web Hosting & development: www.brighter-vision.com Jaws Scripting training www.screenreaderscripting.com

You better believe that I'm going for certs. I'll start with CompTIA and then slowly move up the chain. My goals are CompTIA first, Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate next, and then CCNA/P after that. I will also have a certificate from Bunker Hill Community college soon, so I'm wicked excited about that. And if you want to see what I can do and what I've done, take a look at my YouTube channel, which is http://youtube.com/user/thechromebuster. (Chromebuster, or variants thereof, is what I'm known as on the Internet.) I also am hosting my own site, or I will be soon, (it's up now, but since I'm switching frameworks, and the layout is rather confusing for people, I don't have much up there at this time)I'm deeply involved in the testing of ideas for making open source projects that need work more accessible, and I'm currently rebuilding my web site (a place where I write a technical/personal blog,have message boards, host my projects that I do for fun for folks to freely download and enjoy, and so on), to use the leading CMS for ASP.net called DNN, so that'll be fun. The best part about that is that the DNN community needs accessibility 101, so I'm providing that, and I'm in direct contact with a gentleman working there from the Netherlands. I keep Twitter very active; if you'd like, follow http://twitter.com/chromebuster19, or for web site and tech updates almost exclusively, follow http://twitter.com/accesscop24. And then not to mention, my complicated network setup at home; I plan eventually to have two domain controllers, a web server with a couple backup units load balanced through various friends and contacts willing to freely lend me their equipment, a TeamSpeak Server, a VPN, and a web reverse proxy (provided through the new functionality in Windows server 2012 R2 for web-based control panels that I don't want the world to be able to get ahold of using ADFS as the auth mechanism), and my friend is going to provide the PKI infrastructure for the accesscop.org domain through a domain trust. (thanks to me, she has her own domain as well.) Yeah I know, a bit crazy for a home environment, but who cares. It should be fun, and it will give me something to do. And don't worry, I know that's a lot, but you can be assured that some of my servers will play more than one role. My point in telling you all of this, because this isn't something that I'm doing for a place where I currently work, how the heck is that going to assist employers in hiring me? Or will it make a difference at all? -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Vincent van Itallie Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 12:23 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist For the record: I don't mean vmware workstation or such. I mean more the produkts used in enterprise / corporate enviroments. @Katherine: I highley recomment you to get your self some sysadmin certs. Which is offcourse up to your interests. Vincent. On 11/2/2013 3:01 PM, Katherine Moss wrote:

I'm wondering too, since I have a slight issue with the menus in VMware Workstation, but otherwise, things are fine. It's just that the menubar titles aren't actually read. Kind of odd, but you know how things work.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Vincent van Itallie Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 8:59 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hi Ryan,

Interesting and good points made. Which spesific inaccessible version / produkt of VMware are you talking about? I am asking because of my earlyer post this week concerning accessibility of vmware.

Thanks in advance, Vincent.

On 11/2/2013 1:46 AM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

...

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access software is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very contravercial, but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness du ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Sounds ambicious for sure. I wish you good luck with all of your projects and plans. If you have any question concerning IT certifications just ask me. I've been through a lot of IT certifications in servicemanagement last year and now less then 48 hours away from my first exam in my second set of microsoft certifications. Haven't done microsoft exams for the last five years or so, so I will see. So if you want to discuus the exam thing, which will be a big diffirence from your college exams and things you are used to I suppose, Especially with microsoft and cisco exams. just ask. By the way, I am from the Netherlands to. ;) All the best, Vincent. On 11/2/2013 6:56 PM, Katherine Moss wrote:

You better believe that I'm going for certs. I'll start with CompTIA and then slowly move up the chain. My goals are CompTIA first, Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate next, and then CCNA/P after that. I will also have a certificate from Bunker Hill Community college soon, so I'm wicked excited about that. And if you want to see what I can do and what I've done, take a look at my YouTube channel, which is http://youtube.com/user/thechromebuster. (Chromebuster, or variants thereof, is what I'm known as on the Internet.) I also am hosting my own site, or I will be soon, (it's up now, but since I'm switching frameworks, and the layout is rather confusing for people, I don't have much up there at this time)I'm deeply involved in the testing of ideas for making open source projects that need work more accessible, and I'm currently rebuilding my web site (a place where I write a technical/personal blog,have message boards, host my projects that I do for fun for folks to freely download and enjoy, and so on), to use the leading CMS for ASP.net called DNN, so that'll be fun. The best part about that is that the DNN community needs accessibility 101, so I'm providing that, and I'm in direct contact with a gentleman working there from the Netherlands. I keep Twitter very active; if you'd like, follow http://twitter.com/chromebuster19, or for web site and tech updates almost exclusively, follow http://twitter.com/accesscop24. And then not to mention, my complicated network setup at home; I plan eventually to have two domain controllers, a web server with a couple backup units load balanced through various friends and contacts willing to freely lend me their equipment, a TeamSpeak Server, a VPN, and a web reverse proxy (provided through the new functionality in Windows server 2012 R2 for web-based control panels that I don't want the world to be able to get ahold of using ADFS as the auth mechanism), and my friend is going to provide the PKI infrastructure for the accesscop.org domain through a domain trust. (thanks to me, she has her own domain as well.) Yeah I know, a bit crazy for a home environment, but who cares. It should be fun, and it will give me something to do. And don't worry, I know that's a lot, but you can be assured that some of my servers will play more than one role. My point in telling you all of this, because this isn't something that I'm doing for a place where I currently work, how the heck is that going to assist employers in hiring me? Or will it make a difference at all?

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Vincent van Itallie Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 12:23 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

For the record: I don't mean vmware workstation or such. I mean more the produkts used in enterprise / corporate enviroments. @Katherine: I highley recomment you to get your self some sysadmin certs. Which is offcourse up to your interests.

Vincent.

On 11/2/2013 3:01 PM, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

I'm wondering too, since I have a slight issue with the menus in VMware Workstation, but otherwise, things are fine. It's just that the menubar titles aren't actually read. Kind of odd, but you know how things work.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Vincent van Itallie Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 8:59 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hi Ryan,

Interesting and good points made. Which spesific inaccessible version / produkt of VMware are you talking about? I am asking because of my earlyer post this week concerning accessibility of vmware.

Thanks in advance, Vincent.

On 11/2/2013 1:46 AM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

...

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access software is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very contravercial, but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness du ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

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I already volunteer for a nonprofit as a computer repair person, so I do anything from hardware maintenance to software configuration. I am also interning with someone in my area, and I could end up with my own hours from there, which is looking very likely right now. When you say computer theory, what do you mean by that? Not to mention, the only development I'm interested in is the open source community; I don't need people telling me what to do on that subject. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Sean Murphy Sent: Sunday, November 17, 2013 1:34 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist I wish to give you all a completely different spin on the show. 1. If you can, volunteer at a local college, non-profit organisation, etc in their admin department. This gives you experience and also demonstrates you can do the job. 2. See if the employer is willing to take you on for 3 to 6 months without pay to prove you can do the job. If it doesn't work out, then at least you have gained some experiences and exposure into the field. 3. If you have not already done so, join a user group that focuses on admin or Admin OS and databases. Even join a computer association. You are building a network. See if any of the people in these professional groups can assist with getting real life experience. 4. The blogging ideas are good because you are getting your name out there. Even if you build a blog to assist other disable people in learning about admin work. I am not sure if there is such a beast out there. In this area, work on your strengths. I assume since you have done a English degree, communication is a strength. So create blogs that help your fellow vision impaired person. I have been kicking around for a while doing stuff on networking to help blind people to understand it. If you want to work on this with us, let me know. This goes for anyone on this list. 5 Join accessibility groups on different technologies to share your passion and learn. The biggest question is do you want to specialise or be a generic I.T person. Today it seems generalist are preferred but far harder to be good in. I have been lucky and specialising in networking. Working towards CCNP. Eventually CCIE if I can get through the exams. Having general programming skills is good. I wouldn't be to concern about being a expert in this area, if you are not planning to become a developer. Understanding database admin is another area you will need as a sys admin. ensure any course you do covers computer theory. Everything else like domain controllers, configuring AD, etc are covered in certs. Finally, I understand the labour laws in the USA have recently changed for companies who have federal contracts. They have to have up to 7% disable employee's employed. I do not know much more then that. Any info on this would be good to know about. I am not covered by the law due to be in Australia. But useful to try and improve things here. Sean On 03/11/2013, at 4:56 AM, Katherine Moss wrote:

