By Victoria Abbott-Fleming
I am the founder of a chronic pain charity called Burning Nights. I like to create content related to living with chronic illness and I have produced this visual asset (please see below) with advice for people with disabilities on attempting to secure employment. For a young adult with a disability there can be a number of barriers to overcome when it’s time to look for your first job.
The competitive nature of today’s jobs market makes it rather challenging for people with disabilities to succeed in finding employment, even though employers are prohibited from discriminating on grounds of disability. When looking for a job, see if you can find out about the prospective employer’s attitude towards hiring people with disabilities.
In addition, learn as much as you can about the job requirements. If a job would require you to do something that your disability prohibits you from doing, strike it off your list. There are plenty of other jobs that you can do. Ideal jobs for people with disabilities will have minimal travel and minimal physical demand, such as desk jobs or work at home jobs.
Some examples of suitable careers for people with disabilities include: accountant, financial planner, market research analyst, pharmaceutical sales, and physician’s assistant. If you can get a job as a career guidance counselor or college enrollment advisor, you will be in a good position to help other people with disabilities learn how to navigate the system.
There are practical challenges which may need to be faced when you attend an interview, but these can be overcome with some intelligent thinking. A candidate with a mindset of “here’s how I’ll deal with this obstacle” is far more likely to be hired than one who doesn’t believe the obstacle can be conquered. Be ready with examples of how you have handled difficult situations. Show plenty of self confidence and focus on what you can do rather than what you can’t.
Best wishes,
Victoria Abbott-Fleming
Courtesy of http://www.burningnightscrps.org