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September 24, 2008
Show Your Bridge Building Skills
If we can get beyond the fear about our own personal
lives and look at the "big picture," we must admit
that we are certainly living in interesting times. We
are facing enormous social, economic, political and
environmental problems on a global scale, and there
are no easy answers for solving them.
Will people unite to effectively address these
problems?
Or, we will become frustrated, avoid the overarching
issues and wrap our arms around ourselves, each
seeking protection individually wherever we can find
it?
I believe the answers to those questions will depend
on the leadership which bubbles up from the combined
stress of all of these issues. Through effective
leadership, we may discover that, when we must make
monumental choices, we value community more than
individuality.
In local government, in state government, in federal
government and at the international level, we need
leaders with a sense of self-esteem and independence.
We need bridge builders, who will persevere under
difficult situations, and have the ability to grasp
the unique patterns of each issue. That means
recognizing the things that go together and the things
that will never go together.
That type of leadership, gained through experience,
will also continue to be valuable on the job.
On eSight, Liz Seger has written some excellent
articles about leadership. In one of them, she says:
"Too often today people are polarized and not really
principle-centered. Instead, they let their fears
take over their lives. Rather than having an
'abundance' mentality (where they realize that there
is going to be enough for everyone if everyone works
together), there is a 'lacking' mentality.
"The self-talk is this: 'I'll never be enough; I'll
never have enough. Someone is going to get more than
me; I can't let that happen.'
"…A lacking mentality is what makes CEOs of
corporations spend lavishly on parties, using
company profits to fill "a hole in their souls" with
more and more stuff yet depriving their employees,
shareholders and others.
"A win-win situation, however, is where everyone
benefits. Everyone works together without personal
agendas to do the best they can.
"Stephen Covey says highly effective leaders are willing to share recognition and power with others because they approach life from a win-win perspective. They see abundance instead of scarcity. They love to share recognition and power. Why? Because it's not a limited pie. It's an ever enlarging pie."
See "Characteristic of Leadership: Sharing Recognition, Power."
According to Covey, leaders do not feel threatened by
change, comparison or criticism. They are secure
enough to find guidance, discover their mission,
define their roles, write their scripts and set their
goals. They have the wisdom to learn from their
mistakes, and they seek to improve how they
communicate and cooperate, even under conditions of
stress and fatigue.
See "The Four Dimensions of Leadership."
On the eSight Networking Forum last week, Liz
explained what all of this means to job seekers with a
disability. She writes:
"I heard the late Randy Pausch, in his last lecture,
say, 'Play the cards you are dealt. You can't change
them but you can at least play the hand you have and
do it to the best of your ability.'
"Getting the job really isn't about the employer; it's
about you and how much you want it.
"(This is how) Randy Pausch (put it): 'The brick walls
are there so that the people who really want it will
be weeded out and break through. Break down those
barriers, break down that brick wall by being the best
(empowered you) you can be.'"
You may have had to develop a sense of self-esteem
without the support others would think you'd naturally
receive from friends and acquaintances who also have
disabilities.
You may have had to seek mentors and role models
outside of the disability community. Reaching out into
the unknown -- beyond your comfort zone to the abled
world -- is often a lonely journey. But, by doing so,
you've developed authenticity and perseverance, a
sense of self-worth and an independence. You've found
your own dignity.
And, in the process, you may have become a bridge
builder between abled and disabled people or between
groups of people from different cultures or between
young or elderly or between people with different
political assumptions. You may have found yourself in
situations where you've been able to help people
understand one another and appreciate how much they
are alike despite their apparent differences.
You may feel awkward in having one foot in each world.
But, that bridge building experience is precisely what
we need today in small and large businesses and in
state and federal government as well as on the
international stage.
You may have acquired, without recognizing
it, the ability to lay the foundation for mutual
understanding and common purpose. And that skill set
can be applied to a wide variety of situations.
See "My Critical First Steps in Building a Resume:
List Accomplishments, Key Success Factors."
That leads me to this week's discussion question.
What bit of personal experience can you cite as
evidence for prospective employers that you have
acquired skills for bringing people together?
Posted by Jim Hasse at 11:45 AM | Comments (3)
September 17, 2008
Addressing the Extra Stress Issue
Communication skills, honesty and relating well to
others are the top three skills and qualities that
employers seek in new job candidates, according to the
National Association of Colleges and Employers.
