Best practices in finding a job for people with disabilites

1. Job
Seeking
Tips for
People with
Disabilities
Joe Chiappetta

2. How Much Time
Does It Take to
Find A Job?
Your Job Is Looking for a Job!
• If NOT in school, wake up early...
• Search 8 hours per day, 5 days per week
• If full-time student...
• Search at least 2 hours, 5 days per week

3. Five Resume Tips (1 of 5)
1. Customize resume to the job
• Review job description and
highlight important credentials
• Include keywords from job
description

4. Five Resume Tips (2 of 5)
2. Make a name for yourself
• State career goal, plus 1 or 2 of
your top credentials.
• Credentials should be tailored to
employer’s needs.
• Example: Sous Chef - Culinary
Degree & 5 Years Fine Dining
Experience

5. Five Resume Tips (3 of 5)
3. State objective clearly
• Show that you're a perfect
fit for the position.
• Concise, targeted
statement instead of a
general objective that
could be used for any
employer or job

6. Five Resume Tips (4 of 5)
4. Give resume room
• At least 1-inch margins
• Use blank space between
sections of text
• Stick with 1 font
• Bold and italics sparingly
• Avoid underlining
• Bullets to emphasize skills and
accomplishments

7. Five Resume Tips (5 of 5)
5. Use numbers to
highlight
accomplishments
• Which is more
impressive?
Wrote news releases.
Wrote 25 news releases
in 3-week period under
daily deadlines.

8. Make List of Skills You Have
• What are you good at?
• Not skills you wish you
had
• Not skills you almost
have
• Skills you have right now

9. IN-DEMAND Skills
• Skills that many companies
are hiring for RIGHT NOW!
• If your skills are not in-
demand, consider re-
training:
• School
• Volunteer work
• Training Program

10. Circle the In-Demand Skills
• Show this list to people
who know you.
• Ask them if they can add
to your list.
• The more In-Demand
skills, the better.

11. $ Sell Yourself $
• How good are you
at pitching your in-
demand skills?
• Practice your pitch

12. Networking
• How big is your
network?
• It's not who you
know...
• It's who knows YOU.
• Identify your network,
and work it.

13. Your Network
People
• Friends
• Family
• Teachers
• Leaders
• Friends of Friends/Family
• Acquaintances

14. Your Network Places
• Places near home
• Places off the train or
bus line nearest you
• Places where you are
a customer
• Places where people
in your network are
customers

15. Your Network
Groups
• Schools
• Clubs
• Sports teams
• Interest groups
• Ethnic associations
• Religious affiliations
• If network is too small, join something
else.

16. Who Is Helping You?

17. The Help
• It Does Matter Who Is
Helping You.
• If you're a customer of a job
placement agency, ask...
• "How many job seekers
are on your caseload?"
• "What percentage of
people do you place?"
• Don’t rely on one agency.

18. Who to Follow Up With
• Employers
• Everyone in your network
• Agencies
• Recommended websites

19. Job Search Websites
• Set up job alerts at
www.Monster.com
www.Careerbuilder.com
www.IllinoisJobLink.com
• Sites to check weekly
www.Craigslist.com
Other local classified sites

20. • How important
Looks and is appearance?
Attitude • How important
is attitude?
• The smile
factor
:)

21. Social Skills can make or break you.

22. Workplace
Social Skills:
How well can
you...
1. Talk and Listen to Boss and Coworkers
2. Work as a Team
3. Get Work Done

23. Talk and Listen to Boss and Coworkers
1. Start discussion
2. Understand facial
expression
3. Check your voice

24. Work as a Team
1. Self-Maintenance
2. Self-Control
3. Handle bad behavior
4. Get along with
coworkers
5. Be a team player

25. Get Work Done
1. Follow directions
2. Explain needs to boss and coworkers
3. Respond to good feedback
4. Respond to correction

26. Americans with
Disabilities Act
• Law passed in 1990 (ADA)
• Amended in 2008 (ADAAA)
• Employers with 15 or more
employees must comply.
• ADA Title 1 (employment)
enforced by U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC)

27. ADA Legal Requirements
• Makes employer job discrimination
against people with disabilities illegal
• Covers recruitment, pay, hiring, firing,
promotion, job assignments, training,
leave, lay-off, benefits, all other
employment related activities
• Person with disability must be qualified to
perform essential functions of job with
or without reasonable accommodation

28. Disability Definition
under ADA
(A) a physical or mental impairment that
substantially limits one or more of the
major life activities of such individual;
(B) a record of such an impairment; or
(C) being regarded as having such an
impairment.
Not a Transitory Impairment
(expected to last more than 6 months)

29. Major Life Activities (ADAAA)
Includes, but not limited to...
• Caring for self, performing manual
tasks, seeing, hearing, eating,
sleeping, walking, standing, lifting,
bending, speaking, breathing,
learning, reading, concentrating,
thinking, communicating, working
• Major bodily functions of immune
system, normal cell growth, digestive,
bowel, bladder, neurological, brain,
respiratory, circulatory, endocrine,
reproductive functions

30. 1. Interview process
When to
Disclose 2. After job offer
Disability 3. On the job when an
impairment makes
performing essential
job functions
impossible without
reasonable
accommodation
4. Never

31. Reasonable
Accommodation
Crash Course
(ADA Title 1)

32. Reasonable Accommodation is for...
• Employers of 15 or more employees
• All state/local government employers
• Person who is qualified (with or
without accommodation)
Reasonable Accommodation is...
Change to job or workplace allowing
person to:
• Participate in job app process
• Perform essential functions of job

33. Reasonable Accommodation is NOT
• Tolerating violent or abusive
behaviors
• Non-adherence to fundamental
policies and procedures
• Personal services (toileting, feeding,
medications, wheelchairs)
• Undue hardship: Significant admin or
financial burden
• Allowing direct threat to health/safety

34. Reasonable Accommodation:
What to ask supervisor for?
Which do not apply to ADA?
1. "I'm having trouble getting to work at my
scheduled starting time because of medical
treatments I'm undergoing."
2. "I need six weeks off to get treatment for a
back problem."
3. "My chair is uncomfortable. I really need a
new one to do my job!"
4. "I need a quieter workspace to be more
productive!"

35. Reasonable
Accommodation
Examples
• Make existing facilities accessible
• Job restructuring
• Part-time or modified work schedules
• Acquire or modify equipment
• Change tests, training materials, or
policies
• Provide qualified readers or interpreters
• Reassignment to a vacant position

36. Employee Accommodation Steps
1.Employee makes request
2.Manager writes it (or ask employee to)
3.Health info: Kept confidential
4.Is more info needed on medical
condition or accommodation?
5.If request is not reasonable, enter
interactive process
6.Both parties explore effective
accommodation options
7.Start accommodation

37. The Request
Includes...
• Nature of disability
• Reason for request
• Specific accommodation requested
• Medical info if necessary
Request doesn't have to be in writing
but having it written, dated, and signed
establishes clarity.

38. Accommodation Advice
Job Accommodation Network:
• Free technical assistance
• Search Job Accommodation
Database
• (800) 526-7234 (Voice)
• (877) 781-9403 (TTY)
• www.askjan.org

39. CONTACT
If info from this session helps you find a
job, please let me know:
Joe Chiappetta
http://www.linkedin.com/in/chiappetta
/
www.chicagolandchamber.org