Ready and nAbled

The ADA at 20 - Are we Being Taken for a Ride?

noreply@MyPath.com — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 17:52:21 GMT

A 20th anniversary is a big deal. Twenty years in a personal relationship. Twenty years with the same employer. Twenty years of service to a great cause. All can be reason for celebration, reflection and, unfortunately, in the case of the Americans with Disabilities Act, at least some concern. I was in Washington, D.C. at a celebratory reception for the ADA 20th Anniversary in Statuary Hall last week, and I was reflecting a bit on my advantages relative to so many friends, colleagues, and acquaintances who have a disability. I had the great comfort of being able to drive my personal vehicle to the airport for this important and historic moment. Unfortunately many others living with disability are held captive to the sparse transportation resources available to them in their region for the day-to-day or more strategic opportunities that life presents.

ADA in Your Community Midwest Poll

I received the 2010 Great Lakes Region ADA Report Card recently in my in box. Robin Jones, the Great Lakes ADA Center Executive Director, is a colleague and friend, and I frequently review the links and stories that her staff forward associated with ADA, disability and our nation. The Report Card was of interest to me. It was succinct and clear. I had hoped to take some pride in our regional grades surrounding the ADA and its implementation in the Midwest. Unfortunately it was very disappointing.

Of the eleven core subject areas that were graded, ranging from opportunties in the workplace to accessibility of transportation to physical accessibility to website accessibility, not one was graded above a “C”. How disheartening! I would welcome writing a post from a half-full perspective, and had even one of the eleven core subjects received at least a ”B” I might have pulled it off. Sadly, it’s tough to brag about a combination of C’s and D’s.

The top five priorities for action as noted by the 3500 respondents to the “ADA in Your Community Poll” over the 6-state region were:

· More Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities

· Accessible transportation

· Educating businesses and government officials about their rights and responsibilities under the ADA

· Providing accommodations for employment

· Educating people with disabilities about their rights and responsibilities

These are some very important areas of concern. As the director of a business focused on strengthening employment among qualified candidates with disabilities into the technology sector, I was immediately concerned that three of the top five priorities were very directly related to improving the overall employment picture for people with disabilities, two of them being obvious in more opportunities and reasonable accommodation in the workplace. It’s the third, perhaps less obvious, that I’d like to focus on.

Get me to the Job on Time!

Specifically, the perception – and, I am confident, reality – that accessible transportation is still a cause for concern 20 years following the passage of the ADA is very discouraging. No matter how much we may address opportunity and accommodation in the workplace, if we continue to ignore the very real challenge that so many candidates have in just getting to the job, we are burying our heads in the proverbial sand. I am always concerned with logistics when I consider one of our candidates for a position, knowing that whether they can get to the job often trumps their ability to do the job well.

The latter is irrelevant if they don’t have access to accessible transportation at a reasonable cost. Unfortunately this is often a challenge for candidates with disabilities. I’ve seen it when trying to place many of our candidates. Many don’t drive for any of a number of reasons; they don’t have the upper extremity strength or movement to drive safely, they have upper or lower extremity spasticity or contractions that make it challenging to drive, they lack acute enough vision to drive, or their disability or condition otherwise prevents them from driving.

An all too Common Story of a Man and his Commute

Several years ago I was working with one of our consultants on landing his first professional opportunity. It was to support a group of developers for a very large, multinational client in the energy industry. He was very excited about the role. My consultant didn’t drive as his diagnosis of severe spastic cerebral palsy precluded his safe operation of a vehicle. The two of us, along with my recruiter at the time, researched the possibility of patching together accessible bus or accessible van routes that would get him to the client site reliably and on time.

It was amazing to me how complicated and challenging it became to provide a reasonable approach for him to be able to get to work in a suburb that was fairly close to his home. Not to mention how ill-informed the staff of the regional transit authorities were regarding the availability, timing and routes of lift-equipped buses or other accessible transport vehicles. Ultimately he settled on two buses with a lapse between getting off one and on the other, and it took nearly 90 minutes in good weather to travel a route that would have been a 20 minute car drive!

