[Jobs] disclosing your blindness to a perspective employer
Jessica
jessmonsilva2003 at sbcglobal.net
Wed May 14 14:38:03 CDT 2008
Hello james.
I just want to say the resume has been forwarded, and I definitely mentioned
your name. I do hope the interview process isn't too hard lol, just kidding
of course. Every company has their own ways of finding the best people and
sometimes I believe a challenge can make you a stronger person.
Well, we'll see what happens and hopefully something good will come out of
it.
Jess
----- Original Message -----
From: <james.homme at highmark.com>
To: "Jobs for the Blind" <jobs at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 1:26 PM
Subject: Re: [Jobs] disclosing your blindness to a perspective employer
> Hi Josh,
> The way we work is this. We have clients all over the country. If one of
> them needs to have someone work in any of the locations you mentioned, we
> will try to find people with disabilities from that area. If we don't find
> candidates quickly enough, we start looking for people who are willing to
> relocate to an area. We do not pay for relocation expenses. We do all we
> can, though, to help people find a place to live that is accessible and
> makes it easy for them to get to work. Sometimes, if you relocate into a
> place where we have current or former employees, the people who are
> already
> there are very nice about helping you get settled in.
>
> We work with people by getting them placed at companies we know are
> willing
> to hire people with disabilities. Our clients want to hire people after
> they have seen them work, so we normally have an arrangement whereby our
> new employees work in a company for about six to nine months. We do all we
> can to make sure that at the end of the trial period, the company hires
> you
> if you have performed well enough. We generally provide a manager and a
> mentor. The manager is whom you report to politically speaking. The mentor
> is more of a buddy kind of person. I get people who are blind as mentees
> because I know what it is to go through getting a new job as a blind
> person
> and the special circumstances that go with that. Sometimes, we assign
> mentors to particular geographic locations. About ninety percent of the
> people who come to us get permanently employed.
>
> We also have a program our former employees put together that we use to
> keep in touch with you after you have worked for us. We try to use that
> continued contact to help you get promoted. Last year, in December, we
> hired someone whose manager was one of our former employees. That was very
> nice to see, especially since I interviewed the new employee.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Jim
>
> James D Homme, , Usability Engineering, Highmark Inc.,
> james.homme at highmark.com, 412-544-1810
>
> "it is only possible to live happily ever after on a day-to-day basis." --
> Margaret Bonnano
>
> Highmark internal only: Consider Usability Engineering On Your Next
> Project
> or release. http://highwire.highmark.com/sites/iwov/hwt093/
>
>
>
> "Josh"
> <jkenn337 at gmail.c
> om> To
> Sent by: "Jobs for the Blind"
> jobs-bounces+jame <jobs at nfbnet.org>
> s.homme=highmark. cc
> com at nfbnet.org
> Subject
> Re: [Jobs] disclosing your
> 05/14/2008 01:49 blindness to a perspective employer
> PM
>
>
> Please respond to
> "Jobs for the
> Blind"
> <jobs at nfbnet.org>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Hi,
> Is Bender or is there a branch of it in Colorado, or Philadelphia
> Pennsylvania at all? Does Bender help future employees relocate?
>
> Josh
>
> email: jkenn337 at gmail.com
> msn: kenn6498ku at hotmail.com
> skype: jkenn337
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <james.homme at highmark.com>
> To: "Jobs for the Blind" <jobs at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 9:56 AM
> Subject: Re: [Jobs] disclosing your blindness to a perspective employer
>
>
>> Hi Jessica,
>> If you interview with Bender, it won't be a problem. I interview a lot of
>> our blind candidates. I am a blind employee. I just care that you can do
>> the job and I would do all I can to help you succeed if it gets that far.
>>
>> Jim
>>
>> James D Homme, , Usability Engineering, Highmark Inc.,
>> james.homme at highmark.com, 412-544-1810
>>
>> "it is only possible to live happily ever after on a day-to-day basis."
> --
>> Margaret Bonnano
>>
>> Highmark internal only: Consider Usability Engineering On Your Next
>> Project
>> or release. http://highwire.highmark.com/sites/iwov/hwt093/
>>
>>
>>
>> "Jessica"
>> <jessmonsilva2003
>> @sbcglobal.net> To
>> Sent by: "Jobs for the Blind"
>> jobs-bounces+jame <jobs at nfbnet.org>
>> s.homme=highmark. cc
>> com at nfbnet.org
>> Subject
>> Re: [Jobs] disclosing your
>> 05/14/2008 09:43 blindness to a perspective employer
>> AM
>>
>>
>> Please respond to
>> "Jobs for the
>> Blind"
>> <jobs at nfbnet.org>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Let's say you're applying for a job and you don't have any college
>> education
>> but you do have some kind of certifications. The problem is you got them
>> from a school that works specifically with blind people. In that case
>> wouldn't that be considered disclosing your blindness as well, but kind
> of
>> like you had to disclose your blindness by showing your qualifications?
>> Jess
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: <craig.borne at dot.gov>
>> To: <jobs at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Friday, May 09, 2008 2:51 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Jobs] disclosing your blindness to a perspective employer
>>
>>
>>> Leslie,
>>> In my opinion, it really depends on where you are applying. For
>>> example, if you are applying for a job with the NFB or the Lighthouse
>>> for the Blind, then disclosing your blindness up front is no big deal.
>>> However, if you are applying to "mainstream" employment opportunities,
>>> then I would not disclose my blindness in my cover letter or resume. I
>>> would typically wait until the interview, or if an exam is necessary,
>>> when I call the HR department to set up the testing date.
>>> Importantly, if you are applying to a federal agency, disclosing your
>>> blindness up front may be beneficial. The feds have something called a
>>> Schedule A Hiring Authority, which means that a person with a targeted
>>> disability (such as blindness) can be hired without going through the
>>> competitive hiring process. There are some more caveats, which you can
>>> explore at www.opm.gov.
>>> I hope this helps.
>>> Craig
>>>
>>> Craig Borne
>>> NHTSA/DOT
>>> (202) 493-0627 Voice
>>> (202) 493-2990 Fax
>>> craig.borne at dot.gov Email
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: jobs-bounces+craig.borne=dot.gov at nfbnet.org
>>> [mailto:jobs-bounces+craig.borne=dot.gov at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Leslie
>>> Hamric
>>> Sent: Friday, May 09, 2008 4:43 PM
>>> To: Jobs for the Blind
>>> Subject: [Jobs] disclosing your blindness to a perspective employer
>>>
>>> Hi all. I'm curious to know about experiences you've had regarding if
>>> and when to disclose your bliindness to a perspective employer. I've
>>> heard all kinds of things like just showing up at the interview, putting
>>> that your blind on your resume, etc. I know it's a matter of personal
>>> preference so I'm looking forward to getting some responses. Thanks.
>>> Leslie and GEB dog Lava
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/jobs/jessmonsilva2003%40sbcglobal.net
>>
>>
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>>
>>
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>
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