by Jessica B. Mayer
Too often people with disabilities are left out of the workplace or are not expected to hold meaningful jobs. This attitude presents an enormous challenge for people with disabilities who are just starting out. How do you get a job when you have never had one? It is the proverbial “Catch 22.” Many people with disabilities have never written a résumé or gone on a job interview; they are not aware of how to dress and conduct themselves at an interview. For the last two years, a few colleagues and I have worked with a group of teenagers and young adults with disabilities to help them write résumés, dress for success and behave appropriately at interviews. We were more than a little surprised to find that many of the youngsters had no clue about the process of applying and interviewing for a job.
We addressed such tasks as writing résumés (making sure they are mistake-free, clean and neat), tailoring one’s appearance and arriving promptly for the interview. They also needed coaching on how to conduct themselves at interviews, and in establishing career goals for themselves.
We suggested to the group that they include in their résumés all activities in which they have participated, including those that were done on a volunteer basis. These might involve activities at houses of worship, hospitals, schools, camps, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and so forth. We emphasized the skills acquired rather than the remuneration received. We also advised them to make a list of all their skills, languages, education, travel experience and awards-anything that might make their résumés more attractive and augment their on-the-job performance.
Unfortunately, the group we worked with is not unique. We’ve been aware of other young people with disabilities who have very little ambition and somewhat low expectations of what they might achieve with their lives. Because they have disabilities, their teachers, parents, rehab specialists and others may have given them the message along the way that they are incapable of higher aspirations.
To combat negative messages, children with disabilities need to be mentored from a very young age, preferably by people with disabilities who have careers and independent lives. These individuals are successful role models.
The youngsters should go to work with their mentors or other adults to give them an idea of how places of work function. The mentors should go over educational and career choices and goals with their students. These programs are available to other minorities and certainly they should be made available to young people with disabilities.
In my own case, I was lucky. The message I received was that I was expected to achieve and be successful in life. My mother encouraged my talents and my creativity, and she was a role model for me. It was assumed that I would receive a college education and have a career. When I did graduate from college, it was very difficult for me to find a job, so I started my own business, which has been successful.
In the year 2004, it is a shock to realize that society does not have higher hopes and dreams for our children with disabilities. We constantly blame employers for discriminating against people with disabilities. There is little doubt that such discrimination occurs; however, even companies that are committed to, and interested in, full inclusion of people with disabilities in the workplace are frustrated by the lack of qualified candidates available in this population. If I had a dollar for every time I heard a recruiter say, “I’ve been working with agencies because I want to hire more people with disabilities, but they have not sent me one qualified applicant,” I’d be rich.
Companies who have established a policy of hiring people with disabilities are going to become discouraged and decide to stop looking. The search begins to waste their time and money.
In my opinion, our society needs to take a hard and careful look at the way we educate and prepare our young people with disabilities for work. We are not doing it very well at all.
Jessica B. Mayer owns JB Access, Inc., a disability/employment consultancy. Ms. Mayer can be reached via e-mail at JBAccess1@aol.com.
