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Ready and nAbled

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Previously I've suggested to you that the traditional resume and three references associated with your career search was going the way of the VCR or baggy pants on young guys - maybe some wishful thinking? As a director of a delivery within IT for a mid-sized company, I review a lot of resumes. Here's the thing. How do I state this delicately? Well, I'll just come out with it...they are boring! Nearly to a one, I would as soon suffer the pain of a thousand paper cuts, the ones in those nerve-charged tips of my fingers, than sift through a stack of traditional resumes. And here's the real truth. For all of the great resume writing tips and other valid insights related to presenting yourself to a prospective employer, traditional resumes - or their more academic cousin the Curricula Vitae - are still a well-crafted sleeping pill at best.

 

So it got me thinking. Here I am going on and on about how nauseating resumes are without having worked critically at my own for years. What a hypocrite! Well, it's time to put up or shut up, right? I'm going to put up. I am going to use Google Sites to create my new and improved Pat Maher, Inc. If you haven't made the leap to a Web 2.0 resume, why not join me? It will be our little social experiment to see whether, by using a readily available business/social media tool, we can create a "buzz" around us in the workforce. Believe me when I note that I am not a technofile. I struggle with technology like most of us who are neither gifted nor degreed in the discipline. I'm already scratching my head a bit on the site, knowing that the process may be a bit painful and imperfect. What I do have, however, is a healthy passion and interest for what these tools can enable me to accomplish. Maybe I'll start by finally expanding on my Linked In profile, asking for a few referrals, and pulling together presentations, research and other achievements of note. Consider your achievements, professional contacts who speak highly of you, awards, and the time you give in service to others. Play with the application, experience the great joy of learning for learning's sake. Make the effort fun!

 

Candidates with Disabilities need to Express their Passion and Showcase their Uniqueness

 

One of my greatest concerns as we move forward and out of the recession is that competition for opportunity will be even greater than when the slide began. If that's the case, you must find a way to make an immediate impression on prospective employers. If you are a candidate with a disability, that need may be heightened due to an employer's ignorance, lack of experience working with candidates with disabilities, or unspoken concerns over safety, overall health, productivity, etc. You've got to find a way to overcome these challenges and turn them into advantages. Why not lead with a cutting edge introduction? What do you have to lose? This may be a vehicle to help overcome gaps, awkward transitions, or other scars on your professional background and focus on your unique skills and character. It can also reduce some of the potential discomfort or anxiety over the face-to-face interview, having already introduced yourself to the company.

 

It's been my experience that many candidates with disabilities tend to choke a bit under the pressure of an interview. Whether you haven't received fair reinforcement for your successes and abilities, you've lacked opportunities to be part of teams, clubs, troops, or other groups where growth and confidence can build naturally, or you were treated in separate but equal fashion in educational, social, and perhaps professional settings - you've got to be determined to express your unique skills to the employer community. By going through the process of researching, learning and applying one of the applications for creating your presence in the Web 2.0 environment, you will be compelled to consider who you are and the value you can bring to a company, while at the same time creating a storyboard - you know, the large cue cards that ad and marketing agencies used to use to present their product concepts to prospective clients - of your key experiences with a focus on your education, professional skills and - most significantly - your passion. I hope that we'll find this process to be liberating and reinforcing, perhaps providing that pat on the back that we all need to instill the confidence to compete!

0 Comments Permalink Tags: 2.0, resumes, resume, inc., web, presence, alternate, storyboard, disability, and, google, sites, me

With so many of us scrambling during this challenging period to find our next professional "home", whether that ultimately leads to contracting, consulting or a permanent role, we might do well to really think about making our nest with a company or clients that appeal to our cultural needs. We talk about an organization's culture, even its heart, but what do we mean by these terms? The diverse elements of an organization's culture are more of a grocery list from my perspective, and each of us is shopping for some like items frequently, but commonly some items that might be unique for us as well.