You better believe that I'm going for certs. I'll start with CompTIA and then slowly move up the chain. My goals are CompTIA first, Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate next, and then CCNA/P after that. I will also have a certificate from Bunker Hill Community college soon, so I'm wicked excited about that. And if you want to see what I can do and what I've done, take a look at my YouTube channel, which is http://youtube.com/user/thechromebuster. (Chromebuster, or variants thereof, is what I'm known as on the Internet.) I also am hosting my own site, or I will be soon, (it's up now, but since I'm switching frameworks, and the layout is rather confusing for people, I don't have much up there at this time)I'm deeply involved in the testing of ideas for making open source projects that need work more accessible, and I'm currently rebuilding my web site (a place where I write a technical/personal blog,have message boards, host my projects that I do for fun for folks to freely download and enjoy, and so on), to use the leading CMS for ASP.net called DNN, so that'll be fun. The best part about that is that the DNN community needs accessibility 101, so I'm providing that, and I'm in direct contact with a gentleman working there from the Netherlands. I keep Twitter very active; if you'd like, follow http://twitter.com/chromebuster19, or for web site and tech updates almost exclusively, follow http://twitter.com/accesscop24. And then not to mention, my complicated network setup at home; I plan eventually to have two domain controllers, a web server with a couple backup units load balanced through various friends and contacts willing to freely lend me their equipment, a TeamSpeak Server, a VPN, and a web reverse proxy (provided through the new functionality in Windows server 2012 R2 for web-based control panels that I don't want the world to be able to get ahold of using ADFS as the auth mechanism), and my friend is going to provide the PKI infrastructure for the accesscop.org domain through a domain trust. (thanks to me, she has her own domain as well.) Yeah I know, a bit crazy for a home environment, but who cares. It should be fun, and it will give me something to do. And don't worry, I know that's a lot, but you can be assured that some of my servers will play more than one role. My point in telling you all of this, because this isn't something that I'm doing for a place where I currently work, how the heck is that going to assist employers in hiring me? Or will it make a difference at all?

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Vincent van Itallie Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 12:23 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

For the record: I don't mean vmware workstation or such. I mean more the produkts used in enterprise / corporate enviroments. @Katherine: I highley recomment you to get your self some sysadmin certs. Which is offcourse up to your interests.

Vincent.

On 11/2/2013 3:01 PM, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

I'm wondering too, since I have a slight issue with the menus in VMware Workstation, but otherwise, things are fine. It's just that the menubar titles aren't actually read. Kind of odd, but you know how things work.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Vincent van Itallie Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 8:59 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hi Ryan,

Interesting and good points made. Which spesific inaccessible version / produkt of VMware are you talking about? I am asking because of my earlyer post this week concerning accessibility of vmware.

Thanks in advance, Vincent.

On 11/2/2013 1:46 AM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

...

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access software is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very contravercial, but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness du ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

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_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

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I already volunteer for a nonprofit as a computer repair person, so I do anything from hardware maintenance to software configuration. I am also interning with someone in my area, and I could end up with my own hours from there, which is looking very likely right now. When you say computer theory, what do you mean by that? Not to mention, the only development I'm interested in is the open source community; I don't need people telling me what to do on that subject. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Sean Murphy Sent: Sunday, November 17, 2013 1:34 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist I wish to give you all a completely different spin on the show. 1. If you can, volunteer at a local college, non-profit organisation, etc in their admin department. This gives you experience and also demonstrates you can do the job. 2. See if the employer is willing to take you on for 3 to 6 months without pay to prove you can do the job. If it doesn't work out, then at least you have gained some experiences and exposure into the field. 3. If you have not already done so, join a user group that focuses on admin or Admin OS and databases. Even join a computer association. You are building a network. See if any of the people in these professional groups can assist with getting real life experience. 4. The blogging ideas are good because you are getting your name out there. Even if you build a blog to assist other disable people in learning about admin work. I am not sure if there is such a beast out there. In this area, work on your strengths. I assume since you have done a English degree, communication is a strength. So create blogs that help your fellow vision impaired person. I have been kicking around for a while doing stuff on networking to help blind people to understand it. If you want to work on this with us, let me know. This goes for anyone on this list. 5 Join accessibility groups on different technologies to share your passion and learn. The biggest question is do you want to specialise or be a generic I.T person. Today it seems generalist are preferred but far harder to be good in. I have been lucky and specialising in networking. Working towards CCNP. Eventually CCIE if I can get through the exams. Having general programming skills is good. I wouldn't be to concern about being a expert in this area, if you are not planning to become a developer. Understanding database admin is another area you will need as a sys admin. ensure any course you do covers computer theory. Everything else like domain controllers, configuring AD, etc are covered in certs. Finally, I understand the labour laws in the USA have recently changed for companies who have federal contracts. They have to have up to 7% disable employee's employed. I do not know much more then that. Any info on this would be good to know about. I am not covered by the law due to be in Australia. But useful to try and improve things here. Sean On 03/11/2013, at 4:56 AM, Katherine Moss wrote:

You better believe that I'm going for certs. I'll start with CompTIA and then slowly move up the chain. My goals are CompTIA first, Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate next, and then CCNA/P after that. I will also have a certificate from Bunker Hill Community college soon, so I'm wicked excited about that. And if you want to see what I can do and what I've done, take a look at my YouTube channel, which is http://youtube.com/user/thechromebuster. (Chromebuster, or variants thereof, is what I'm known as on the Internet.) I also am hosting my own site, or I will be soon, (it's up now, but since I'm switching frameworks, and the layout is rather confusing for people, I don't have much up there at this time)I'm deeply involved in the testing of ideas for making open source projects that need work more accessible, and I'm currently rebuilding my web site (a place where I write a technical/personal blog,have message boards, host my projects that I do for fun for folks to freely download and enjoy, and so on), to use the leading CMS for ASP.net called DNN, so that'll be fun. The best part about that is that the DNN community needs accessibility 101, so I'm providing that, and I'm in direct contact with a gentleman working there from the Netherlands. I keep Twitter very active; if you'd like, follow http://twitter.com/chromebuster19, or for web site and tech updates almost exclusively, follow http://twitter.com/accesscop24. And then not to mention, my complicated network setup at home; I plan eventually to have two domain controllers, a web server with a couple backup units load balanced through various friends and contacts willing to freely lend me their equipment, a TeamSpeak Server, a VPN, and a web reverse proxy (provided through the new functionality in Windows server 2012 R2 for web-based control panels that I don't want the world to be able to get ahold of using ADFS as the auth mechanism), and my friend is going to provide the PKI infrastructure for the accesscop.org domain through a domain trust. (thanks to me, she has her own domain as well.) Yeah I know, a bit crazy for a home environment, but who cares. It should be fun, and it will give me something to do. And don't worry, I know that's a lot, but you can be assured that some of my servers will play more than one role. My point in telling you all of this, because this isn't something that I'm doing for a place where I currently work, how the heck is that going to assist employers in hiring me? Or will it make a difference at all?

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Vincent van Itallie Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 12:23 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

For the record: I don't mean vmware workstation or such. I mean more the produkts used in enterprise / corporate enviroments. @Katherine: I highley recomment you to get your self some sysadmin certs. Which is offcourse up to your interests.

Vincent.

On 11/2/2013 3:01 PM, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

I'm wondering too, since I have a slight issue with the menus in VMware Workstation, but otherwise, things are fine. It's just that the menubar titles aren't actually read. Kind of odd, but you know how things work.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Vincent van Itallie Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 8:59 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hi Ryan,

Interesting and good points made. Which spesific inaccessible version / produkt of VMware are you talking about? I am asking because of my earlyer post this week concerning accessibility of vmware.

Thanks in advance, Vincent.

On 11/2/2013 1:46 AM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

...

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access software is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very contravercial, but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness du ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

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Vincent. I am not a Network Admin. Rather I support companies who use network gear from cisco. The Routers and switches are accessible. I understand the Voice and Security products are accessible. But I have not actually used them, so I am not 100% sure how accessible. It is different between someone telling you and you actually using it. The data centre products can be used on the CLI level. The GUI environment I believe is not accessible. In relation to learning about networking. There is a organisation in Australia which services the world called CAVI. They can help anyone with learning about the basics of computers, networking and I believe Linux. Other then that, the books are a good resources and doing searches on the net plus lab work is where I suggest people start. I assume this list also would be good to share this knowledge and questions on networking. To help everyone. The challenges I see for a vision impaired person is the NOC (network operation centre) software that alerts you of alarm conditions. If the software permits SMS, email or some other form The challenges I am aware of for a network admin person is as follows: 1. Learning networking. It is a challenge for someone who cannot see diagrams to learn networking. All concepts are based upon diagrams. If you are willing to do more work to understand how the different protocols works and develop a life cycle of the protocol. Then you will eventually be more knowledgeable then your sighted co-workers. It takes more work, but can be done. I only know of 2 people who are blind and have their CCIE in the world. One is in the USA and one is in Europea. It would be good to know if there are others. 2. It depends on the company on how they set up their environment. Some companies use VNC for their employee's access to their routers. Everyone launches from a centralised Telnet server. while other companies make their employee's log into a server via their telnet (console) app and launch from there. It depends on the control level the company want to introduce. Different workarounds are required depending on their methodology of security. If you have to access GUI apps that control network devices and they use remote desktop apps like VNC. then you have to see what they are willing to do. 3. In my role, it is very challenging since everyone wants to use software that controls their pc. This permits them to see what you are doing and gives them a level of comfort in relation to security. These programs are not accessible at all. If the customer is willing not to use these programs, then I am in luck. Otherwise I have to get assistance to work the issue. I just wished there was an SSH program that could be run on both ends. On the customer end and my end. Then I could work the issue without any assistance. If you wish to learn more about my idea, then let me know. It would help out a lot of admin people who have to share desktops with co-workers when working on an issue. 4. If you work in a NOC or GOC (network operation centre) or (ground operation centre) has their challenges. Depending on the tool they use to alert the operators of network conditions, depends on how successful you would be in the role. If the program they use does not have any email, SMS, or some other method of telling you about an alert. Then it is going to be very hard for you to address these issues. Normally they have a big screen which either has a sound alert plus visual clues of some kind. Networking is possible and has the same challenges as other computer roles. Sean On 17/11/2013, at 11:33 PM, Vincent van Itallie wrote:

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1

Hi Sean,

I am verry intrested in your networking spesialism and how you are going trough the exams. Do you have a job as a networking administrator? And how is cisco's software these days when it comes to accessibility. I am sure you can do almost everything still from te command line when it comes to managing some kind of router. Butt how is this when for example deploying new vpn certificats or software version for users from a cisco vpn gateway.

