Searching for a Job When You Have a Disability - Sterling Career Concepts

Searching for a Job When You Have a Disability Searching for a Job When You Have a Disability Approximately 20 percent of U.S. adults have a disability, according to the CDC. Many of these people are fully capable of working but are either uncomfortable with looking or dont know how to start. Learn how to look past the disability and find work you love to do with these suggestions. You are an important part of the workforce and employers are missing out on what you can do for them. Learn About Your Rights Your first step is to learn about your rights as a person with a disability. You are not a disabled person, but a person with unique qualities that may or may not be accounted for in the standard working world. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) sets out the guidelines for how employers should treat you. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing businesses to adhere and acknowledge these guidelines. Reviewing the EEOC guidelines will get you ready to face employers in your job search. Tap Into Online Resources A few online searches will uncover many beneficial resources from how to start your job search to how to manage your disability in the work place. The Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights (PACER) provides articles on how to handle yourself in an interview and when to discuss your disability. Helpful information can come from various places. Laser Spine Instituteâ€"an innovative minimally invasive surgery center that has helped more than 40,000 patientsâ€"features motivational videos on their Youtube channel that discuss how people with debilitating back issues were able to resume their work life. The Lapekas HR Consulting website discusses how employers should interview a person with a disability. This gives you a chance to see the process from the interviewers side, and prepare potential answers accordingly. Disclosure of a Disability One of your major concerns is likely when and how to tell a potential employer about your disability. This is something you will have to evaluate on a case-by-case basis, says Diversity World, because each employer will be different. Some companies openly advertise that they accommodate all types of disabilities, while other companies have never taken on such a person and dont know how. Employers look for people with the right skills to do the work. So one rule is to sell yourself on your skills and abilities first, before you disclose your challenges. If you visit an online job fair or apply to positions online, you have the opportunity to present yourself and skills to qualify for the position. It may first come up when setting up an interview. For example, you may discover the interview is held on an upper floor and there is no elevator for your wheelchair. Or you may have a hearing impairment and need the assistance of a sign-language interpreter. You can make this a positive experience by helping the business address these issues, showing them you take initiative and dont let your challenges get in the way. In the no-elevator situation, tell the recruiter you use a wheelchair and ask if they would meet with you on the first floor for the interview. In the hearing-impaired situation, tell them you have access to people who can do the interpretation and you could give them the information or set them up yourself. The EEOC requires employers to make reasonable accommodation for you. But when you offer to help, you show that you wont let anything stop you, a valuable trait in any employee. Guest Author :  Robert Lake Robert is a caregiver who helps patients recover from back surgery.