 

For me, one of the key elements or "senses" that I look for in a company's culture is its commitment to diversity and inclusiveness. For purposes of this post, I'll  define diversity as the complex characteristics, traits and experiences that each of us has had and continue to collect as we engage one another. This happens to be a core aspect of the definition taken from a multi-national pharmaceutical from which I find great clarity. Examples of diversity might be cultural, racial, generational, familial, learning styles and academic background, industry experience, disability, sexual orientation, faith or spirituality, etc. When considering these as just a small grouping of possible grocery items, you'll note that few - if any - can be known through any superficial observation or brief interaction. That's a very important point, and one that is brought to bear in the "Iceberg Principle" - commonly attributed to Ernest Hemingway to explain that most things cannot be understood in the superficial, but through introspection and exploration. Much of symbolism in writing is exemplary of the principle. He suggested that most writers don't set out to write with their strategic plan on symbolism in place, but that it's certainly worth considering the natural development of such in a work and what they illuminate about more universal concepts. Inclusion is a bit more subtle and challenging to unearth before actually working for a company, but at its heart is the engagement of all employees for the unique qualities, perspectives and skills they bring to bear to strengthen the organization. This is what cultivates truly breakthrough thinking and products or services that distance great companies from all others. But I digress!

 

All right - let's get back to you and finding an optimal fit for your skills, learning and working style, passion, background expertise or at least experience and related in the context of finding companies that might well be engaging of candidates with disabillites - namely diverse and inclusive companies! How can you possibly KNOW that a company you court for an opportunity is truly diverse and inclusive? The short answer is you can't KNOW. However, you can identify and piece together clues to the puzzle through many available sources. Here are a few, bulleted for simplicity;

 

     Sources to help consider a company's Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion:

 

          1. Clear and direct references to broad diversity commitment on company web site (look under About Us, Diversity search, In the Community, etc.).

          2. Listiing of Company on Diversity Inc. site http://tinyurl.com/lhfxol as top companies to work for (they feature a Top 10 and Top 50).

          3. Tap your personal network and ask for opinions.

          4. Tap your business/social media network (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.).

          5. Consider news items in print, online, local or national television related to human interest, corporate social responsibility, and related.

          6. Find out if past colleagues, friends or family work or have worked in the recent past for the company and probe them on the topic from the trenches.

          7. Find out if they support special interest groups (SIGs) or workshops on the topics.      

          8. Research their commitment to service in the community (service days as a group or individual staff, financial support of NFPs)

 

The above are just a few research efforts that you can make to help peel away the layers of an organization before committing to submitting your resume, communicating with them on an open job requisition, or pursuing an arduous interview/screening process to lower the water line of the "iceberg", thereby enabling you to better know the culture and gain more insight on whether they might be more engaging and excited to add you as a candidate with a disability - if evident - or as a candidate that might disclose a disability and seek their support to optimize your value during your employment with the company.

 

Happy research!

0 Comments Permalink Tags: disability, iceberg, inclusion, principle, diversity, work, inclusive, companies, choices, and, careers, career

j0336850.gifAdmittedly, I’m feeling a bit sheepish tackling the very delicate and complex challenge of whether or not, and when, to disclose a disability to an employer or prospective employer. The reason? I sustained my spinal cord injury while still in college, so my disability is evident and I’ve only known managing my career within the parameters of also managing my spinal cord injury. Disclosure for me is a non-issue – other than the specifics. But for millions in our nation I know that whether to disclose a disability can keep them up at night and create extraordinary anxiety both during the screening and interviewing process as well as once on the job.

 

The Very Real Anxiety of Disclosing Disability…from the Trenches

 

Several years ago, and I remember this vividly, an executive in a marketing firm who had begun to experience some challenging symptoms associated with her management of multiple sclerosis, contacted me for my thoughts on whether to, and if so, how to disclose her condition to her firm. She was anxious on many levels, but mostly because she felt that her productivity was beginning to be negatively impacted due to her fatigue and discomfort while at work. Further, if the symptons continued to escalate she’d be compelled to disclose in her mind, rather than risk colleagues’ coming to their own varied, and likely inaccurate conclusions around her status. We conferred multiple times over the course of several weeks, and I was very conscious of the delicacy of the situation and not overstepping my own knowledge or perceived insights. Her anxiety was evident as she was a successful and tenured professional in the marketing field – and anyone who knows the field understands that it’s as competitive as any for account management roles.

 

Simple and Sound Advice IF you Choose to Disclose a Disability

As I listened intently over several conversations to my friend and, by this point, client in a sense regarding her anxiety surrounding prospective disclosure of her MS, only one crystal clear suggestion came to mind. A couple of years earlier I’d attended a professional conference around employment and disability, and one of the breakout sessions featured a professor in rehabilitation psychology whose topic was whether or not, when and how to disclose a disability in the workplace. My greatest takeaway from her session was simply this; whatever you do, if you disclose - do so with a plan. She clearly articulated her reasoning and depth around this point.