As you might understand by my writing, I am totaly not a cisco expert, butt I might want to know more about it and I am very intrested in the perspective of a blind networking administrator in 2013.

Thanks,

Vincent.

On 11/17/2013 7:34 AM, Sean Murphy wrote:

...

I wish to give you all a completely different spin on the show.

1. If you can, volunteer at a local college, non-profit organisation, etc in their admin department. This gives you experience and also demonstrates you can do the job.

2. See if the employer is willing to take you on for 3 to 6 months without pay to prove you can do the job. If it doesn't work out, then at least you have gained some experiences and exposure into the field.

3. If you have not already done so, join a user group that focuses on admin or Admin OS and databases. Even join a computer association. You are building a network. See if any of the people in these professional groups can assist with getting real life experience.

4. The blogging ideas are good because you are getting your name out there. Even if you build a blog to assist other disable people in learning about admin work. I am not sure if there is such a beast out there. In this area, work on your strengths. I assume since you have done a English degree, communication is a strength. So create blogs that help your fellow vision impaired person. I have been kicking around for a while doing stuff on networking to help blind people to understand it. If you want to work on this with us, let me know. This goes for anyone on this list.

5 Join accessibility groups on different technologies to share your passion and learn.

The biggest question is do you want to specialise or be a generic I.T person. Today it seems generalist are preferred but far harder to be good in.

I have been lucky and specialising in networking. Working towards CCNP. Eventually CCIE if I can get through the exams.

Having general programming skills is good. I wouldn't be to concern about being a expert in this area, if you are not planning to become a developer. Understanding database admin is another area you will need as a sys admin.

ensure any course you do covers computer theory. Everything else like domain controllers, configuring AD, etc are covered in certs.

Finally, I understand the labour laws in the USA have recently changed for companies who have federal contracts. They have to have up to 7% disable employee's employed. I do not know much more then that. Any info on this would be good to know about. I am not covered by the law due to be in Australia. But useful to try and improve things here.

Sean

On 03/11/2013, at 4:56 AM, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

You better believe that I'm going for certs. I'll start with CompTIA and then slowly move up the chain. My goals are CompTIA first, Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate next, and then CCNA/P after that. I will also have a certificate from Bunker Hill Community college soon, so I'm wicked excited about that. And if you want to see what I can do and what I've done, take a look at my YouTube channel, which is http://youtube.com/user/thechromebuster. (Chromebuster, or variants thereof, is what I'm known as on the Internet.) I also am hosting my own site, or I will be soon, (it's up now, but since I'm switching frameworks, and the layout is rather confusing for people, I don't have much up there at this time)I'm deeply involved in the testing of ideas for making open source projects that need work more accessible, and I'm currently rebuilding my web site (a place where I write a technical/personal blog,have message boards, host my projects that I do for fun for folks to freely download and enjoy, and so on), to use the leading CMS for ASP.net called DNN, so that'll be fun. The best part about that is that the DNN community needs accessibility 101, so I'm providing that, and I'm in direct contact with a gentleman working there from the Netherlands. I keep Twitter very active; if you'd like, follow http://twitter.com/chromebuster19, or for web site and tech updates almost exclusively, follow http://twitter.com/accesscop24. And then not to mention, my complicated network setup at home; I plan eventually to have two domain controllers, a web server with a couple backup units load balanced through various friends and contacts willing to freely lend me their equipment, a TeamSpeak Server, a VPN, and a web reverse proxy (provided through the new functionality in Windows server 2012 R2 for web-based control panels that I don't want the world to be able to get ahold of using ADFS as the auth mechanism), and my friend is going to provide the PKI infrastructure for the accesscop.org domain through a domain trust. (thanks to me, she has her own domain as well.) Yeah I know, a bit crazy for a home environment, but who cares. It should be fun, and it will give me something to do. And don't worry, I know that's a lot, but you can be assured that some of my servers will play more than one role. My point in telling you all of this, because this isn't something that I'm doing for a place where I currently work, how the heck is that going to assist employers in hiring me? Or will it make a difference at all?

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Vincent van Itallie Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 12:23 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

For the record: I don't mean vmware workstation or such. I mean more the produkts used in enterprise / corporate enviroments. @Katherine: I highley recomment you to get your self some sysadmin certs. Which is offcourse up to your interests.

Vincent.

On 11/2/2013 3:01 PM, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

I'm wondering too, since I have a slight issue with the menus in VMware Workstation, but otherwise, things are fine. It's just that the menubar titles aren't actually read. Kind of odd, but you know how things work.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Vincent van Itallie Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 8:59 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hi Ryan,

Interesting and good points made. Which spesific inaccessible version / produkt of VMware are you talking about? I am asking because of my earlyer post this week concerning accessibility of vmware.

Thanks in advance, Vincent.

On 11/2/2013 1:46 AM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

...

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access software is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very contravercial, but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness du ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

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Solar Winds is also accessible when receiving alerts based on the various thresholds. The email notifications are text and the web interface to check the reports are both text and graphic.

Foglight NMS is a very accessible network management system; has email alerts and everything, though the dashboards allow you to view things either graphically or textually depending on your preferences. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Sean Murphy Sent: Sunday, November 17, 2013 4:48 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist Vincent. I am not a Network Admin. Rather I support companies who use network gear from cisco. The Routers and switches are accessible. I understand the Voice and Security products are accessible. But I have not actually used them, so I am not 100% sure how accessible. It is different between someone telling you and you actually using it. The data centre products can be used on the CLI level. The GUI environment I believe is not accessible. In relation to learning about networking. There is a organisation in Australia which services the world called CAVI. They can help anyone with learning about the basics of computers, networking and I believe Linux. Other then that, the books are a good resources and doing searches on the net plus lab work is where I suggest people start. I assume this list also would be good to share this knowledge and questions on networking. To help everyone. The challenges I see for a vision impaired person is the NOC (network operation centre) software that alerts you of alarm conditions. If the software permits SMS, email or some other form The challenges I am aware of for a network admin person is as follows: 1. Learning networking. It is a challenge for someone who cannot see diagrams to learn networking. All concepts are based upon diagrams. If you are willing to do more work to understand how the different protocols works and develop a life cycle of the protocol. Then you will eventually be more knowledgeable then your sighted co-workers. It takes more work, but can be done. I only know of 2 people who are blind and have their CCIE in the world. One is in the USA and one is in Europea. It would be good to know if there are others. 2. It depends on the company on how they set up their environment. Some companies use VNC for their employee's access to their routers. Everyone launches from a centralised Telnet server. while other companies make their employee's log into a server via their telnet (console) app and launch from there. It depends on the control level the company want to introduce. Different workarounds are required depending on their methodology of security. If you have to access GUI apps that control network devices and they use remote desktop apps like VNC. then you have to see what they are willing to do. 3. In my role, it is very challenging since everyone wants to use software that controls their pc. This permits them to see what you are doing and gives them a level of comfort in relation to security. These programs are not accessible at all. If the customer is willing not to use these programs, then I am in luck. Otherwise I have to get assistance to work the issue. I just wished there was an SSH program that could be run on both ends. On the customer end and my end. Then I could work the issue without any assistance. If you wish to learn more about my idea, then let me know. It would help out a lot of admin people who have to share desktops with co-workers when working on an issue. 4. If you work in a NOC or GOC (network operation centre) or (ground operation centre) has their challenges. Depending on the tool they use to alert the operators of network conditions, depends on how successful you would be in the role. If the program they use does not have any email, SMS, or some other method of telling you about an alert. Then it is going to be very hard for you to address these issues. Normally they have a big screen which either has a sound alert plus visual clues of some kind. Networking is possible and has the same challenges as other computer roles. Sean On 17/11/2013, at 11:33 PM, Vincent van Itallie wrote:

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1

Hi Sean,

I am verry intrested in your networking spesialism and how you are going trough the exams. Do you have a job as a networking administrator? And how is cisco's software these days when it comes to accessibility. I am sure you can do almost everything still from te command line when it comes to managing some kind of router. Butt how is this when for example deploying new vpn certificats or software version for users from a cisco vpn gateway.