A Call to Action for Urban Planners

In January of this year the “Innovation in Accessible Transport for All” conference was conducted in Washington, DC. It included global leaders in planning, transportation, policy and governance, and banking. The results from this one-day conference – clearly a compressed agenda – were to feed a follow- up meeting in Germany this past spring. The January meeting’s agenda points included direct language like “practical outcomes, rhetoric to reality, applying innovative approaches to accessibility for all”. At least this was heartening to see. While this was a global initiative, there was representation from several high-ranking members of key U.S.-based agencies and academic partners engaged in this challenge – the Access Board, Federal Transit Administration and State University of New York among them.

No, We’re not There Yet!

Positioning our students and professionals with disabilities for success, encouraging their passion to learn, work and contribute to the greater good, and yes – even passing the ADA 20 years ago - will continue to be hollow victories if they must continue to fight just to get to the job. For my consultants, and so many tens of thousands of other qualified candidates with disabilities like them, let’s quit treating them like the kids in the back of the station wagon imploring their parents, “Are we there yet”?

LinkedIn as Patronage Networking — It's Nothing to Blush About!

noreply@MyPath.com — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:49:25 GMT

As I was considering the right term to characterize the real value of having a strong and current profile and network on LinkedIn, I kept coming back to "patronage", whether I liked it or not. In dictionary.com there are eight unique definitions of patronage. The majority cast a negative light on the term as you might expect, but there is one that I think helps to make my case that Linkedin can be one the most effective tools in the box to secure career opportunities. Specifically, definition #7 for patronage in dictionary.com is "the position, encouragement,influence, or support of a patron, as toward an artist, institution, etc." You are that artist or institution and need to feel worthy of that patronage. Establishing your profile, cultivating contacts, expanding your network, supporting or "patronizing" those contacts, and yes — capitalizing on their patronage toward you is the responsible — and smart — thing to do.

A blog in Blogtrepreneur last August, Ways to Increase the Value of Linkedin, makes a great case for optimizing your value from Linkedin. At the time of his post the author noted that there were over 8,500,000 members with Linkedin profiles. Linkedin continues to be held in high regard within the broader business community. It's intuitive, flexible and can be an invaluable resource.

Five keys to optimizing your "patronage" value on Linkedin:

1. Treat your profile as you would your resume. Linkedin is not a social media site from my perspective - it's an online business tool. Make certain that your profile parallels your resume, or at least that it is consistent with your resume. Be detailed and accurate — don't think of it as an "informal" version of your resume, and update it any time that you update your resume. Recruiters use Linkedin aggressively. In fact, Jobvite's 2010 Social Recruiting Survey notes that Linkedin is the most popular site for recruiting talent with 78% of respondents that use networking sites to recruit using Linkedin. Assume that any prospective employer will have reviewed your Linkedin profile before you interview.

2. Recommendations are References. No matter how strong your profile, it will be perceived as weak unless you can encourage respected others to recommend you on Linkedin. One way to consider categorizing recommendations in your mind is this:

a) Career — those recommendations for whom you have worked, with whom you have worked, or who have worked for you and continue to have a strong professional standing and position, and
b) Character — those recommendations with whom you have done community work, board or committee work, or personally supported and whom you hold in high regard. Make certain that you have both types of references/recommendations and have several of each, but don't overdo it.

Maybe applying Helen Gordon Reeves's Rule of 3 to your recommendations makes sense. Consider 3 strong and valued references from each category and go after them. Remember — be gracious and offer to reciprocate with a recommendation IF you believe they would value that. Otherwise, simply thank them for the recommendation.

3. Connections, Connections, Connections. What's the 1st Rule of Real Estate? Location, Location, Location. You get the idea. Unlike some other sites, Linkedin connections are unlikely to ever need to be "defriended" and each additional connection is a potential link to your future. Don't decline a request to connect unless you have good reason. And don't be shy about reaching out to request to connect either. It can be a good gauge of how your peers and other professionals view you.