 

A Plan for Disclosure and Action

 

Point 1. Weigh the pros and cons of disclosing BEFORE you are in the moment. Point 2. If the pros outweigh the cons in your mind (and perhaps in that of one or two trusted others), establish a clear and specific plan around how and to whom you are going to disclose.*Remember – the law is very clear on an employer, HR manager, etc. maintaining your confidentiality around a disability just as any other very personal health disclosure – the fact that you’ve chosen, for example, to disclose to your direct manager doesn’t give that manager carte blanche to disclose to other colleagues - far from it. Laws can also vary around the subtleties of this from state to state, so know the law as it should provide you greater peace of mind throughout this process.

 

Point 3. Help to reduce your manager’s or HR professional’s concerns over your disclosure by bringing forth your plan to maintain your value, productivity and loyalty to your employer’s investment in you.This should encompass having familiarized yourself with any assistive technologies and/or process changes to support your ongoing success – as well as an estimate of any prospective costs associated with these, at least some forward-thinking on whether there are others who might benefit from knowing your challenge and might be allies in that challenge,  and an educated perspective on what you, and your employer, might expect related to the prospective progression of your challenges and how they might further influence productivity and value to the organization. This should be presented in the spirit of honesty and integrity, but with a strong emphasis on your commitment to controlling your own destiny.

 

Point 4. At the conclusion of the meeting you and your manager or HR representative should have a comfortable plan in place for you to continue contributing to the organization at the highest possible level. The plan might include periodic follow-ups or informal updates, an occasional “everything good?” shared between the two of you or, if it’s more fitting and so determined, a more formal periodic meeting to discuss any additional challenges, regression, or hopefully the successful ongoing management of the disability in the workplace.

 

Don’t Underestimate Your Co-Workers’ Respect and One Degree of Disability Rule

If you’ve been a valued and respected contributor to your organization, or you present yourself with strength and character, my experience has been that there’s a great empathy, if not sympathy, for any colleague or prospective colleague who is managing a challenging disability. Bright and informed people will respect your taking on the challenge, as well as your respect for the organization in sharing the prospective challenges in the workplace – but only if they know you’ve got a plan of attack. The presence of a disability is really just one degree from any of us. A friend, sibling, favorite aunt or uncle, colleague or committee associate, etc. Familiarity does breed empathy, so don’t think you’re going to be alone on a ledge should you decide to disclose your disability – with a plan.

0 Comments Permalink Tags: productivity, success, proposition, law, disclosure, disability, and, disclosing, i, title, plan, value, anxiety, managing, &

I've worked in and around Assistive Technology (AT) for nearly my entire career, early on within the durable medical equipment industry, next in the development and application of the Parastep-I System - a functional neuromuscular electrical stimulator for limited ambulation and exercise, then with both augmentative communication and related computer interfaces that were often integrated with wheelchair control, and for the past six plus years primarily with AT to support higher productivitiy in the workplace.

 

While all of our clients or users of the DME, Parastep, or specialized communication were, by and large, eager to learn and apply the equipment or technology to their lives with the hope of improving some facet of them, I'd be lying to suggest that most of my current candidates or transitional professionals in the IT industry are equally motivated. Why is this? Please, I'd really like to understand why bright people who would clearly and objectively strengthen their professional skills such as inputting into a computer system, managing search functions, and collaborating with their peers seem so stubbornly set against investigating, testing and refining their AT acumen.

 

A Clear Productivity Difference

 

I think the clearest example relates to the challenge of speed of inputting. Quite a number of our candidates or consultants either key with one hand or key quite deliberately with both. In either case, it's clear that they are often at a disadvantage to their peers who have greater ability to input with both hands at a rapid and accurate pace. This can mean a great deal to a programmer, business analyst, QA/T analyst and many other roles within IT. One-handed, ergonomic, predictive or macro-heavy keyboards or software are commonly available http://www.enablemart.com/Catalog/One-Handed-Keyboards?gclid=CKTo26qM-p4CFQIhDQo duzKVMA - and many people have invested the time and learning curve to adopt them into their home and professional environments very effectively. However, I never seem to be able to make an impressive enough argument in favor of this to claim even a single victory in encouraging any of our folks to research, acquire (and many are available from AT lending libraries or other disability service providers), and try to give them a shot. They'd much rather continue to plod over a keyboard, hunting and pecking, content in the way "they've always done it". I feel obliged to press this point, since I'm concerned that the IT field and candidate pool is going to become even more competitive as we crawl from the Crash of 2008/2009. If you're a professional or candidate with a producitivity challenge that relates to your ability to maintain an acceptable pace of accurate inputtting due to upper extremity or other challenges - you need to optimize that productivity in any way possible.