As you might understand by my writing, I am totaly not a cisco expert, butt I might want to know more about it and I am very intrested in the perspective of a blind networking administrator in 2013.

Thanks,

Vincent.

On 11/17/2013 7:34 AM, Sean Murphy wrote:

...

I wish to give you all a completely different spin on the show.

1. If you can, volunteer at a local college, non-profit organisation, etc in their admin department. This gives you experience and also demonstrates you can do the job.

2. See if the employer is willing to take you on for 3 to 6 months without pay to prove you can do the job. If it doesn't work out, then at least you have gained some experiences and exposure into the field.

3. If you have not already done so, join a user group that focuses on admin or Admin OS and databases. Even join a computer association. You are building a network. See if any of the people in these professional groups can assist with getting real life experience.

4. The blogging ideas are good because you are getting your name out there. Even if you build a blog to assist other disable people in learning about admin work. I am not sure if there is such a beast out there. In this area, work on your strengths. I assume since you have done a English degree, communication is a strength. So create blogs that help your fellow vision impaired person. I have been kicking around for a while doing stuff on networking to help blind people to understand it. If you want to work on this with us, let me know. This goes for anyone on this list.

5 Join accessibility groups on different technologies to share your passion and learn.

The biggest question is do you want to specialise or be a generic I.T person. Today it seems generalist are preferred but far harder to be good in.

I have been lucky and specialising in networking. Working towards CCNP. Eventually CCIE if I can get through the exams.

Having general programming skills is good. I wouldn't be to concern about being a expert in this area, if you are not planning to become a developer. Understanding database admin is another area you will need as a sys admin.

ensure any course you do covers computer theory. Everything else like domain controllers, configuring AD, etc are covered in certs.

Finally, I understand the labour laws in the USA have recently changed for companies who have federal contracts. They have to have up to 7% disable employee's employed. I do not know much more then that. Any info on this would be good to know about. I am not covered by the law due to be in Australia. But useful to try and improve things here.

Sean

On 03/11/2013, at 4:56 AM, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

You better believe that I'm going for certs. I'll start with CompTIA and then slowly move up the chain. My goals are CompTIA first, Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate next, and then CCNA/P after that. I will also have a certificate from Bunker Hill Community college soon, so I'm wicked excited about that. And if you want to see what I can do and what I've done, take a look at my YouTube channel, which is http://youtube.com/user/thechromebuster. (Chromebuster, or variants thereof, is what I'm known as on the Internet.) I also am hosting my own site, or I will be soon, (it's up now, but since I'm switching frameworks, and the layout is rather confusing for people, I don't have much up there at this time)I'm deeply involved in the testing of ideas for making open source projects that need work more accessible, and I'm currently rebuilding my web site (a place where I write a technical/personal blog,have message boards, host my projects that I do for fun for folks to freely download and enjoy, and so on), to use the leading CMS for ASP.net called DNN, so that'll be fun. The best part about that is that the DNN community needs accessibility 101, so I'm providing that, and I'm in direct contact with a gentleman working there from the Netherlands. I keep Twitter very active; if you'd like, follow http://twitter.com/chromebuster19, or for web site and tech updates almost exclusively, follow http://twitter.com/accesscop24. And then not to mention, my complicated network setup at home; I plan eventually to have two domain controllers, a web server with a couple backup units load balanced through various friends and contacts willing to freely lend me their equipment, a TeamSpeak Server, a VPN, and a web reverse proxy (provided through the new functionality in Windows server 2012 R2 for web-based control panels that I don't want the world to be able to get ahold of using ADFS as the auth mechanism), and my friend is going to provide the PKI infrastructure for the accesscop.org domain through a domain trust. (thanks to me, she has her own domain as well.) Yeah I know, a bit crazy for a home environment, but who cares. It should be fun, and it will give me something to do. And don't worry, I know that's a lot, but you can be assured that some of my servers will play more than one role. My point in telling you all of this, because this isn't something that I'm doing for a place where I currently work, how the heck is that going to assist employers in hiring me? Or will it make a difference at all?

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Vincent van Itallie Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 12:23 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

For the record: I don't mean vmware workstation or such. I mean more the produkts used in enterprise / corporate enviroments. @Katherine: I highley recomment you to get your self some sysadmin certs. Which is offcourse up to your interests.

Vincent.

On 11/2/2013 3:01 PM, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

I'm wondering too, since I have a slight issue with the menus in VMware Workstation, but otherwise, things are fine. It's just that the menubar titles aren't actually read. Kind of odd, but you know how things work.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Vincent van Itallie Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 8:59 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hi Ryan,

Interesting and good points made. Which spesific inaccessible version / produkt of VMware are you talking about? I am asking because of my earlyer post this week concerning accessibility of vmware.

Thanks in advance, Vincent.

On 11/2/2013 1:46 AM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

...

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access software is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very contravercial, but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness du ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

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_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

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I'll talk to my friend about that. He works there. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Ryan Shugart Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 7:57 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist VMWare Workstation is fine. I have the same issue with the menu bar, but if you know to do alt+f for file, alt+t for tabs and such you're fine. My main issue is with the VSphere family of products. The VSphere client is usable, but difficult and really hard to navigate with the keyboard if you're in an environment with say 400 or so VMs. PowerCLI helps a lot with that, but then there's the addons. VMWare SRM has a lot of problems the last time I checked, and no commandline interface. VSphere Heartbeat is completely written in Java, very unusable, no commandline interface. VCloud Director is all in inaccessible Flash. There is a limited CLI, but not enough for someone to administer it full time. Need I go on? Ryan -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 8:02 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist I'm wondering too, since I have a slight issue with the menus in VMware Workstation, but otherwise, things are fine. It's just that the menubar titles aren't actually read. Kind of odd, but you know how things work. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Vincent van Itallie Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 8:59 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist Hi Ryan, Interesting and good points made. Which spesific inaccessible version / produkt of VMware are you talking about? I am asking because of my earlyer post this week concerning accessibility of vmware. Thanks in advance, Vincent. On 11/2/2013 1:46 AM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access software is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very contravercial, but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness

du

...

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Ryan, You say that the VSphere client is usable, but hard to navigate using a screen reader, and I would have to agree. However, out of curiosity, have you had any success using screen readers inside virtual machines running in a VSphere environment? The reason I'm asking is because my college uses VSphere in their IT courses, and the technicians have had to set up a completely separate environment for me using oVirt because it was not possible to virtualize sound cards in the virtual machines, which were running different versions of Windows. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. OVirt does work, but the client can be a bit unstable sometimes, and it's a learning curve to figure out the web interface and make it work with NVDA. On 11/2/2013 7:38 PM, Katherine Moss wrote:

I'll talk to my friend about that. He works there.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Ryan Shugart Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 7:57 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

VMWare Workstation is fine. I have the same issue with the menu bar, but if you know to do alt+f for file, alt+t for tabs and such you're fine. My main issue is with the VSphere family of products. The VSphere client is usable, but difficult and really hard to navigate with the keyboard if you're in an environment with say 400 or so VMs. PowerCLI helps a lot with that, but then there's the addons. VMWare SRM has a lot of problems the last time I checked, and no commandline interface. VSphere Heartbeat is completely written in Java, very unusable, no commandline interface. VCloud Director is all in inaccessible Flash. There is a limited CLI, but not enough for someone to administer it full time. Need I go on? Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 8:02 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

I'm wondering too, since I have a slight issue with the menus in VMware Workstation, but otherwise, things are fine. It's just that the menubar titles aren't actually read. Kind of odd, but you know how things work.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Vincent van Itallie Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 8:59 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hi Ryan,

Interesting and good points made. Which spesific inaccessible version / produkt of VMware are you talking about? I am asking because of my earlyer post this week concerning accessibility of vmware.

Thanks in advance, Vincent.

On 11/2/2013 1:46 AM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

...

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access software is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very contravercial, but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness du ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Does it? That's new to me. Do you know how well it works in practice? Is the audio quality good enough to get a screen reader through? I'd be worried about latency. I install a screen reader on the remote machine, and then use rdp and the screen reader's virtual channel to get speech. That approach has worked well for many years, there are times when accessing the console would be nice though. Ryan Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 2, 2013, at 8:21 PM, "Katherine Moss" wrote:

THE NEWEST VERSION OF vSphere/ESXi has a feature that allows the virtual machine to get audio from the client. In other words, it feeds off of the sound devices that exist on the machine connecting to it.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Dane Dunham Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 9:45 PM To: blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Ryan,

You say that the VSphere client is usable, but hard to navigate using a screen reader, and I would have to agree. However, out of curiosity, have you had any success using screen readers inside virtual machines running in a VSphere environment? The reason I'm asking is because my college uses VSphere in their IT courses, and the technicians have had to set up a completely separate environment for me using oVirt because it was not possible to virtualize sound cards in the virtual machines, which were running different versions of Windows. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. OVirt does work, but the client can be a bit unstable sometimes, and it's a learning curve to figure out the web interface and make it work with NVDA.