4. Industry Groups are more Tangible than Resume Associations. Recruiters can get a strong sense of your professional values and your professional passion by reviewing the groups you belong to in Linkedin. They are more tangible than just the name of that organization at the base of your resume, and might lead them to a stronger, more well-rounded picture of you through your key associations.

5. Use your Linkedin Membership as an Outbound Resource. Linkedin enables you to review the background and professional interests of prospective interviewers, strengthen your knowledge of companies, and search for positions that fit your abilities and interests. I know that I personally post positions to my ITKAN group via Linkedin that I believe members might align with. I've had multiple responses to these postings - qualified responses.

As a recruiter it's great to review a candidate's profile, recommendations, industry associations and related as I consider the fit to the role.

When I equate Linkedin relationships to patronage networking, I'm reminded of some of my summer jobs as a teenager that I landed through relationship with family, friends or others. Frankly, that was often the only way I could earn some money over the summer. Those were, in fact, the positions that I felt an even higher level of responsibility and anxiety to succeed in, knowing that if I failed I'd be letting down not just myself, but my patron as well.

So reach out to those patrons and challenge yourself to validate their trust in you and your abilities!

Nose rings, body ink and selling our true selves

noreply@MyPath.com — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 15:39:44 GMT

I was recently in a FedEx/Kinko's over the weekend to fax some time-sensitive information related to our home mortgage, so I had a chance to peruse the small offering of career-related books for sale. My eyes immediately gravitated to a short text titled, Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview? (Ellen Gordon Reeves, 2009), and I pulled it from the shelf out of amusement as much as anything.

Leafing to the index, I liked the title of Chapter 1 — Welcome to Job, Inc. I've used the term Me, Inc. with candidates frequently to try to impress upon you the fact that you and I are branding ourselves all of the time, whether we're happily employed, in transition, or looking for that first opportunity to bring value to a company or initiative.

It's Job Inc., Me, Inc., You, Inc. — we are the value proposition, the product, the service to a prospective employer.

Author Ellen Gordon Reeves writes in a direct, clear, how-to manner with a series of consistent principles that she weaves throughout the book. One example of a core principle that she applies to multiple tasks is the Rule of Three: 3 prospective jobs or industries, 3 new contacts in a week, 3 calls or appointments in a day, etc.

She has established, or at times artfully borrowed, a series of clear — almost overly simple — steps that are certain to help anyone establish a viable "company" of others as your network to success. The tutorial takes on a tone of playfulness at times, but never silliness.

Clearly Gordon Reeves takes the task of succeeding at Job, Inc. very seriously, and she expects anyone reading it to do so as well. She is always encouraging, admonishing when necessary, but never overcomplicating.

Throughout the primer she illuminates the title by imploring you to be "you", whoever that happens to be, throughout your effort to land the job — or risk being miserable for the sake of paying the bills.

Gordon Reeves shares plenty of fresh job search advice that readers should heed.

Useful Resume Don’ts:

Never offer an Objective — I love it! Objectives are silly, trite and nearly always irrelevant to establishing value to an employer.

Don't note "References Available Upon Request" — I love it again! Are there really any other options?

Don't Abuse the Action Verb — This is one of my favorite resume don'ts. We have all become so obsessed with using only action-oriented verbs in our resume to emphasize our dynamic and hard-driving natures that we infer complex responsibilities in even the most mundane responsibilities of our work. Do we really need "Acted as Secretary to the Executive Committee"? You either were or weren't the Secretary right? Prefacing the role with a non-essential action verb is "acting" like it was more than the obvious.

