03.22.2021 Elisabeth Sanders-Park
Anna was diagnosed as bi-polar a few years after high school and has struggled to maintain her stability and quality of life ever since. She cycles often and dramatically, but is a talented office worker and wants to do something productive… Michael lost most of his right arm in an on-the-job accident over 4 years ago. He wants to re-enter the workforce… Carl is schizophrenic, has been stabilized on medication for several years, and wants to do something with his days to bring more meaning to his life… Jonathan has always had trouble with learning and retaining. He’s been in the workforce for years, but has been fired, quit twice, and has a few gaps. He needs to work but feels hopeless about ever succeeding on a job. How can we serve those looking for "jobs for people with disabilities"?
First, let’s start with a baseline definition: “A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity, such as hearing, seeing, speaking, thinking, walking, breathing, or performing manual tasks”… that’s how the U.S. Census Bureau defines disability. More than 61 million Americans (1 in 4 people) have some level of disability according to the CDC in 2018, and The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that In 51.5 million adults aged 18 or older in the United States (20.6%) suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. Whether your focus is helping people at top-levels transition their careers, or helping people enter the workforce for the first time, chances are you encounter job seekers who are actively searching for jobs for people with disabilities online or print media.
How to Get a Job: Five Things to Do
When I think of helping people with various disabilities get, keep and succeed in a job, these things come to mind:
Go SOLAR
As always, I recommend using our “Five Solution Tools”, also known as SOLAR (Skills, Outlook, Look, Answer, and Resource), for overcoming barriers… helping the client
- to acquire new Skills,
- adjust their Outlook,
- changing where they Look for work,
- developing a good Answer,
- and accessing a Resource.
Get Support
Even if you are a therapist or have been an SSI/SSDI worker, if your primary focus is on employment, partner with local service providers who can focus on the disability, so you and your client can succeed. They can help clients stabilize, access disability-specific resources and information, advocate with employers for reasonable accommodations or job re-structuring.
Check the Attitude
Be sure their attitude is as productive and helpful as can be. People with disabilities participate, succeed, even lead in the workforce everyday! Their attitude can drive or stall this process. Many people with long-term disabilities or more recent injuries self-identify strongly with it. Every story they tell about themselves is steeped in the disability, injury, ensuing trauma or resentment, etc. This makes it difficult to initiate a job search, let alone succeed in the interview. So, verify that they believe they can succeed or introduce them to others with disabilities who are succeeding, then proceed.
Match Well
Whether the disability is physical or mental, matching well is key.
- Match the job: Have the client (perhaps with the help of a disability expert) research the qualifications to see that they meet them. We use PADMAN. Employers search, often unconsciously, to choose the right person. Together they constitute fit –
Presentation,
Ability,
Dependability,
Motivation,
Attitude, and
Network. - Match the field/employer: Some fields/employers are more likely to consider the client, such as those that serve people with disabilities, those that focus on people, personal growth and relationships, or those with which the clients have a natural network.
- Match the job search strategy: Encourage the candidate to job search in ways (paper, phone, person) and use tools that highlight their strengths and minimize the disability so employers can see what they offer without being distracted by it.
Does the Employer Need to Know?
The client can decide whether to self-disclose the issue. In general, I encourage clients to disclose it only if they will ask for a “reasonable accommodation” in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act or if the employer will find out otherwise (a reference, work history, etc.) and feel like the client was deceiving them by not bringing it up.
Keeping the Job: Solutions for the Clients (and You)
Here’s what I might do with the clients I mentioned above.
Anna: I’d encourage her to approach temp agencies and let them know she wants assignments that last 1 day to 3 weeks. This allows her to work successfully when she can, without any expectation when she destabilizes or begins to cycle. It also means she can control the hours she works to maintain her benefits. She may or may not tell the temp agency about her situation, and employers would never need to know. If employers want to keep her longer or hire her on, she can respectfully decline and even let them know that she prefers the flexibility and variety of temp work.
Michael: We’d choose jobs wisely according to his current ability, as well as fascinations and values. Then, we’d structure his job search so employers don’t meet him in person until they decide they’re interested, and I’d help him develop a good answer to eliminate the employer’s concerns and prove he can meet their needs. “You may have noticed that I have lost use of one of my arms. I lost the other in an accident a few years ago… You may be surprised how much I can do with what I have. I’ve learned that I’m capable of more than I realized, so I keep a positive attitude and look for new and better ways to do things. I want to work with you because…” For ideas on good answers, see WorkNet’s “No One Is Unemployable”.
Carl: First, I’d help him identify a good job match and volunteer to create relevant experience and references, as well as prove his stability. Then, I’d help him develop a good answer and support him in his job search. His good answer may specifically mention the illness, which will surely come up because of the lack of work history, or allow for a discussion with the employer. “Several years back I learned something about myself that helped explain a lot. I have a chemical imbalance that’s now taken care of with medicine. I’ve been quite well in the last couple of years, and recently began volunteering with …” (transition to skills and experience).
Jonathan: I’d define work as “getting paid to do what you’re good at and enjoy doing” and identify jobs that match your abilities and passions. I may also have him tested and diagnosed, so we have access to resources, and we’d brainstorm how he can manage his own learning needs once on the job. I know people who use a hand-held recorder to capture verbal instructions/tape meetings, take notes every time they get instructions, have an agreement with their supervisor that they can repeat back instructions or ask clarifying questions, etc. I’d prepare him to share with employers what he has learned about himself, his solutions and what he needs to perform best for them.
Much of the “hiring” process is spent throwing people in the trash. Only when an employer has their top 3-10 candidates do they focus on who they want. So, an effective job search must first help the candidate avoiding getting screened-out, then let them prove they’re the best choice. Often, job seekers focus too much on proving their value and not enough on avoiding getting screened-out. They may be qualified, but the employer never sees it because they’re already in the trash! So when helping candidates with felony convictions, we must help them first avoid the “screen-out,” then focus on getting hired. This is especially true for people with barriers, such as felony convictions.