...

On 11/2/2013 7:38 PM, Katherine Moss wrote: I'll talk to my friend about that. He works there.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Ryan Shugart Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 7:57 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

VMWare Workstation is fine. I have the same issue with the menu bar, but if you know to do alt+f for file, alt+t for tabs and such you're fine. My main issue is with the VSphere family of products. The VSphere client is usable, but difficult and really hard to navigate with the keyboard if you're in an environment with say 400 or so VMs. PowerCLI helps a lot with that, but then there's the addons. VMWare SRM has a lot of problems the last time I checked, and no commandline interface. VSphere Heartbeat is completely written in Java, very unusable, no commandline interface. VCloud Director is all in inaccessible Flash. There is a limited CLI, but not enough for someone to administer it full time. Need I go on? Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 8:02 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

I'm wondering too, since I have a slight issue with the menus in VMware Workstation, but otherwise, things are fine. It's just that the menubar titles aren't actually read. Kind of odd, but you know how things work.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Vincent van Itallie Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 8:59 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hi Ryan,

Interesting and good points made. Which spesific inaccessible version / produkt of VMware are you talking about? I am asking because of my earlyer post this week concerning accessibility of vmware.

Thanks in advance, Vincent.

...

On 11/2/2013 1:46 AM, Ryan Shugart wrote: Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access software is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very contravercial, but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

...

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote: -----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness du ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

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I haven't been able to figure out how to install it, honestly. I'll keep looking. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Ryan Shugart Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 11:58 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist Does it? That's new to me. Do you know how well it works in practice? Is the audio quality good enough to get a screen reader through? I'd be worried about latency. I install a screen reader on the remote machine, and then use rdp and the screen reader's virtual channel to get speech. That approach has worked well for many years, there are times when accessing the console would be nice though. Ryan Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 2, 2013, at 8:21 PM, "Katherine Moss" wrote:

THE NEWEST VERSION OF vSphere/ESXi has a feature that allows the virtual machine to get audio from the client. In other words, it feeds off of the sound devices that exist on the machine connecting to it.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Dane Dunham Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 9:45 PM To: blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Ryan,

You say that the VSphere client is usable, but hard to navigate using a screen reader, and I would have to agree. However, out of curiosity, have you had any success using screen readers inside virtual machines running in a VSphere environment? The reason I'm asking is because my college uses VSphere in their IT courses, and the technicians have had to set up a completely separate environment for me using oVirt because it was not possible to virtualize sound cards in the virtual machines, which were running different versions of Windows. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. OVirt does work, but the client can be a bit unstable sometimes, and it's a learning curve to figure out the web interface and make it work with NVDA.

...

On 11/2/2013 7:38 PM, Katherine Moss wrote: I'll talk to my friend about that. He works there.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Ryan Shugart Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 7:57 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

VMWare Workstation is fine. I have the same issue with the menu bar, but if you know to do alt+f for file, alt+t for tabs and such you're fine. My main issue is with the VSphere family of products. The VSphere client is usable, but difficult and really hard to navigate with the keyboard if you're in an environment with say 400 or so VMs. PowerCLI helps a lot with that, but then there's the addons. VMWare SRM has a lot of problems the last time I checked, and no commandline interface. VSphere Heartbeat is completely written in Java, very unusable, no commandline interface. VCloud Director is all in inaccessible Flash. There is a limited CLI, but not enough for someone to administer it full time. Need I go on? Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 8:02 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

I'm wondering too, since I have a slight issue with the menus in VMware Workstation, but otherwise, things are fine. It's just that the menubar titles aren't actually read. Kind of odd, but you know how things work.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Vincent van Itallie Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 8:59 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hi Ryan,

Interesting and good points made. Which spesific inaccessible version / produkt of VMware are you talking about? I am asking because of my earlyer post this week concerning accessibility of vmware.

Thanks in advance, Vincent.

...

On 11/2/2013 1:46 AM, Ryan Shugart wrote: Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access software is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very contravercial, but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

...

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote: -----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness du ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

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VMWare Workstation is fine. I have the same issue with the menu bar, but if you know to do alt+f for file, alt+t for tabs and such you're fine. My main issue is with the VSphere family of products. The VSphere client is usable, but difficult and really hard to navigate with the keyboard if you're in an environment with say 400 or so VMs. PowerCLI helps a lot with that, but then there's the addons. VMWare SRM has a lot of problems the last time I checked, and no commandline interface. VSphere Heartbeat is completely written in Java, very unusable, no commandline interface. VCloud Director is all in inaccessible Flash. There is a limited CLI, but not enough for someone to administer it full time. Need I go on? Ryan -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 8:02 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist I'm wondering too, since I have a slight issue with the menus in VMware Workstation, but otherwise, things are fine. It's just that the menubar titles aren't actually read. Kind of odd, but you know how things work. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Vincent van Itallie Sent: Saturday, November 02, 2013 8:59 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist Hi Ryan, Interesting and good points made. Which spesific inaccessible version / produkt of VMware are you talking about? I am asking because of my earlyer post this week concerning accessibility of vmware. Thanks in advance, Vincent. On 11/2/2013 1:46 AM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access software is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very contravercial, but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness

du

...

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Oh one thing to add to the resume, get your social media game together. Set up a linked in and put it together as polished as possible. Get as many connections and recommendations as possible. Resumes are not nearly as important as a good linked in profile. On Nov 1, 2013, at 8:46 PM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access software is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very contravercial, but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness

du

...

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Katherine: I'm in much the same position re LinkedIn as you stated to be in. It's hard to post about what you're not doing, and what I'm not doing right now is working, so what's to post about? I've had endorsements and all that from all my previous coworkers and even two bosses, but there's this horrid seven-year gap in my work history that seems unbridgeable despite a nice resumé and work history. On Mon, 4 Nov 2013 13:39:12 +0000, you wrote:

I'm on Linkdin already. I didn't provide a link to it on my Resume though; I didn't think I needed to do that. I will though. Thanks for letting me know. But the real trouble is that I have all of these connections on there, I endorse people for skills and what not, I read articles, though I never post up there since I don't really know what to post about since I'm just job hunting at the moment, and I don't want to post about what I'm doing at home, for though that's technical, it's not a business network I'm configuring, so what good is the knowledge going to do employers?

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Scott Granados Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 8:30 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Oh one thing to add to the resume, get your social media game together. Set up a linked in and put it together as polished as possible. Get as many connections and recommendations as possible. Resumes are not nearly as important as a good linked in profile.

On Nov 1, 2013, at 8:46 PM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

...

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, and access software is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very contravercial, but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness

du

...

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

One work around here is contract work. I’m a contractor right now and have done it on and off. The upside is you get to meet the customer with usually a more limited interview process and they get to try you out with a lot less expense or risk. I generally get an arrangement where I contract for X number of months with an option for the employer to make me an employee at the end. The advantage here is they can try you out with out extending you really expensive benefits like medical care etc. (other countries will differ of course) You can also easily be terminated if you don’t perform making it easier than an employee. Go with some sort of contract to perm arrangement and you should find it a bit easier. Just my $.02 On Nov 18, 2013, at 9:37 AM, John G. Heim wrote:

First of all, any job looks way, way better on a resume than an employment gap. In fact, volunteer work looks way better on a resume than a gap. If I got a resume that said, from February 2011 to September 2013, the applicant was doing volunteer work and serving as an unpaid intern, it wouldn't be the greatest thing. But it would be way, way better than leaving a gap. To a degree, I'd give the applicant credit for honesty and gumption. At least they weren't sitting on their behind munching fritos and watching Price Is Right.

BTW, in the United States, it's against the law for a business to make unpaid interns do grunt work. The law says that an unpaid internship has to be substantially educational. I don't know the exact wording of the law but it essentially says the employer has to spend a significant amount of time on instruction. They can't just let an unpaid intern do a job that an entry level person would normally do. Of course, many employers aren't even aware of the law and many more ignore it. But you can't go into a business and essentially work for nothing just to get the experience or hope to get hired full time eventually. That is illegal in the USA. I would imagine most other countries have similar laws. If your country has a minimum wage, it probably also has laws regulating unpaid internships.

It's difficult to get a company to hire you on a trial basis even at minimum wage. That's especially true in information technology. The employer is going to worry that you're going to bungle things up and that it will cost more to un-do the damage than they would save by hiring you at minimum wage. How would you react if someone came to you and said, "I'll be your doctor and you only have to pay me minimum wage because I just need the experience." That would make you less inclined to hire them, right?