Informational Interview Tips:

Make cold calls or contacts - You're not asking for a job, you're asking for guidance, experience, and expertise. You will be amazed at your success in securing informational interviews!
Practice your face-to-face communication skills (and your written communication skills) - These are great opportunities to strengthen your pitch for "You, Inc."! While you're never requesting a job during the informational process, you are always selling You, Inc.
Develop a gracious demeanor - Show appreciation for your interviewers' time, expertise and investment in You, Inc. You'll be rewarded for doing so, whether with additional contacts for further informational interviews, possible opportunities, and by growing your friendly network - professionals who will support your growth and success!
Support others - Always offer to support anyone who has supported You, Inc. This will also pay dividends!

She even makes reference to addressing an evident disability (from the perspective of the candidate with a disability) within the interview context. While this is a very brief Q/A, I applaud Gordon Reeves for at least broaching the topic in a text written for a broad audience. In fact, her suggestion that you address your disability up front without making it the center of the interview, is very aligned with my perspective on this challenge.

If you have $15 to invest in your future, I'd recommend buying Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview? (link goes to Amazon), reading it thoroughly and applying its principles for landing your first real job. Polish your piercings if you must!

Are Millennials Charting a Path for Professionals with Disabilities?

noreply@MyPath.com — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:10:07 GMT

I’ve had a great opportunity to begin working with some very skilled facilitators within Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) principles over the past year. One of my colleagues within the Illinois Technology Foundation’s advisory board, Elaine Robbins Harris, is a very experienced facilitator and curriculum developer within D&I. Her current passion is in recognizing both the exceptional skills and challenges that the Millennial generation - born between 1980 and 2000, is introducing and facing in the professional workforce. In fact, we are hoping to work together to deliver this training to Millennials who happen to have a disability. I expect that we’ll be able to help drive home that they are well-equipped to take advantage of the growing momentum for real change in how we view work and contribute value to our employer or client.

More organizations are accepting, and even embracing, the principles as a flurry of academic research is bearing out bottom line impact of greater diversity and inclusion. While the earlier studies looked at race and gender based D&I, the past ten years or so has seen an explosion of activity around other factors of D&I including sexual orientation, faith and spirituality, disability, and generation.

What Millennials Want from the Job

Our Gen-Y or Millennial colleagues are already having dramatic impact on the nature and definition of career, the speed at which new knowledge is processed, considered and made actionable to strengthen, disrupt or completely dismantle traditional business models and deliveries, as well as on Boomers’ , and even Gen Xers’, staid notions of hierarchy and internal communication. But with Boomers and Gen Xers still holding the reins of many businesses, agencies and other prospective employers, these shiny new products of Helicopter parents and all that’s Green will need to navigate their career seas with at least some caution.

Monitor has published a very insightful report based on better than 100 in-depth conversations with senior HR executives. Some of the most interesting hallmarks of this current generation of new grads and younger professionals are their drive for work/life balance and associated need for a flexible environment or workplace, their strong belief that results vs. “time in the office” should be a critical measuring stick by which employers assess their value to the organization, their insistence on the integration and transparency of connected technologies into their work and life (What do you mean I can’t Twitter and update my Facebook profile in the office?), and their disinterest in corporate hierarchy over knowledge capital.

While Millennials may not have their cake and eat it too, at least not in one big bite, the impact that they have on how we view career can only grow as they mature in our workforce and ultimately control its direction. What a great opportunity for students and young professionals with disabilities to finally begin to establish careers alongside their brash and highly capable Millennial peers! As long as you can bring value, knowledge, drive and passion to the workforce, this wave of new influences should naturally support your success.

Why You may be a Perfect fit for the new Workforce

Consider the following hypothetical case study. Our young candidate is a new grad from a quality university who uses a power wheelchair for his mobility. He graduated with a B+ average, was active in clubs and social service projects, uses social media extensively with profiles on Facebook and LinkedIn – plus his own branded You Tube site for some creative video projects, and employs assistive technology in the form of voice out over his laptop and mobile device, sip and puff controller for his chair, and alternate input devices for both his laptop and mobile due to his challenge with finger dexterity. His challenges or key considerations as he looks to begin his professional career track are the following: difficulty of travel/driving, verbal communication, overall accessibility, and occasional need for personal care attendant support. Hmmm. In our traditional, 9-to-5 workplace these challenges have posed some real issues for “traditional” employers.

