Strategies for Job Interviewing with a Disability
This is a writing sample from Scripted writer Kelly Short
Job interviews are nerve-wracking for many people. When you have a disability, the anxiety often climbs another notch. Too many employers have yet to recognize that people with disabilities are just as gifted, skilled, and qualified (and, yes, just as flawed) as everyone else.
People with disabilities are everywhere. Granted, not all disabilities are visible, but one in every five adults has a disability, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Yet the stigma remains. It’s unfair, but it exists in the job world despite the disclaimers on recruiting materials. So, as you almost certainly know, you have work to do. The good news is that with preparation and practice, you can get interviewers to notice you for you—and not for your disability.
Project Confidence
The most important strategy for interviewing with a disability—for interviewing at all, period—is to project confidence. Now, how you get there is a different story. You may have to fake it, and that’s fine. It works. It really does. Of course, actual confidence is preferable.
At a minimum, whether you are faking or possess true confidence, you must be sure that you have covered a lot of bases. Go into interviews as prepared as possible, and have the following criteria taken care of:
· Know what recruiters/interviewers want and look for
· Understand what mistakes could cost any applicant a job
· Dress in clothes that make you feel good
· Anticipate interview questions and prepare answers for them
· Develop a strength or group of strengths that set you apart from other applicants
· List your accomplishments and be able to narrate them
· Exhibit positive body language
· Research the company
· Plan answers that delve into specifics and not generalities
For example, recruiters say that being rude to the receptionist or being too early can cost any job candidate. Likewise, if you are not happy with your size and have clothes that are too small, you’re less likely to project confidence. Get all of the above ducks in a row, and you are already ahead of a huge majority of job applicants.
If you have done your homework, you should already have a good base of confidence, no fakery needed. You’re ready. You’re prepared. You feel great. Now there’s the matter of your disability.
Disclose (Or Don’t)
Many people prefer not to disclose a disability before or during an interview if they don’t have to. In quite a few situations, though, non-disclosure is not realistic or even desirable. For example, if you are deaf, you may need to request an interpreter for an in-person interview. For a phone interview, you may need to explain how a relay service functions or why live chat via a messenger service may be more effective.
If you use a wheelchair and are applying at a company that works out of a historic building that has no elevators, you may want to ensure that the interviews are on the first floor. If you are blind, you may merely prefer not to catch an employer off guard or to make an interviewer feel misled. In short, no matter your disability, there are many good reasons to disclose it. There are, of course, good reasons not to as well. Use your judgment, and do what makes you most comfortable.
That said, the rule of thumb is that if you need accommodations for the interview, disclosing beforehand is a must. How you disclose makes a world of difference. Again, confidence is key. Never apologize for your disability (don’t phrase your request as making a company go to “extra trouble”).
Do remember that the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, does not require that all employers provide accommodations. For example, a private employer that has 14 or fewer employees might choose not to, and it’s time for more creativity on your part.
Have a Backup Plan
Speaking of accommodations, having a backup plan is critical in maintaining your confidence. It gives you huge peace of mind if nothing else. We live in an imperfect world, and in this world, human resources personnel forget to get in touch with interpreter agencies, or interpreters call in sick. Or the interpreter who shows up has subpar skills.
Likewise, an employer may forget to provide assistive technology for a test taken by a blind applicant, or interviewers forget to move meetings from the second floor to the first for a wheelchair user. As a person with a disability, you are probably used to envisioning everything that could go wrong.
Now it’s time to take charge. Yes, things may go wrong, so have a plan in case they do. If you are deaf, make it easier on the hiring manager who is likely clueless about how to get an interpreter. Explain which agency he or she should contact, and express a preference for specific interpreters (give names). If you will be doing the majority of your job without interpreters, you may even choose to forego an interpreter altogether for the interview. This is more feasible for one-on-one setups rather than group interviews, so get the scoop on how interviews will be structured.
Envision things going wrong. Imagine yourself remaining cool, calm, and collected—and providing solutions. Will the company be impressed at how you handle yourself under pressure? This is also an opportunity for you to figure out what working for this employer may be like, so take advantage of it.
Recognize and Develop Strengths
A critical aspect of projecting confidence is knowing that you have the right stuff for the job. To that end, cultivate at least one strength that you will use to position yourself as especially qualified during interviews. This strength (or strengths) could be a soft skill such as communication, persistence, motivation, leadership, or research. It could be going the extra mile on projects. It could a hard skill such as unusual proficiency in a software program or an accomplishment such as having an article published in a prestigious journal.
This strength is your ace card. It’s your key to maintaining confidence because you know, no matter what, that you have this strength, and any employer would be lucky to benefit from it. You can use it if asked something such as, “Why should we hire you?” or “If we asked your current employer what stands out about you, what would they say?”
When you try to figure out what sets you apart from other applicants, it can be useful to look at your disability as a starting point. Because of it, you may have met people you never would have otherwise. Because of it, you could have worked hard to overcome challenges that other people cannot begin to fathom. Persistence, patience, creativity, and thinking outside the box are great strengths that just might have their roots in your disability. However, when discussing these strengths, take care to not make everything about your disability. You do not even need to bring it up during such a discussion if you would rather not.
The bottom line is that understanding how your disability has contributed to your life helps you present yourself confidently.
Never Associate Your Disability with Your Weakness
Many variations of the question, “Tell me about your greatest weakness” exist. They can even be situationally based (“Tell me about a situation where your greatest weakness tripped you up.”).
Whatever you do, never associate your disability with the weakness. If you are deaf, your weakness could be that you are a bit of a perfectionist, and that caused you to almost miss deadlines on projects several years ago. Since then, you’ve worked on achieving a better balance between quality work and cutting it close. Great! That is a perfectly fitting weakness. You do not want to say something such as, “I have trouble communicating with customers sometimes if they whisper on the phone.”
Show Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence goes a long way toward showing interviewers that you are more than your disability. Avoid painting yourself as a victim, and do not overcompensate. If you cannot do this, it’s difficult to persuade employers to hire you. Put yourself in your interviewer’s shoes. What would you like to see? What would you like to know? What would turn you off?
Employers are not allowed to ask about your disability, but they certainly are wondering about it and about your ability to perform with it. One indicator of emotional intelligence is the facility to speak naturally and openly about what you do. For example, when asked about a project you have worked on, you can weave in bits of insight about how you excel at your job while having a disability. Similarly, you may prefer to discuss honestly and simply the realities of working with a disability. Show that it isn’t scary, that it’s very doable, and in fact, can benefit the company as a whole.
In other words, show emotional intelligence by discussing your disability as one of many parts that make up who you are. It need not be portrayed as a negative. It could be positive or simply a fact of life. You can even inject humor or practicality into situations (i.e. “My manager chose me for the surprise project because of my ability to focus. Good thing I’m not bothered by people shouting at one another across the room!”).
If you follow the above strategies, you should be in a good place for the number-one strategy: projecting confidence. Showing emotional intelligence, developing strengths, having a backup plan, and many more attributes are in all service of that ultimate goal. Confidence is attractive and shows in many ways: your body language, your assertiveness, and your level of engagement, to name just a few.
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