On 11/16/13 19:36, Steve Matzura wrote:

...

Katherine:

I'm in much the same position re LinkedIn as you stated to be in. It's hard to post about what you're not doing, and what I'm not doing right now is working, so what's to post about? I've had endorsements and all that from all my previous coworkers and even two bosses, but there's this horrid seven-year gap in my work history that seems unbridgeable despite a nice resumé and work history.

On Mon, 4 Nov 2013 13:39:12 +0000, you wrote:

...

I'm on Linkdin already. I didn't provide a link to it on my Resume though; I didn't think I needed to do that. I will though. Thanks for letting me know. But the real trouble is that I have all of these connections on there, I endorse people for skills and what not, I read articles, though I never post up there since I don't really know what to post about since I'm just job hunting at the moment, and I don't want to post about what I'm doing at home, for though that's technical, it's not a business network I'm configuring, so what good is the knowledge going to do employers?

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Scott Granados Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 8:30 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Oh one thing to add to the resume, get your social media game together. Set up a linked in and put it together as polished as possible. Get as many connections and recommendations as possible. Resumes are not nearly as important as a good linked in profile.

On Nov 1, 2013, at 8:46 PM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

...

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, an d access

...

...

software is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it.

...

Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very

contravercial, but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships.

...

I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administra tion and

...

...

technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

...

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openne

ss

...

du

...

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

First of all, any job looks way, way better on a resume than an employment gap. In fact, volunteer work looks way better on a resume than a gap. If I got a resume that said, from February 2011 to September 2013, the applicant was doing volunteer work and serving as an unpaid intern, it wouldn't be the greatest thing. But it would be way, way better than leaving a gap. To a degree, I'd give the applicant credit for honesty and gumption. At least they weren't sitting on their behind munching fritos and watching Price Is Right.

BTW, in the United States, it's against the law for a business to make unpaid interns do grunt work. The law says that an unpaid internship has to be substantially educational. I don't know the exact wording of the law but it essentially says the employer has to spend a significant amount of time on instruction. They can't just let an unpaid intern do a job that an entry level person would normally do. Of course, many employers aren't even aware of the law and many more ignore it. But you can't go into a business and essentially work for nothing just to get the experience or hope to get hired full time eventually. That is illegal in the USA. I would imagine most other countries have similar laws. If your country has a minimum wage, it probably also has laws regulating unpaid internships.

It's difficult to get a company to hire you on a trial basis even at minimum wage. That's especially true in information technology. The employer is going to worry that you're going to bungle things up and that it will cost more to un-do the damage than they would save by hiring you at minimum wage. How would you react if someone came to you and said, "I'll be your doctor and you only have to pay me minimum wage because I just need the experience." That would make you less inclined to hire them, right?

On 11/16/13 19:36, Steve Matzura wrote:

...

Katherine:

I'm in much the same position re LinkedIn as you stated to be in. It's hard to post about what you're not doing, and what I'm not doing right now is working, so what's to post about? I've had endorsements and all that from all my previous coworkers and even two bosses, but there's this horrid seven-year gap in my work history that seems unbridgeable despite a nice resumé and work history.

On Mon, 4 Nov 2013 13:39:12 +0000, you wrote:

...

I'm on Linkdin already. I didn't provide a link to it on my Resume

...

...

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Scott Granados Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 8:30 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Oh one thing to add to the resume, get your social media game together.

Set up a linked in and put it together as polished as possible. Get as many connections and recommendations as possible. Resumes are not nearly as important as a good linked in profile.

...

On Nov 1, 2013, at 8:46 PM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

...

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the

most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words.

...

...

As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, an

d access

...

...

software is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it.

...

Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very

contravercial, but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation

...

...

...

I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administra tion and

...

...

technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also

...

...

...

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard

with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached

...

...

...

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until

you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think

...

...

...

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the

Through a particular state or agency? Respectfully Stephen Guerra Assistive Technology Specialist and Technical Operations independent living aids, LLC | SOUNDBYTES 200 Robbins Lane Jericho, New York 11753-2341 Phone: 800.537.2118 Direct: 516.450.3817 E-mail: stephen@independentliving.com Check out our 2013 New E-Catalog Web sites: www.independentliving.com www.soundbytes.com -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Monday, November 18, 2013 9:41 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist Right now, I'm actually studying to be an IT consultant; my own hours, working for myself, and all of that, so if I can get that, I think I'd be happiest. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Scott Granados Sent: Monday, November 18, 2013 10:26 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist One work around here is contract work. I'm a contractor right now and have done it on and off. The upside is you get to meet the customer with usually a more limited interview process and they get to try you out with a lot less expense or risk. I generally get an arrangement where I contract for X number of months with an option for the employer to make me an employee at the end. The advantage here is they can try you out with out extending you really expensive benefits like medical care etc. (other countries will differ of course) You can also easily be terminated if you don't perform making it easier than an employee. Go with some sort of contract to perm arrangement and you should find it a bit easier. Just my $.02 On Nov 18, 2013, at 9:37 AM, John G. Heim wrote: though; I didn't think I needed to do that. I will though. Thanks for letting me know. But the real trouble is that I have all of these connections on there, I endorse people for skills and what not, I read articles, though I never post up there since I don't really know what to post about since I'm just job hunting at the moment, and I don't want to post about what I'm doing at home, for though that's technical, it's not a business network I'm configuring, so what good is the knowledge going to do employers? that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships. the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior. pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy. that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job. person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

...

...

...

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been

a coincidence.

...

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openne

ss

...

du

...

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

First of all, any job looks way, way better on a resume than an employment gap. In fact, volunteer work looks way better on a resume than a gap. If I got a resume that said, from February 2011 to September 2013, the applicant was doing volunteer work and serving as an unpaid intern, it wouldn't be the greatest thing. But it would be way, way better than leaving a gap. To a degree, I'd give the applicant credit for honesty and gumption. At least they weren't sitting on their behind munching fritos and watching Price Is Right.

BTW, in the United States, it's against the law for a business to make unpaid interns do grunt work. The law says that an unpaid internship has to be substantially educational. I don't know the exact wording of the law but it essentially says the employer has to spend a significant amount of time on instruction. They can't just let an unpaid intern do a job that an entry level person would normally do. Of course, many employers aren't even aware of the law and many more ignore it. But you can't go into a business and essentially work for nothing just to get the experience or hope to get hired full time eventually. That is illegal in the USA. I would imagine most other countries have similar laws. If your country has a minimum wage, it probably also has laws regulating unpaid internships.

It's difficult to get a company to hire you on a trial basis even at minimum wage. That's especially true in information technology. The employer is going to worry that you're going to bungle things up and that it will cost more to un-do the damage than they would save by hiring you at minimum wage. How would you react if someone came to you and said, "I'll be your doctor and you only have to pay me minimum wage because I just need the experience." That would make you less inclined to hire them, right?

On 11/16/13 19:36, Steve Matzura wrote:

...

Katherine:

I'm in much the same position re LinkedIn as you stated to be in. It's hard to post about what you're not doing, and what I'm not doing right now is working, so what's to post about? I've had endorsements and all that from all my previous coworkers and even two bosses, but there's this horrid seven-year gap in my work history that seems unbridgeable despite a nice resumé and work history.

On Mon, 4 Nov 2013 13:39:12 +0000, you wrote:

...

I'm on Linkdin already. I didn't provide a link to it on my Resume

...

...

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Scott Granados Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 8:30 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Oh one thing to add to the resume, get your social media game together.

Set up a linked in and put it together as polished as possible. Get as many connections and recommendations as possible. Resumes are not nearly as important as a good linked in profile.

...

On Nov 1, 2013, at 8:46 PM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

...

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the

most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words.

...

...

As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, an

d access

...

...

software is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it.

...

Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very

contravercial, but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships.

...

I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administra tion and

...

...

technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

...

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard

with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

...

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until

you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

...

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the

Through a gentleman widely known in the IT community here in Boston who takes in interns in his business. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Stephen Guerra Sent: Monday, November 18, 2013 10:42 AM To: 'Blind sysadmins list' Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist Through a particular state or agency? Respectfully Stephen Guerra Assistive Technology Specialist and Technical Operations independent living aids, LLC | SOUNDBYTES 200 Robbins Lane Jericho, New York 11753-2341 Phone: 800.537.2118 Direct: 516.450.3817 E-mail: stephen@independentliving.com Check out our 2013 New E-Catalog Web sites: www.independentliving.com www.soundbytes.com -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Monday, November 18, 2013 9:41 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist Right now, I'm actually studying to be an IT consultant; my own hours, working for myself, and all of that, so if I can get that, I think I'd be happiest. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Scott Granados Sent: Monday, November 18, 2013 10:26 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist One work around here is contract work. I'm a contractor right now and have done it on and off. The upside is you get to meet the customer with usually a more limited interview process and they get to try you out with a lot less expense or risk. I generally get an arrangement where I contract for X number of months with an option for the employer to make me an employee at the end. The advantage here is they can try you out with out extending you really expensive benefits like medical care etc. (other countries will differ of course) You can also easily be terminated if you don't perform making it easier than an employee. Go with some sort of contract to perm arrangement and you should find it a bit easier. Just my $.02 On Nov 18, 2013, at 9:37 AM, John G. Heim wrote: though; I didn't think I needed to do that. I will though. Thanks for letting me know. But the real trouble is that I have all of these connections on there, I endorse people for skills and what not, I read articles, though I never post up there since I don't really know what to post about since I'm just job hunting at the moment, and I don't want to post about what I'm doing at home, for though that's technical, it's not a business network I'm configuring, so what good is the knowledge going to do employers? person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

...