Like many of us, Barney Mayse, eSight member, is
probably not surprised by the results of that survey.
But, during last week’s discussion on the eSight
Networking Forum, Barney mentioned another factor
which doesn’t get on the top 10 list of what employers
seek in job candidates: stress reduction. Hiring
managers create more stress for themselves when they
select job candidates who are “different,”
particularly those with disabilities.
At least, that’s often the common perception. And,
hiring managers don’t want to add stress to their
already frenzied lives.
Here’s how Barney explains it:
“I believe that employers both at the HR and hiring
manager level are under great stress today, and they
look at a disability as just another stressor. When
they ... understand that people with disabilities are
capable of managing their lives, their jobs, their
stresses and contributing to the growth and
development of the company ... the world will be
transformed.”
A Louis Harris poll found that 82 percent of managers
surveyed said employees with disabilities are no more
difficult to supervise than employees without
disabilities.
Marriott, which has long-term experience with
employing people who have disabilities, suggests
employees with disabilities should be held accountable
to the same job standards as any other employee and
that supervisors who can successfully manage people
can successfully manage people with disabilities. A
manager of people just needs to be a consistent
leader.
How can we get that point across to potential
employers -- and knock down the “extra stress”
perception as an employment barrier?
Terry Besenyody, Human Resources Manager for Pitney
Bowes at the Spokane, WA, Office, gives us a clue.
He says:
“I believe my job is to tell a candidate what
the job involves. It is the candidate’s job to tell me
whether he can perform the tasks. And he has to sell
me on his being the best choice. If a disabled person
does that, I'll hire him."
The key is showing (not telling) prospective employer
why you’re the best choice among the people he or she
is considering for a particular job. That means
changing his or her perception – no easy task. But,
with some work, it can be done.
Here’s how:
Think about how you perceive your disability. Think
about how your prospective employer probably perceives your disability. Then, as simply and succinctly as you can, write a simple, easily verbalized statement that directly addresses the issue of your disability and quickly turn it from an assumed negative into a positive.
That provides a convenient transition into a
discussion about what you can offer the employer in
terms of relieving a pain or obtaining a gain.
For example, as an online interactive facilitator, you
may say:
"I have some sight, but I'm legally blind. However, my
visual impairment has become more of a help than a
hindrance to me as an online interactive facilitator
for travel agents because I use computer screen
magnification and screen reading software to enhance
my ability to thoroughly proof text before it goes
online. In some instances, I pinpoint typos -- little
things in the text that my current supervisor, who is
sighted, misses."
See “Develop a Good Answer to Questions About Your Disability.”
Then, write an “offering statement” and
use it in place of your “objective statement” you may
have on your resume.
An offering statement is brief. It includes
well-selected accomplishments and skills of the job
applicant, using action words. An employer is more
interested in what an applicant has to offer than what
the applicant's personal objectives are.
For example, consider this offering statement (which
can dovetail with the positive “answer” you have about
your disability):
“I will enhance your company web site's usefulness as
an online interactive facilitator by developing it as
a gathering place for those within your niche audience
of travel agents who seek opportunities to discuss
issues which are important to them."
See “Writing an Offering Statement for Your Resume.”
In addition to directly addressing the stress issue
Barney mentions, note that these two tools (your
"disability answer" and your "offering statement") also
accomplish the following:
- Turns the discussion focus to your abilities instead of your disability.
- Shows you have the self esteem and resiliency to
thrive even in tough situations. - Demonstrates on a personal level, the concept of
self determination (that you are pursuing access to career options in a chosen field like as anyone else). - Places the conversation with your prospective
employer on an adult-to-adult level, which allows each of you to be authentic and honest with the other.
In other words, you’re presenting yourself to a
prospective employer as an individual with potential,
ability and vulnerability -- all of which are unique
to you. You don’t fit the stereotypes he or she may
have unintentionally harbored about people with
disabilities for years until the two of you met.
Most of all, you’re demonstrating your communication
ability, your honesty and your interpersonal skill --
the top attributes employers seek in new job
candidates.
Based on your experience, what benefit (or drawback)
do you see in this approach to landing a job that’s
right for you?
Posted by Jim Hasse at 11:26 AM | Comments (2)
September 10, 2008
Roads More Easily Traveled
I’m back after working on a special project for eSight
this summer. Through that work, I had a chance to step back and look at various studies about the key concerns employers have about hiring people with disabilities.