 

Your manager has a right to consider speed and accuracy of data input, extraction or related as a factor in comparing productivity among employees. It's critical in the IT environment where cost/unit is high and accuracy is critical. Look in the mirror and honestly assess whether you've made the effort to integrate the most productivity-enhancing technology into your role or studies. If not, make it your 2010 resolution to make AT work for you as a productivity tool. Your career will thank you for it!

0 Comments Permalink Tags: productivity, technology, one-handed, assistive, and, it, disability, keyboards, at, predictive, inputting

office0017.gifWe've all been there, that neverland between Thanksgiving and New Year's as professionals. Yes, some industries and individuals keep the motor running fast even through the holiday season, but if we're honest I think most of us would agree that we drift...at least a bit...into an extended triptophan-induced euphoria of lower expectations, rationalizations and "planning" for the great successes of next year. Oh, we work, cross tasks off of our Outlook Manager list, legal pad to-dos, Franklin Planner or other comforting tools to justify our roles, but we're often somewhere else, doing something else.

 

So here's my extemporaneous list to bolster our - that means my - effort during these waning days and longer nights - particularly if you've been outsourced, rightsized, or are otherwise looking for opportunity in this tough economy.

 

10 efforts to bolster productivity during the holidays;

 

1. Make at least one or two unique calls (not emails) or other more personal contact daily to a client, former client or prospect to express interest in their needs. This is a great time of year to actually get someone on the phone or hear back from them - don't be overwhelmed when you're compelled to actually converse!

 

2. Conquer at least one business/social media tool and make "friends" - there is no doubt they're here to stay, at least for now, so why not learn to power network?

 

3.  Read the many professional articles, short how-to books, and the like that have been gathering dust in your impressive office cabinet or "favorites" menu. You never know what you can learn and apply.

 

4. Actually Plan vs. "plan", wink, wink - there's time to think clearly, research your competition. your strengths and weaknesses, strategize with colleagues and put plan to paper for that future succes - for real.

 

5. Volunteer your professional services, particularly if you're not working. What a great time to help your favorite not-for-profit, place of worship, service organization or perhaps fledgling business strengthen their presence or offering to the market or their members while keeping your skills sharp. And by the way...volunteer work really does mean something on your resume!

 

6. Start your own professional group or networking club. Trust me, you can establish your own support network, find free space - yes, free - and begin driving your and others' opportunities around a topic, field or skill set that you're passionate about. It beats staying home to catch yet one more "can't miss" reality show.

 

7. Invest in your health and well-being. It's no mystery that we've devolved into an unfit and unhealthy society. Accepting the mantra "it's the holidays" is just plain lazy, and for those of us with a physical disability it's even more destructive to our well-being. Find a way to get active and reap the benefits...drive, energy, passion, endorphins! I'm as tempted as the next guy with sugar cookies and comfort foods, but at least balance with fruits, grains and vegetables and take a cold, refreshing shot of fresh air periodically.

 

8. Offer a colleague some support. You might be surprised how much you'll get in return when you really need it.

 

9; Organize your desk. emails, tasks and office. Take an hour, 1/2 day or a day if you have the option and it's necessary to clean house. It can really put you in the frame of mind to start the new year clean - and quick - when the parties are over and forgotten.

 

10 Take the time off that you have coming to recharge, reenergize, and invest in your family and friends. That's why it's there. And commit to being  a more productive and engaged professional upon your return.

 

Well, I've got to go check this blog off my Task Manager list. I feel more productive already!

0 Comments Permalink Tags: and, productivity, social, slump, business, holiday, disability, media, networking

I feel very presumptuous, but compelled, to post on the recent passing of an extraordinary man - Randy Snow. I only learned of Randy's passing by opening an overlooked email sent by a fellow board member of NSCIA. Clicking on a link of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) site I felt like I'd been slapped as I quickly read the headline, "Randy Snow Funeral Arrangements" followed by a very brief notation of Randy's accomplishments - which would require a tome to fully cover - and reference to the Celebration memorial planned for Randy at his former high school in Terrell, TX.

 

I think I'm writing on this, the day that I've learned of Randy's passing last week in El Salvador, where he was - what else- managing a wheelchair tennis clinic for kids and adults with disabilities, for some cathartic purpose. But to presume to write of Randy and characterize him, as the NWBA notation rightfully suggested, as perhaps the greatest wheelchair athlete of all time, doesn't begin to define this bigger than life man.

