Embracing the Elephant in the Room: Intentional Interviewing and Disclosure
Julia Smith, Ph.D., CRC, LPC
Western Oregon University
Northwest Training Forum on Building Bridges to Successful Employment for People who are Deaf, Deaf‐Blind, Hard of Hearing, and Late Deafened
September 13, 2011
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What is meant by “Elephant in the Room”?
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Competition for Employment
• Employment rate for those with disabilities –
21.4%
• Employment rate for persons with no disability – 69.8% (DOL, 2010)
• Workers with disabilities are “last hired and first fired” (Kaye, 2010)
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Discrimination and Bias in the Workplace
• Current literature
– Employers have a positive attitude toward people with disabilities
BUT
– Employers are reluctant to hire people with disabilities
• 19% of companies employ people with disabilities
• 72% say the nature of their work is too challenging for people with disabilities (Domzal, Houtenville, & Sharma, 2008)
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• How do you prepare the individuals you work with who are deaf or hard of hearing as they search for employment?
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Empower
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Laws that Protect Persons with Disabilities
• EEOC
– Responsible to enforce federal laws regarding discrimination against job applicant due to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information
• ADA
– 20th Anniversary (2010)
– Helpful to deaf employees?
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Searching for a Job is a Job
• Four hours a day is recommended
• Keep a consistent schedule
• Focus on the resume
– Customize objectives for specific job
– Chronological is best
– Functional good when there are gaps
– Use same language as the web page or from an informational interview
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Professional Etiquette
• First impressions are critical
– Present as a professional at all times
• Understand role as a job seeker
– Email
– Meeting people at conference
• Ethical considerations
– “Deaf grapevine”
– On‐line communication
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Examples of What Not to Have in Your Email Message
• Don’t have an unprofessional email address
• Don’t use an inappropriate/vague subject heading
• Don’t use CAPS
• Don’t abbreviations
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Prepare for Interview:
Know the Job
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Interview Preparation
• Always request an informational interview
• Work with others to help develop skills
• “Practice” as much as possible (doesn’t matter where)
• Go through mock interviews
• Try different strategies
• Understand the ADA and meaning of “Reasonable Accommodations”
– When interpreter is needed
– Useable technology
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– PEPNet video ‐ http://www.pepnet.org/getajob/videos.asp
Interviewing Skills
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Disability Disclosure
“Certainly, if you know that your condition is one that you know is going to come up it’s probably a good idea to take the bull by the horns and maintain control of the information flow and
disclose it as soon as possible.”
*Nancy Starnes, NOD, Director of External Affairs, 2009
• Judgment call/personal decision
• Paint picture of who you are – Disability is only a part of who you are
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ADA ‐ Rules Change During Employment
1. Applying for a job
– Employer limited at interview
– Focus of questions on the ability to do the job
2. Employer makes a job offer
– Rules change
– Must ask the same question to all – Must be consistent
– Job offer withdrawn only with clear evidence
3. Offered job and begins job
– Employer can ask questions related to disability if employee is struggling with getting the job done 15
But What About the “Elephant in the Room?”
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Remember earlier slides…
• Employment rate for those with disabilities –
21.4%
• Employment rate for persons with no disability – 69.8% (DOL, 2010)
– Employers are reluctant to hire people with disabilities
• 19% of companies employ people with disabilities
• 72% say the nature of their work is too challenging for people with disabilities (Domzal, Houtenville, & Sharma, 2008)
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Employer Concerns
• Lack of knowledge of disability or the ADA
• Don’t know how to interview individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing
• Concern of how co‐worker and deaf or hard of hearing employee will interact
• Reasons why employers don’t grant accommodations
– Undue burden – too difficult/expensive
– Fundamental alteration – change actual job
– Safety or direct threat
• Lack of exposure to success stories
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What Employers Really Want to Know
• What will I need to do differently to supervise this individual?
• What can I expect from this individual in terms of production? Will I need to compromise what I ask her to do?
• Can I use my normal approach to correct/discipline the worker?
• What else do I need to know
that I don’t even know to ask?