...

...

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been

a coincidence.

...

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openne

ss

...

du

...

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

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-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

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_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Hi Scott, Do you have a specefic area of IT service where you operate in? Or do you do the "average" It job, for the small / midsized companys? Just curious. Vincent. On 11/18/2013 4:25 PM, Scott Granados wrote:

One work around here is contract work. I’m a contractor right now and have done it on and off. The upside is you get to meet the customer with usually a more limited interview process and they get to try you out with a lot less expense or risk. I generally get an arrangement where I contract for X number of months with an option for the employer to make me an employee at the end. The advantage here is they can try you out with out extending you really expensive benefits like medical care etc. (other countries will differ of course) You can also easily be terminated if you don’t perform making it easier than an employee. Go with some sort of contract to perm arrangement and you should find it a bit easier.

Just my $.02

On Nov 18, 2013, at 9:37 AM, John G. Heim wrote:

...

First of all, any job looks way, way better on a resume than an employment gap. In fact, volunteer work looks way better on a resume than a gap. If I got a resume that said, from February 2011 to September 2013, the applicant was doing volunteer work and serving as an unpaid intern, it wouldn't be the greatest thing. But it would be way, way better than leaving a gap. To a degree, I'd give the applicant credit for honesty and gumption. At least they weren't sitting on their behind munching fritos and watching Price Is Right.

BTW, in the United States, it's against the law for a business to make unpaid interns do grunt work. The law says that an unpaid internship has to be substantially educational. I don't know the exact wording of the law but it essentially says the employer has to spend a significant amount of time on instruction. They can't just let an unpaid intern do a job that an entry level person would normally do. Of course, many employers aren't even aware of the law and many more ignore it. But you can't go into a business and essentially work for nothing just to get the experience or hope to get hired full time eventually. That is illegal in the USA. I would imagine most other countries have similar laws. If your country has a minimum wage, it probably also has laws regulating unpaid internships.

It's difficult to get a company to hire you on a trial basis even at minimum wage. That's especially true in information technology. The employer is going to worry that you're going to bungle things up and that it will cost more to un-do the damage than they would save by hiring you at minimum wage. How would you react if someone came to you and said, "I'll be your doctor and you only have to pay me minimum wage because I just need the experience." That would make you less inclined to hire them, right?

On 11/16/13 19:36, Steve Matzura wrote:

...

Katherine:

I'm in much the same position re LinkedIn as you stated to be in. It's hard to post about what you're not doing, and what I'm not doing right now is working, so what's to post about? I've had endorsements and all that from all my previous coworkers and even two bosses, but there's this horrid seven-year gap in my work history that seems unbridgeable despite a nice resumé and work history.

On Mon, 4 Nov 2013 13:39:12 +0000, you wrote:

...

I'm on Linkdin already. I didn't provide a link to it on my Resume though; I didn't think I needed to do that. I will though. Thanks for letting me know. But the real trouble is that I have all of these connections on there, I endorse people for skills and what not, I read articles, though I never post up there since I don't really know what to post about since I'm just job hunting at the moment, and I don't want to post about what I'm doing at home, for though that's technical, it's not a business network I'm configuring, so what good is the knowledge going to do employers?

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Scott Granados Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 8:30 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Oh one thing to add to the resume, get your social media game together. Set up a linked in and put it together as polished as possible. Get as many connections and recommendations as possible. Resumes are not nearly as important as a good linked in profile.

On Nov 1, 2013, at 8:46 PM, Ryan Shugart wrote:

...

Hi Katherine: I have to agree with what the others on here have said for the most part. I'd keep your resume to one to perhaps one and a half pages. Remember that many times, potential employers don't even read resumes anymore, its all done by computers scanning for key words. As to the whole blindness thing, I have found its best to be honest with the employer before the interview but don't push that fact too hard unless it needs pushing. Just saying "Just so you know, I'm visually impared, so I'll be coming with a cane/dog" is all I'd say before the interview. That puts it out there, then you can see what they do.. I wouldn't send in pictures of projects I've done or anything like that, but do the obvious. Make sure you dress professionally, are there on time, basically show you can blend in as much as possible. If at that point the blindness is a problem with the employer it probably isn't a good fit anyway. Finally on blindness, let me just be blunt. Being a blind systems administrator is not easy. You will have accessibility challenges every day, and depending on what your employer has you doing there are days where you'll be confronted with some pretty steep accessibility challenges. Things are changing out there fast, an d access

...

...

...

Technically, yes, go for helpdesk positions or even internships. That's how I got started was a six month internship doing basic Windows administration. I started out in a tiny company, we only had nine servers when I started. We got bought out a few years ago by a big international company, so now I manage about 60 servers spread out around the world, a big change. Many IT jobs today are contract to hire, which means that they hire you for a few months to a year on contract to see if they like you, then if they do, keep you on. It might not hurt to contact a recruiter and talk with them about the positions available. I personally don't like contract to hire as much as direct hire because people hired through contract often don't get any benefits for a while until after they've been accepted, but all of the hires in the IT department where I work have been through recruiters and contract to hire positions. Also, look into some certs. I know this is very contravercial, but I've had employers tell me to my face that if it came down to two candidates, one with a cert and one without, everything else equal, they go for the cert. Its

software is struggling to keep up. I'm not saying its not doable, but just warning you to plan on spending as much time figuring out how to do your job as you spend doing your job. The larger the company, and the more 3RD party software they run that you have to work with, the more true this is. I used to administer VMware, but got pulled off of it because there were just too many accessibility challenges. The standard VMware client is barely accessible, it can be used with a screen reader, but it takes forever. There is a commandline interface for VMWare, and I was pretty good with it, but it only managed the basic VSphere environment. VCloud Director, VCenter Heartbeat, etc. No CLI. So I got pulled off VMWare and now manage AD, where the GUI is usable, and everything is doable with Powershell. Which, by the way, if you don't know Powershell, learn it now. Make it your best friend. Know it inside and out. You will absolutely not regret it. that paper documentation. Does a cert mean you are better technically? Of course not, but it is documentation that you can perform a basic level of skills. In an entry level career they carry weight, as you progress no one cares. I've also heard that some U.S. federal IT positions require certs even to be considered in the first place. I'd skip over basic A+ and such and go for a MCSA or whatever its called today, or Linux equivalent. You'll probably get an A+ as part of that, then start looking for internships.

...

I hope this helps to get you started, this is what worked for me at least. Ryan

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:51 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administra tion and

...

...

technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

...

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openne

ss

...

du

...

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

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-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

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Do not be alarmed by having a large resume in the tech space. Mine is over 5 pages and had a great front page to suck in the reader with lists of tools and equipment I’m well versed in. Keep in mind I’m covering 25 years worth of work history but a large resume, at least in the tech field is not a necessarily bad thing. I’d be willing to post my resume to the list or send it to you off list if you’d like to look at the formatting etc. My present resume is what I used to get my lead routing and switching job now so there’s a history of success there. On Nov 1, 2013, at 4:51 PM, Katherine Moss wrote:

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness

du

...

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

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None of that stuff really matters. Well, it does and it doesn't. It just depends. A lot of employers will throw a 5 page resume in the trash. Or press the delete key it as is more likely the case these days. But some will say, "Hmmm.... This is interesting." When you think about it, the one page resume rule is kind of dumb. It always was, really, but even more so these days. You could put all the important stuff on the first page and details on pages 2, 3, 4, and 5. The convention could have grown up that you had better have a five page resume or it gets thrown in the trash. But that's not the way it is. The one page resume thing is a thing. Too many people know about that rule for you to ignore it. Having said that though, there is something important you should know. There are no rules. That's the thing about getting a job... I am surprised it hasn't come up to this point. Getting a job is all about connecting with the person doing the interview. They will overlook just about anything if they like you. Well, "like" isn't quite the right word. You have to be the person they can imagine working with successfully. It's not that qualifications don't matter. But I will bet that the single most qualified candidate gets the job only about half the time. And quite often, an employer will hire someone completely unqualified if they think the person will grow into the job. Everything just depends. I once knew a manager who would throw away any resume printed on paper that wasn't white. He just thought resumes should be white and if you sent him an off-white resume, he'd throw it in the trash. Even that rule I just gave you about qualifications not really mattering isn't true all the time either. There are some aspects of information technology where if you have the right qualifications, you can walk into the interview in your pajamas and still get the job. On 11/04/13 07:25, Katherine Moss wrote:

Then why do career councellors say how bad it is to have more than a two-page resume? I don't get it; they spend so much time grilling you over stuff like that that you sort of have no choice but to listen to them.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Scott Granados Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 8:19 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Do not be alarmed by having a large resume in the tech space. Mine is over 5 pages and had a great front page to suck in the reader with lists of tools and equipment I'm well versed in. Keep in mind I'm covering 25 years worth of work history but a large resume, at least in the tech field is not a necessarily bad thing. I'd be willing to post my resume to the list or send it to you off list if you'd like to look at the formatting etc. My present resume is what I used to get my lead routing and switching job now so there's a history of success there.

