If you’re disabled and looking for a job, it can be a little intimidating.
You may even feel that you’re not good enough to be able to get a job simply because you’re disabled. This is not true, and as long as you keep a few principles in mind you should find that you are able to find employment sooner rather than later.
Your first step is to ensure that you’re able to assess what skills you do have and therefore what skills you can offer to any employer. Then, make a list of possible job openings that you would be suitable for based upon your unique skills and abilities as an individual. Everyone has something they can offer an employer, and this includes people with disabilities. Remember that, and you should feel able to put together a list that presents you as highly employable.
Use your initiative and contact charities and government agencies that offer advice on how to find jobs. Obviously, we can help you here at The Life Coach Station, but even if we don’t there are plenty of agencies and individuals out there who can give you advice and perhaps even point you in the right direction for a job. Part of the job-hunting process for anyone, no matter how able they are, is about communicating with people and generating networks.
Using initiative
Further to this, use more of that initiative and start asking people that you know about any jobs they’re aware of. It is really about the people that you know in today’s world of work, and finding employment is often all about just asking the right people at the right time. Your friends or former colleagues may know about openings that you haven’t even considered. It’s well worth taking the time to ask them about it because they may provide an opportunity you have missed.
Finally, get positive about your disability. Ask for advice from disability charities, and then start approaching employers. Employers will appreciate that you want to find out about any opportunities they have, regardless of your disability. The more you talk to employers and the more you speak to them about their openings, the more they will remember your name and think of you when an opening comes up. In this respect, finding a job as a disabled person is no different to finding one as an able person.
Use the ideas above to get your name out there and to network with people so you can find a job that is suitable for you. Being disabled doesn’t mean that you are not entitled to a job. The job-hunting process is just as tough as it is for an able person, so take the same approach.