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Business and Budget 20
Employer Incentives
• Budget is always a concern for employers
• Most aimed at non‐state agencies with less than $1,000,000
– Reported average return of $28.60 in benefits for every dollar invested in accommodations
– Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)
– Small Business Tax Credit: IRS Code Section 44, Disabled Access Credit
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• Acknowledge the employers’ concerns
• Educate employer how to communicate • Talk about what you can do during the interview
• Share success stories/what technology is useful
• Provide information regarding tax credits
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Recognize Disability Fatigue
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Race Fatigue
• James Baldwin – African –American novelist who was also gay once wrote this to his white audience: • "You give me this advantage. Whereas you never had to look at me — because you've sealed me away along with sin and hell and death — my life was in your hands and I had to look at you. I know more about you than you know about me."
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• Members of the minority, African‐Americans are observers of the majority culture —
through television, newspapers and pop culture, blacks "are privy to so much about white folks' lives" — but not vice versa.
• How is this true in the deaf community?
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• Disability Fatigue is the “inescapable burden that comes from living with a disability and needing to fight for equal opportunity, educate, explain, demand rights, and never having a rest from the effects of the disability itself” (Lane, 1999) • Examine attitude/issues that may come up
• Find support to help work through frustration/anger
• Present as fresh and excited
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Sell Yourself
• Coordinate your individual needs and the company objectives
• Focus on questions of essential function or ability to do the job
• Show how you can be part of a team
• Build trust/reassurance
• Be powerful about what you are saying
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• Directly address issues
• Show that you can perform at same high quality level, but that you might get the job done differently
– Give examples (e.g., technology)
• Give examples of other agencies who hire deaf workers
– Have references available
• Remember employers are concerned about budget, safety, and inclusion
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References
Acemoglu, D., & Angrist, J. D. (2001). Consequences of employment protection? The case of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Journal of Political Economy, 109,
915‐957.
Bruyére, S. M., Ericson, W. A., Ferrentino, J. T. (2003). Identity and disability in the workplace. William & Mary Law Review, 44, 1173‐1197.
Courtwright, A. M. (2009). Justice, stigma, and the new epidemiology of health disparities. Bioethics, 23, 90‐96.
DeLeire, T. (2003). The Americans with Disabilities Act and the employment of people with disabilities. In D. C. Stapeton & R. V. burkhauser (Eds.). The decline in employment of people with disabilities: A policy puzzle (pp. 259‐275). Kalamazoo, MI: Upjohn Institute.
Hernandez, B. (2000). Employer attitudes toward workers with disabilities and their ADA employment rights: A literature review. Journal of Rehabiltation, 66, 4‐16.
Houston, K., Lammers, H. B., & Svorny, S. (2010). Perceptions of the effect of the public policy on employment opportunities for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 21, 9‐21.
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Houtenville, A. (2002). Appendix. In P. Lennie & S. B. Van Hemel (Eds.), Visual impairments: Determining eligibility for Social Security benefits.
Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Kaye, H. S. (October, 2010). The impact of the 2007‐2009 recession on workers with disabilities. Monthly Labor Review, 19‐30.
Lane, N. J. (1999). A theology of anger when living with disability. In R. P Marinelli and A. E. Dell Orto (Eds.), The Psychological & Social Impact of Disability (pp. 173‐186). Springer Publishing Company, Larson, D. (2008). Unconsciously regarded as disabled. UCLA Law Review, 56, 451.
Link, B. G., & Phelan, J. C. (2001). Conceptualizing stigma. Annual Review of Sociology, 27,353‐385.
McMahon, B. T., & Hurley, J. E. (2008). Discrimination in hiring under the Americas with Disabilities Act: An overview of the national EEOC ADA research project. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 18, 103‐105.
Peck, B, & Kirkbride, L. T. (2001). Why businesses don’t employ people with disabilities. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 16, 71‐75.
PEPNet: Getting a Job! Tools, Techniques, and Training. http://www.pepnet.org/getajob/eblast.asp
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Julia Smith, Ph.D., LPC, CRC
Rehabilitation Counselor Education
Western Oregon University
Monmouth, Oregon 97361
503‐838‐8744 (V)
866‐724‐5141 (VP)
smithj@wou.edu
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