I’m now more convinced than ever that there some basic misunderstandings on the part of both employers and job seekers with disabilities about what each other needs that are holding back progress in reducing the unemployment rate among individuals of working- age with disabilities.
We need a dialogue between employers and job seekers to identify and address those misunderstandings. I also now realize that volunteering – individuals with disabilities getting involved in mainstream projects not necessarily focused on disabilities or disability services -- can be an important step in starting that
dialogue.
But, let me show you why I think there are gaps in
understanding between job seekers with disabilities
and potential employers. Many of us may have simply
taken roads more easily traveled than those we often
bypass because we believe they’re perhaps more
dangerous. Yet, those bypasses, we sometimes forget,
can be more rewarding.
Here are some concrete examples.
This summer I was reminded that more than four out of
10 respondents to the first-ever national study of
people with disabilities who are self employed said
they chose the entrepreneurial route because they
"needed to create their own job." A similar number
also said they had chosen self employment with its
flexible hours and working conditions "to accommodate
a disability."
These are just two of the findings from a study
conducted by the National Institute on Disability and
Rehabilitation Research's Research & Training Center
on Rural Rehabilitation Services, connected with the
Montana University-affiliated Rural Institute on
Disabilities.
"Research has shown that there are nearly as many
people with disabilities who own their own business as
who work for federal, state, and local governments
combined," says Rural Institute director Tom Seekins.
"When you consider the extraordinary difficulty that
people with disabilities have had finding employment,
starting one's own business makes good sense."
I’ve recently heard that same logic about the 300,000
or so vets who have come home from Iraq and Afghanistan with disabilities during the last six years. Government support people are encouraging these vets to start their own businesses instead of jumping into the job market because it may be easier.
It’s true that these vets have probably picked up many
valuable skills which can be immediately transferred
into establishing small businesses.
But, many individuals with disabilities without
military service lack work experience either in a job
or as a volunteer. They lack the track record people
often need to establish a costumer base. They need
credibility with potential clients, and, even for
people without disabilities, that often takes years of
working on the job for some one else.
For them, what seems like an easier road ends in
disappointment -- in phantom businesses which keep
them busy but don’t produce income.
Instead of working themselves up from entry-level jobs
(where they can refine their basic skills) to
positions of more responsibility (where they can show
their savvy) and then use their contacts and track
records to gain a clientele as a small business owner,
they have short-circuited their careers.
Check “How to Avoid Hiding Behind a Phantom Business.”
See “Tips for Charting a Deliberate Career Path When
You Have a Disability.”
Read “Be Flexible in Where You Search for a Job.”
In my view, employers also need to be on guard against hiding behind phantom reasons why they don’t hire more people with disabilities.
The U. S. Census Bureau says 73 percent of the top
industries (Fortune 5,000 companies) across the
country are hiring people with disabilities.
Yet, Census Bureau's American Community Survey says,
in 2006, the employment rate for people with
disabilities was 37.7 percent, compared to an
employment rate of 79.7 percent for people without
disabilities, a difference of 42 percentage points.
Why?
According to National Council on Disability’s
“Achieving Independence: The Challenge of the 21st
Century,” the most commonly cited reason for not
hiring people with disabilities is a “lack of
qualified applicants.” That’s closely tied to another
reason we commonly hear: “the inability to locate or
find qualified job applicants with disabilities.”
“Lack of qualification” can include a deficiency in
education, experience, “hard” skill, “soft” skill, or
a specific attribute etc. Or, (and I know I’m may be
overly cynical here), it can be a “code phrase” for
“we haven’t bothered to actively seek job candidates
with disabilities who are qualified.” At any rate, it
probably means no one has taken the time to look
beyond the road most easily traveled.
See “Webliography for Locating Job Candidates With
Disabilities.”
Read “How to Recruit Qualified Job Candidates With
Disabilities on College Campuses.”
Check “New-century Services for Hiring People With
Disabilities.”
We need a constructive dialogue between job seekers
with disabilities and potential employers. Both are,
in some ways, taking the road most easily traveled. By
doing so, we’re missing the connection with other --
sometimes by miles -- to the detriment of both.
Please tell us what you think by replying to this question:
What is the most important misunderstanding about
disability employment that you would like to see
addressed in a dialogue between job seekers with
disabilities and employers?
Posted by Jim Hasse at 01:59 PM | Comments (4)