Fortunately Millennials not only aren’t hung up on the traditional workplace, but it’s clearly anathema to them. They work effectively from anywhere, at any time of day or night - focusing on the results of that work as opposed to punching a clock. They are completely trusting of and comfortable with e-communication and knowledge transfer, and value others who are like-minded. In short, it’s what you bring to the team or the organization that counts, not what you look like, when or where you contribute to team success, how you “speak”, or what car you drive.

Let me be clear. I don’t believe all of us are on the verge of being offered pure telecommuting positions. Nor do I mean to suggest that the Millennials don’t value face-to-face teamwork and the breakthroughs, mentoring and support that often occur within that dynamic. I am only suggesting that they are clearly compelling senior officers, HR Directors, and fellow colleagues to rethink how we perceive work and our capacity to bring value to an organization. So brush up your business and social media footprint, rustle up your Baby Bach tapes, know your value proposition to an employer or client, and plan to ride the Millennial wave to career success!

Calling all Candidates - Uncle Sam Wants You!

noreply@MyPath.com — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 22:25:37 GMT

The past several months have hinted at a rebound in our economy with lower job loss numbers. As of March we are actually seeing net job creation in non-farm payrolls, a key government economic indicator. Additionally, retail inventories are growing and many sectors are indicating that they expect to begin adding jobs within the first two quarters of 2010. Maybe it's time we actually began to wake up from our stupor. I say the heck with Nostradamus, 2012, End of Days, and the rest of the glass is half full crowd. If I'm going out, I'm going out working!

Over the next several posts I'm going to explore sectors and segments of the economy, both public and private, where candidates with disabilities are in demand. Before you ready your digits to fire back at my naiveté in presuming that our skills are in demand anywhere, let alone in multiple sectors and industries, hold your breath at least long enough to read the next paragraph.

My post today will focus on the federal government's efforts to closely align with the disability community to encourage us to explore working within the federal government or their many agencies. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

Government Agencies and Sites for You

CDPP (Committee on Disability Power and Pride)--I have personally worked with the CDPP in support of their near-term objective to strengthen the ranks of qualified candidates submitted for key positions with the administration and federal agencies through the Office of Personnel Management(OPM). Through nAblement and SPR Companies (my employers) we created their Sharepoint collaboration site for this effort.
USA Jobs, www.usajobs.gov-- is a clearinghouse for federal agencies to post positions and engage candidates with disabilities for those positions. This group also puts on events to help those in a jobs search (pwd, veterans, etc.) Watch their site for more info on future events.
Federal Jobs Network, www.federaljobs.net.--Although it's not a government supported site, it was launched by a career federal employee and is populated with support and jobs within the federal agencies. See the "handicapped employment options" link (not my language choice!) for specific directions to candidates with disabilities. It takes you to a page that clearly defines some of the options that hiring managers within the federal structure have access to for hiring candidates with disabilities into their agencies, and is a valuable primer as you begin to explore this prospective career path.

VA's , VR's - It's not always What you know, but Who you know

If you are a veteran or civilian with a disability, your veteran's administration counselor or vocational rehabilitation counselor (that's a hint - you should explore vocational rehabilitation as an extension of your job search network!) can craft and sign a Schedule A Letter for soliciting employment opportunities in government agencies. Doing so may avail you to be hired even for positions that have not been posted for general response.

Schedule A candidates come from the pool of candidates who meet the test of having a severe cognitive, physical or emotional disability, a history of such disability or being perceived as having such a disability. Despite my silly header, it's not only who you know when it comes to getting hired, but having representation from a strong VA counselor or rehabilitation services counselor can be a great advantage to help you navigate the employment process.

Put Your Government to Work for You!

