Navigating the Job Market While Disabled

I have a visible disability that I only disclose if it is an advantage, such as in terms of lived experience. If that lived experience is an asset, I write about it in my cover letters. 

I don’t typically share that I have a JAWS screenreader or that I’m a native braille user on my CV. If, however, you are an assistive technology instructor, absolutely emphasize fluency in different screen readers.

My preference is to let my work speak for my abilities. In cases where I did not disclose a disability until after an offer was made, people were very understanding of that decision.

I chose not to disclose my (invisible) disability at a university where I was concerned that my being disabled might adversely affect the tenure review process, whether due to implicit bias or other factors. I waited six years, until after I received tenure, to disclose my chronic illness.

If you feel comfortable that it’s a safe place where you’re not going to experience ableism, go ahead and state directly what you need to perform your best.

I am hard of hearing and use real-time captioning – a stenographer sitting right next to me – to interact with people. So my disability is obvious and I have needed to disclose my disability to get the necessary accommodations for interviews and meetings.

Being blind, I have always been clear about what I need to participate and succeed in the interview. I think of it as ‘managing up’ the interview process. I provide a bulleted list to the interview coordinator with what I need. Early disclosure gives them time to follow up with questions and accommodations.

Much of my work, accolades, and publications state my lived experiences outright and make my disability fairly obvious. I list them accurately and completely on my CV. For shorter resumes (for industry), I list the most prestigious, though I might use acronyms in place of longer, more explicit text.

But accuracy is key. As a person who now reviews other people’s resumes, I can tell you vague or false representation is a really good way to not get your materials looked at.

Be prepared to address access breakdowns during the job interview process.

Before on-site meetings, consider requesting:

• An escort when there are multiple meetings and location changes
• A yoga mat and a place to rest between meetings
• Extra time to decompress after travel or between meetings

Do read those long, informational emails that recruiters send. They might include a link for requesting accommodations!

Before virtual meetings, consider requesting:

• Which teleconference platform will be used so you can study the keyboard shortcuts.
• Assurance that visuals will compatible with your screen reader.

Multiple interviews in a day is really difficult. It is not unreasonable that anybody would need a break throughout the day.

Certain foods can actually kill me. I made my “food allergies” known ahead of time.

I was interviewing in Colorado, and people offered to take the elevator, “because you just flew in, you must be struggling with the altitude.” My disability makes four flights of stairs impossible always, but I let the altitude be the reason to walk slower, take the elevator.

For the most part, I think people are pretty comfortable adjusting to the request because just the job interview is actually a two-target thing: they’re evaluating you, and you are evaluating them.

One of my first jobs was in a competitive and unfriendly academic environment. I made sure my next move was to a campus and department that shared my values of support and community. The improvement to my morale and my performance was enormous.

When first navigating the job market, I thought about what would be the least amount of accommodation that I would need to be successful in the interview process. But for my second job search, I thought more about how to set myself up for success for the next five years. The conversation about disability was very different when it came to advocating for real-time caption support, more time for teaching my classes, etc.

I absolutely believe that your advisor and supervisors are responsible for helping you get a job. I had several mentors advising me on what we called my ‘negotiation thread.’ If I posted a question, somebody could usually respond within a few hours.

Another consideration is something I never tested out: writing accessibility accommodations into your offer letter, including holding the organization accountable to step in if the centralized accommodation processes fail. Weigh that against the knowledge that the person negotiating the offer may also be submitting your tenure or promotion case.

Play the field! Until you receive an offer, limit your disability accommodation requests to those relevant to the interviews. Don’t mention your concerns about accessibility or livability and ignore the guilt about playing the field. When you start to get interviews, and better yet, you have multiple offers, you have so much power. Use the multiple offers as leverage when it’s time to disclose your disability and negotiate accommodations.

Supplement networking with informational interviews. People really don’t mind taking a half hour to talk to you, particularly if you specify questions related to their work or their situation. For example, “I have an interview for this role and I have questions about accommodations.”

Largely, I’ve gotten jobs by knowing somebody who worked at the organization or somebody who knew somebody. Of course, in those cases, people already knew I was blind. Having references vouch for your capabilities is a really important antidote to being discriminated against.

One thing I learned is that people are really willing to help. Old mentors, like my undergrad advisor, were very keen on responding. And even if you don’t have a close contact or relationship with a lot of people, you’ll be surprised at how many people are willing to step in and help you. Don’t be afraid to ask.

Some forms of networking are not for everybody. I’m not the best networker myself, so I would emphasize that there’s also a lot of opportunities for virtual networking. Network in the way that is most accessible for you, and that allows you to put your best self forward.