Do you have a disability and currently looking for a job? Holly shared some tips which she used to land a job on her blog, Life of a Blind Girl. Holly is visually impaired and works as an Assistive Technology Officer. 

There’s no denying that looking for a job can be difficult, even more so for disabled people. Employers have outdated and wrongly perceived ideas surrounding employing disabled people which adds an extra barrier for us.

There are so many questions surrounding disability and employment such as ‘what do I do if the application form isn’t accessible?’, ‘when do I disclose my disability?’ And ‘what jobs are accessible?’ Just to name a few.

Many people who have recently been diagnosed with a disability may be wondering what jobs they can do, especially if they are no longer able to do their current role, or they may be wondering what adjustments can be made. Rightly so as well, as all of these topics are so important,

For today’s post I want to share some top tips on looking for a job if you have a disability. People often ask me ‘how did you get your job?’, my answer is always the same: ‘just like my sighted colleagues’, but there’s no denying that it was a lot harder for me, I came across countless jobs that I couldn’t do because of my visual impairment. Employers don’t always look beyond a person’s disability, which prevents them from having an interview, or even getting the job.

When I graduated University in 2017, I don’t think I was fully prepared for how hard it would be to get a job. I knew that it was going to be difficult, but I didn’t know that it was going to be as hard as it was. Looking on job websites and seeing tons of jobs that aren’t accessible can make you feel very unmotivated and frustrated.

I managed to get a job within 6 months of graduating University, constant hard work and determination paid off in the end. However, I did face quite a few rejections but when I think about it, they helped me get to where I am today.

For some people, rejection can be a downwards spiral, with employers often not even offering disabled people an interview.

I want to share with you some top tips on looking for a job when you have a disability, none of them are ground-breaking, but I thought it would be nice to have some useful tips in one place for when you need them, I could have done with something like this when I was job searching.

Before we get into today’s post, I just want to point out that I’m no way an expert in this area, I’m just talking from my own experiences and those of people that I know. I do hope that this post is useful to some of you.

Have an idea of what field you want to go into

This is so important regardless of whether you have a disability or not, but I’d say that it is key when you have a disability as you can base your search on jobs that are in that specific field. Know what jobs are in the area you want to go into and make sure that you know where they will be advertised.

Make a list of job websites and regularly check them.

Many companies advertise jobs on other websites in order to reach a wider audience. Websites such as Indeed, Total Jobs and The Guardian Jobs are some examples of websites where employers advertise job vacancies. They are fully accessible as well which is a bonus.

Depending on what sort of job you’re looking for, it may be a good idea to check local websites as well such as your local paper, colleges, schools, the local council or universities for employment opportunities. You would be surprised how many jobs are advertised on such websites.

You can often receive email alerts when new jobs are put up on some websites, this is extremely useful to set up as it means that you don’t have to check them on a daily basis, and you will be notified when new jobs come up that match your criteria.

Contact companies directly

By this I certainly don’t mean begging a company to give you a job but let me explain…

Not all companies advertise on external websites, some prefer to advertise current job vacancies on their own website. Have a think about what organisations are in your desired field, make a list of them and check their websites for a current job vacancies section. Do you have an employer that you would really like to work for? Make sure you check their website for any current job vacancies. You may be able to set up email alerts, but if not, check them on a regular basis.

Checking several websites may be a tedious task, but it may be worth it in the long run!

Communicate with people you know

This can be very daunting, and you often feel rude doing this, but if you know someone that works in the field that you want to go into then it can be a great way of finding out about employment opportunities in that area. Tell family and friends that you’re looking for a job, they may help you with your search or send you any jobs that they think might be suitable.

Make use of specialist services available to you

Making use of specialist services can be a great way of looking for jobs and receiving careers advice. Disability organisations offer a wide range of services relating to employment, for blind and partially sighted people in the UK, the RNIB offer support and advice on all aspects of applying for a job – from job searching, to preparing for an interview and so much more.

The disability Charity Scope also offer a wide range of services for disabled people looking for employment, including online and telephone support for people applying for jobs in England and Wales.

Local charities and organisations may also offer employment support so it is worth contacting them to see if they can be of any help.

Making use of these services can really help you when applying for jobs, they are there for disabled people so why not make use of them?

Look for disability friendly employers

This isn’t a necessity, but if this is an important part of your job search, then there are a couple of ways of finding disability friendly employers. It’s important to note that there is no certain way of identifying disability friendly employers.

The Disability Confident Scheme is designed for employers to recruit disabled people for their skills and talent.

The Business Disability Forum is an organisation that makes it rewarding for employers to employ disabled people.

If you’re a graduate, then look at internships

I know that this won’t apply to everyone, but if you are a recent University graduate or about to graduate University then doing an internship can be a great way of gaining some experience in the workplace, they are often paid roles as well.

Many employers offer internships, one specifically for disabled people is Leonard Cheshire’s internship programme, they bring together UK employers and talented disabled students. Internships are definitely worth looking into.

Employability is a portal of current vacancies for disabled students

If you have a visual impairment, Blind in Business offer training and employment services for students and graduates so they are definitely a useful contact.

Do some volunteering

Many charities and organisations are often looking for volunteers, this can be a great way of getting valuable experience and gaining new skills. Volunteering is unpaid but nevertheless, volunteering is very rewarding and looks great on your CV. I wrote a blog post for Scope on the importance of volunteering so if you’re in need of some inspiration then go and check that out.

Know your CV

Not all employers accept CV’s, so you might have to fill out an application form to apply for a job. Knowing your CV can make this process easier. If employers do accept CV’s then make sure your CV fits the job that you’re applying for, make sure that your CV is up-to-date.

Think of what you can do, not what you can’t do

When looking for jobs, you may often come across jobs that you think you can’t do because of your disability, but there are so many jobs that you can do. We can often get bogged down in the negatives rather than focusing on what we can do.

As a blind person, one question that I often get asked is ‘what jobs can blind people do?’ And the list is practically endless. Obviously, there are limitations and there are certain jobs that we can’t do, but there are far more that we can carry out. With the right support and adaptions, we can do jobs to the same standard as non-disabled people.

Don’t give up!

I think this is the most important piece of advice that I can give, it can often feel disheartening, upsetting or frustrating when you are faced with disappointment when looking for work, but it is very important to not give up and feel discouraged. Determination, dedication and hard work will pay off in the end!

There you have it, some top tips on looking for a job if you have a disability. I hope this post has been useful to some of you.

Do you have any other tips to share? Feel free to leave them in the comments.

If you would like me to do some future posts on employment then make sure you let me know, it’s something that I’d love to do.

All that’s left for me to say is good luck!

Holly x

Source: Life of a Blind Girl