I hope this brief primer on available resources and supports helps you to get in front of hiring managers at federal agencies or departments. If the employment rate among working-age persons with disabilities in our federal government is to move noticeably, and in the right direction, we're going to need to commit ourselves to fully exploring the resources available to us for finding, applying to, and landing those jobs. Good hunting!

My Google Sites Web Profile...a Work in Progress

noreply@MyPath.com — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:03:23 GMT

I'm back. It's been nearly a month since my last post. Mea Culpa! I admit it, the gauntlet that I threw down early in March - specifically that I would make a concerted effort to create my own personal web profile from the Google Sites on line site development tool - left me a bit lightheaded and dry in the mouth. I put it off, and off, and off again. I would periodically dabble around the edges of the tool trying to slowly familiarize myself with it, considering content and layout, and otherwise taking a thirty thousand foot - comfortable - approach to actually creating my site. Anyway, I finally had to dig in, make my mistakes, actually learn some valuable skills in the environment, and ultimately create. And you know what? It's really fun!

Creating your Storyboard

I found the process of hunting down the variety of internet-based supporting documents, media, and organizations and then piecing them together into at least a moderately coherent "storyboard" of my background and passion to be liberating. It was so unlike the tedium of crafting a text only, academic resume that I admittedly felt as though I was kind of cheating any prospective employer. Don't misunderstand me. We're still compelled in most instances to have our clear, clean, traditional resume and references available during our career search, but taking some time to create a web-based background and profile of myself was gratifying, and reinforced for me that I've been doing some pretty valid - and cool - stuff. While I'll admit that it's a bit disjointed and may take visitors far afield from a specific interest in my value to a position or effort, it certainly portrays me in a more balanced and interesting light. I think it helped that I do have enough internet references related to my background to hold a visitor's interest - at least for longer than a traditional resume. It struck me that, coupled with a traditional resume, presenting a web profile could well help to differentiate you from the pack.

Google Sites offers some great templates, plug-ins, layouts and enough flexibility for you to take ownership of the process without needing deep technology skills. I did find myself tapping into the Help menu to import a video and change its pixel parameters, remove some of the template pages that were irrelevant to my document (exs; Our Staff, Upcoming Seminars), alter the sidebar parameters, play around with logos of affiliates, etc. I was impressed with the clear explanations provided to my questions through the menu. For the most part, the Edit Page function was pretty self-explanatory. I believe that I sought outside input for a video question, but running a Google search quickly provided me with a blog post that gave me the answers I needed. Each time you made an edit/change to your site, you received email confirmation. I expect you can turn that email notice off if you like. Oh, I also created and imported my personal signature logo, Consulting Cord, from another great site - CoolText, www.cooltext.com. Overall it was a pretty painless effort for, I hope, a pretty fair result.In any event, I think I'll keep improving on my web-based resume.

So here it is. My "beta" personal web site. Feel free to comment, openly mock, or preferably provide me constructive input. http://sites.google.com/site/patmaherinc2010/clients.

If you haven't created your own on-line storyboard, or e-resume, give it a shot. It might offer you the shot in the arm that you need to reflect on the great skills you have, the passions you exhibit, and the value that you hope to bring to your next professional home. Please let me know how you find the process. I think I'll keep working on mine. After all, there's someone out there who's interested in all of our stories!

Your Career - Your Storyboard!

noreply@MyPath.com — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:11:03 GMT

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!

How can I KNOW a Diverse and Inclusive Company to Call my own?

noreply@MyPath.com — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:05:34 GMT

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!

To Disclose or not to Disclose - THAT is the Question!

noreply@MyPath.com — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:04:18 GMT

Admittedly, 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.

Assistive Technology as a Career Tool

noreply@MyPath.com — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:56:55 GMT

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!

10 Ways to Overcome the Holiday Productivity Slump

noreply@MyPath.com — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:27:59 GMT

We'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!

On the Passing of a Genuine Professional - Randy Snow

noreply@MyPath.com — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:26:54 GMT

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.

Welcome to Ready and nAbled

noreply@MyPath.com — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:03:03 GMT

Welcome 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!