 

I feel certain that nearly every student of the game with whom Randy made contact in El Salvador, just as any of us here in the States or elsewhere around the world who were graced by having shared a laugh or gleaned one of the multitude of valuable lessons that he was always proferring, came away a better person - not just tennis player - for that contact.

 

When a FedEx courier stepped onto the tennis courts at a national clinic Randy was running in Boulder, CO many years ago to have me sign for my glasses that I'd had shipped to me from home, Randy busted out with his patented laugh - at once both good-natured and jibing, and as I headed sheepishly back into the drill line with my teammates, boomed so that all could enjoy, "Magoo, let's get back at it man!". You see, one of the hallmarks of the Quickie Tennis Camp/Clinics that Randy directed was that everyone received a nickname. He took it seriously, and would take a moment, sometimes spontaneously, other times more formally, to get an update on the nicknames and the backstories. And they were fun. One of the instructors had noted that a younger guy always seemed to be getting beaned with balls and finally scavenged or bought a beret somewhere, placed it ceremoniously on this young man's head and labeled him "target", pronounced "tarjay", from that moment.

 

No one was ever excluded from Randy's sphere of humor, but he wasn't being humorous for the sake of a laugh at anyone else's expense. He was engaging us all, letting all of us know that he was looking out for each of us, that we were unique and had something to offer - and most importantly that we were in it together. One for all and all for one. That was Randy. It's heartbreaking to learn of Randy's passing. I won't presume to take too much license here as others knew Randy much better than I did. But that's one of the many extraordinary qualities that genuine leaders possess - the capacity to make others believe that they have value, that they are needed, that they are in fact critical to their own and their colleagues' success. Please take a moment to Wiki, Google, Tou Tube, etc. Randy Snow. You'll come away better for having done so.

0 Comments Permalink Tags: snow, teamwork, valuing, self-esteem, everyone, randy

pe02369_.jpgWelcome to Ready and nAbled! I'm grateful to have the opportunity to contribute to the MyPath community. Quickly - me in a nutshell. I sustained a traumatic spinal cord injury in the mid-thoracic area of the spine (mid-back) while studying for my business degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1981. Following surgeries and a summer of rehab at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC), I returned to campus and completed my degree. Fortunately U of I was extremely well established and, in fact, renowned, for its forward-thinking physical accessibility and support services for its students with disabilities. As an aside, I was amazed at how oblivious I had been to the sheer number of students on campus with evident disabilities before my own disability opened my eyes!

 

As a member of the Gizz Kids wheelchair basketball team, our holiday team trip provided me with some great experiences that I remember well, including games at Temple University and an inner-city Philadelphia middle school. We were also honored with a team tour of The White House. I continued to play wheelchair basketball and tennis competitively (many team mates might question the "competitively") as well as dabble in downhill and water-skiing, rock-climbing and other outdoor adventures through the years, co-founding Moving Mountains, an outdoor adventure and challenge program for persons with SCI and other disabilities, as well as many professionals in the rehab community.

 

I've had the good fortune of working in sales development and support for the great majority of my career, starting out as a rep in three states for American Hospital Supply Corporation - now Baxter International. My primary track has been in the medical rehab and technology fields. We developed and delivered the Parastep-I System with Sigmedics, enabling me to travel extensively through the States and Europe on both capital development and training efforts. Like most of us I expect- over the course of twenty five plus years as a professional - I've had my share of highs and lows.

 

I direct nAblement, a channel to support the growth, networking and career establishment of professionals and aspiring professionals with disabilities into technology roles for SPR Companies. Additionally, I have the honor of serving as the President of both the Board of Directors of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association (NSCIA) and the Illinois Institute of Technology's Rehabilitation Psychology Advisory Board for the Institute of Psychology. I am equally honored to serve on Abilitylinks Steering and Education committees, Delta Airlines Consumer Advisory Board for Air Travelers with Disabilities, JVS of Chicago's Business Advisory Committee and the Spinal Cord Leaders Council. As an independent consultant with Capital H Group, I have the pleasure of facilitating to clients around diversity and inclusion principles.

 

Thanks for taking a few minutes out of your day or evening to read Ready and nAbled. I welcome your responses, criticisms, counterpoints and perspectives to mine on driving a career AND managing disability. I'll offer my thoughts in the spirit of a healthy dialogue and welcome yours!

0 Comments Permalink Tags: careers, inclusion, diversity, disability, ada

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