Tip No.
145
Q.
I have a visual impediment that prevents me from driving or doing a lot of computer work at one time. How do I explain this without hurting my chances of getting a job?
A.
Your best resources for finding employment are the people who know you and your capabilities. The best way for you to find out about opportunities that may be available for you is to network. Start with your former employers and colleagues, especially those who have written you letters of recommendation. I suggest that you talk to everyone you know and let them know your career aspirations, then ask them where they see you fitting into the marketplace or where they see you fitting into your chosen field. You may get some really great ideas from this. Then ask them if they would give you the names of two or three people who could help you in your career pursuit. Follow this pattern with each of the referrals, as well, and you may turn up something very interesting. No matter how bad the market is, there are always positions available in this "hidden" or "networked" market.
According to the Americans With Disabilities Act, it is illegal to discriminate against someone with a disability if that disability does not prevent them from doing the work required of the position. You may want to find out more about this Act and organizations that support it and the people it represents. This may help build a new network for you that could be useful to you in finding work.
As far as finding some kind of work you can do at home, it is difficult to advise you without knowing more about your interests. However, you may want to check out work-at-home-dot.com, which is a website designed specifically for people looking for these kinds of opportunities.
When you fax or email your resume to a company, you should not include your letters of recommendation. When resumes are sent in response to advertised positions, they get an average of two minutes of review. If you send too much information, it will feel overwhelming to the human resources manager who receives it and it may not get read. A better bet is to develop a strong resume that shows your accomplishments and is an attention grabbing sales representative for you. Letters of recommendation are great to have and may be useful for you in highlighting your accomplishments or contributions to previous employers. However, many employers do not ask for them these days. More likely, they will ask you for a list of references. In that case, you can submit your letters of recommendation with that list.
As far as handling salary history, when you are applying for or interviewing for a job, you should never divulge your past salary or your salary requirements, if you can avoid it. It is none of the interviewer's business what you were making in your previous positions and they should have a salary range established for the position they are trying to fill. If you must fill in salary history on an application, simply put a diagonal line through the box. If you are forced to give your salary requirements, you can write in something like "flexible" or "negotiable".
There are many places to research companies. If you are interested in a specific company, one of your best resources is that company's own website. They may post open positions, company news, recent press releases, officer and board of director biographies, their mission, vision, and values, and many other items of interest to a job seeker or potential employee. Hoovers.com is a good site for general company information and Edgar.com is a good site for publicly held companies' financial information. You may also want to visit the reference section of your local library and ask the librarian to guide you to the company directories in the areas of your interest. There are numerous volumes of these types of directories.
Finally, you may want to take a look at the following websites: Projects for People with Disabilities at wdsc.doleta.gov/disability/for tips on jobs, job accommodation resources and employment initiatives, World Association of People with Disabilities at wapd.org which will link you to DISABLED2WORK.COM, which help with career placement, or WeMedia at wemedia.com for information on empowering persons with disabilities with education, health, employment and other areas.
Best of luck to you!
If you have a question for CMI, please
send email to jobbox@cmi-lmi.com
with "Question for CMI" in the subject line.
TipsArchive
| About Our
Counselors | Career
Management International
|
|
|
|
Tip No. 145 |
|
Q. I have a visual impediment that prevents me from driving or doing a lot of computer work at one time. How do I explain this without hurting my chances of getting a job? |
|
A. Your best resources for finding employment are the people who know you and your capabilities. The best way for you to find out about opportunities that may be available for you is to network. Start with your former employers and colleagues, especially those who have written you letters of recommendation. I suggest that you talk to everyone you know and let them know your career aspirations, then ask them where they see you fitting into the marketplace or where they see you fitting into your chosen field. You may get some really great ideas from this. Then ask them if they would give you the names of two or three people who could help you in your career pursuit. Follow this pattern with each of the referrals, as well, and you may turn up something very interesting. No matter how bad the market is, there are always positions available in this "hidden" or "networked" market. According to the Americans With Disabilities Act, it is illegal to discriminate against someone with a disability if that disability does not prevent them from doing the work required of the position. You may want to find out more about this Act and organizations that support it and the people it represents. This may help build a new network for you that could be useful to you in finding work. As far as finding some kind of work you can do at home, it is difficult to advise you without knowing more about your interests. However, you may want to check out work-at-home-dot.com, which is a website designed specifically for people looking for these kinds of opportunities. When you fax or email your resume to a company, you should not include your letters of recommendation. When resumes are sent in response to advertised positions, they get an average of two minutes of review. If you send too much information, it will feel overwhelming to the human resources manager who receives it and it may not get read. A better bet is to develop a strong resume that shows your accomplishments and is an attention grabbing sales representative for you. Letters of recommendation are great to have and may be useful for you in highlighting your accomplishments or contributions to previous employers. However, many employers do not ask for them these days. More likely, they will ask you for a list of references. In that case, you can submit your letters of recommendation with that list. As far as handling salary history, when you are applying for or interviewing for a job, you should never divulge your past salary or your salary requirements, if you can avoid it. It is none of the interviewer's business what you were making in your previous positions and they should have a salary range established for the position they are trying to fill. If you must fill in salary history on an application, simply put a diagonal line through the box. If you are forced to give your salary requirements, you can write in something like "flexible" or "negotiable". There are many places to research companies. If you are interested in a specific company, one of your best resources is that company's own website. They may post open positions, company news, recent press releases, officer and board of director biographies, their mission, vision, and values, and many other items of interest to a job seeker or potential employee. Hoovers.com is a good site for general company information and Edgar.com is a good site for publicly held companies' financial information. You may also want to visit the reference section of your local library and ask the librarian to guide you to the company directories in the areas of your interest. There are numerous volumes of these types of directories. Finally, you may want to take a look at the following websites: Projects for People with Disabilities at wdsc.doleta.gov/disability/for tips on jobs, job accommodation resources and employment initiatives, World Association of People with Disabilities at wapd.org which will link you to DISABLED2WORK.COM, which help with career placement, or WeMedia at wemedia.com for information on empowering persons with disabilities with education, health, employment and other areas. |
|
|
|
|
|
If you have a question for CMI, please send email to jobbox@cmi-lmi.com with "Question for CMI" in the subject line. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|