On Nov 1, 2013, at 4:51 PM, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administrat i on and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my opennes

s

...

du

...

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

And then, how do you cover twenty-plus years in two pages? On Mon, 4 Nov 2013 13:25:45 +0000, you wrote:

Then why do career councellors say how bad it is to have more than a two-page resume? I don't get it; they spend so much time grilling you over stuff like that that you sort of have no choice but to listen to them.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Scott Granados Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 8:19 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Do not be alarmed by having a large resume in the tech space. Mine is over 5 pages and had a great front page to suck in the reader with lists of tools and equipment I'm well versed in. Keep in mind I'm covering 25 years worth of work history but a large resume, at least in the tech field is not a necessarily bad thing. I'd be willing to post my resume to the list or send it to you off list if you'd like to look at the formatting etc. My present resume is what I used to get my lead routing and switching job now so there's a history of success there.

On Nov 1, 2013, at 4:51 PM, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness

du

...

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

I know, right? -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Steve Matzura Sent: Saturday, November 16, 2013 8:36 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist And then, how do you cover twenty-plus years in two pages? On Mon, 4 Nov 2013 13:25:45 +0000, you wrote:

Then why do career councellors say how bad it is to have more than a two-page resume? I don't get it; they spend so much time grilling you over stuff like that that you sort of have no choice but to listen to them.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Scott Granados Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 8:19 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Do not be alarmed by having a large resume in the tech space. Mine is over 5 pages and had a great front page to suck in the reader with lists of tools and equipment I'm well versed in. Keep in mind I'm covering 25 years worth of work history but a large resume, at least in the tech field is not a necessarily bad thing. I'd be willing to post my resume to the list or send it to you off list if you'd like to look at the formatting etc. My present resume is what I used to get my lead routing and switching job now so there's a history of success there.

On Nov 1, 2013, at 4:51 PM, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness

du

...

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Then why do career councellors say how bad it is to have more than a two-page resume? I don't get it; they spend so much time grilling you over stuff like that that you sort of have no choice but to listen to them. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Scott Granados Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 8:19 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist Do not be alarmed by having a large resume in the tech space. Mine is over 5 pages and had a great front page to suck in the reader with lists of tools and equipment I'm well versed in. Keep in mind I'm covering 25 years worth of work history but a large resume, at least in the tech field is not a necessarily bad thing. I'd be willing to post my resume to the list or send it to you off list if you'd like to look at the formatting etc. My present resume is what I used to get my lead routing and switching job now so there's a history of success there. On Nov 1, 2013, at 4:51 PM, Katherine Moss wrote:

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness

du

...

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

I agree. I have a varied IT background from Assembler Language programming on IBM Mainframes involving very complex systems to Assistive Technology to other areas of the iT field. Typically, they state that it's best not to provide experience which is more than ten years old. However, when the experience and skil sets will indicate to a potential employer that you are well-versed in more than one concentrated area, this demonstrates that you are flexible and willing to adapt. Just my own perspective and it has served me well as I have generally been able to find employment. I have had to side step at times though which isn't easy for many to accept. I suppose the need to keep the mortgage paid is a good motivator. Amanda Lee -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Scott Granados Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 8:19 AM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist Do not be alarmed by having a large resume in the tech space. Mine is over 5 pages and had a great front page to suck in the reader with lists of tools and equipment I'm well versed in. Keep in mind I'm covering 25 years worth of work history but a large resume, at least in the tech field is not a necessarily bad thing. I'd be willing to post my resume to the list or send it to you off list if you'd like to look at the formatting etc. My present resume is what I used to get my lead routing and switching job now so there's a history of success there. On Nov 1, 2013, at 4:51 PM, Katherine Moss wrote:

The only problem with including detailed descriptions of everything I've ever done technologically, is that my resume would span more than two pages, and two pages is all that an employer these days will bother to read. And aside from that, how do I know, that just because I can do something, does that mean that I can also do it in a job environment where I have people breathing down my neck? For instance, do I know how to set up an active Directory Environment? Sure I do. Do I know how to set one up in a 1000+ employee corporation? I'm not sure. I've never gotten the chance to try since no one will hire me. Could I set up a sharepoint site, sure, with a little looking things up and maybe fooling around with the SP PowerShell modules. My point is that I can't seem to get folks to look past the fact that most of my knowledge is self-taught and self-obtained, instead of being tauht to me in a college environment. In fact, I didn't know that my passion for administration and technology in general, at least in terms of wanting to work in IT as well, was so strong until 2011, when I met my mentor and friend, who is also the information security officer at Gordon College. He put me on a project during an internship, and from that point onward, I realized that tech was my life, my dream job, and everything else to me, pretty much. But by that time, it was too late to change my major to computer science since I was already a junior.

-----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:12 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

My totally unsubstantiated opinion is that you want to hit them hard with all the stuff you do in your personal life. It would be kind of corny for someone to attach stuff to a resume about their hobbies but, IMO, it's different if you are blind. Last time I was looking for a job, I attached pictures of the stone terraced garden I had built and pictures of my woodworking projects. I included links to an article that was written about me when I ran a marathon. I included anything like that I could think of. Quite honestly, I wanted to play into the myth of the super blind guy.

Some people think it's better to not mention that you are blind until you get an interview and let them find out when you show up. But I think that results in you going to a lot of interviews for jobs you have no chance at. I came to this conclusion after I showed up for an interview and a the person who was going to interview me said, "But you're blind. Blind people can't use computers." I talked them into going ahead with the interview but it was clear I had absolutely no chance at the job.

That was a big waste of time. Who knows how many other times the person thought it but was smart enough to say nothing. So I started attaching all the stuff about my personal life and hobbies. I even wrote a few lines in the cover letter to the effect of saying that I wouldn't normally add all this stuff about my hobbies on a resume but I feel it's important for you, the employer, to know that I can do stuff.

Hard to say if it worked. I got a job soon after but it could have been a coincidence.

On 11/01/13 13:48, Katherine Moss wrote:

...

-----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist

Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness

du

...

ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks.

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- --- John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim@math.wisc.edu

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

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I have quite a few references, actually; my friend from Gordon College, who, ultimately allowed me to recognize my own potential, and I have him to thank for that, as well as the gentleman I volunteer for in Cambridge. In terms of coding, I'm getting better, though my programming skills are still weak at the moment, though I do plan to begin an open source project just as long as I can create code for an idea I have. I already have ideas, so it shouldn't be too long now. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Chris Nestrud Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 5:15 PM To: 'Blind sysadmins list' Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist The two things that have really worked in my favor are directly relevant experience and excellent references who are eager to explain how I changed their world for the better. I think that you not only need to be able to sell yourself, but you also need credible people who will independently agree with what you have said. If most or all of your experience is self-taught, you have surely considered volunteering to get experience and references. Do any of your users groups have servers in need of admins? I'd imagine that the members have gotten past any blindness issues and recognize that you have skills. Do any of them work for companies that have internship opportunities? If you're into development, could you spin up a VPS and write some code so you have a project (hopefully with some users to go along with it) to display? Chris -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 1:48 PM To: blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] FW: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist -----Original Message----- From: Katherine Moss Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:47 PM Subject: How to sell yourself to employers as a blind, but capable technologist Hello all, My name is Katherine Moss, and let me tell you. Boy do I wish I had discovered this list years ago. I have been a technologist/administrator for the past ten years dabbling in everything from Windows to most recently Linux. I'm wondering what you guys have done to sell yourself to employers during interviews to get hired at your fulfilling jobs. I desire greatly to become a paid systems administrator and not just have technology as a hobby. I have a degree in English, though I'm planning on getting a certificate in network technologies and administration at Bunker Hill Community College (I am from Massachusetts). As of right now, regardless of the fact that I do have experience, employers are getting tripped up by my lack of official vender certifications, as well as my blindness. I will admit that I'm very open about my blindness, using it as a jumping off point to launch accessibility awareness campaigns rather than brooding over it. I'm wondering if my openness du ring the first interview at a job could be hurting me? I ask this because qualifications can't be the problem since I'm a member of a couple of user groups here in New England, and not many of us have computer science degrees at all. What has been your take on this? Thanks. _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins