Hard work, dedication, doing what is right, doing your best, and counting on fairness, equity, and inclusiveness from employers should work … shouldn’t it?
Not always.
We need to add resilience, persistence, and a little bit of luck to the mix because luck never hurts; even then, all of that isn’t always enough when you are looking for a job or a new career.
Employment is hardly a level playing field for job seekers and people trying to keep their jobs; especially since we all start in different places, we make good and bad decisions, and hundreds of other factors come into play. Winning is rare, losing is common, ties are frequent and not always helpful; sometimes having to find other ways to measure progress, hope, and is our only path to finding a measure of victory.
Catching breaks is hard for the majority of people, but it is infinitely harder when you live with a barrier or multi-barriers to employment, such as a disability.
As a career advisor working for a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people who live 24/7 with any number of barriers, I see, every day, those challenges first-hand. I strive to work with each job seeker to find unique and tailored ways to make progress, strive to work around losses, move past ties or simply “hold space,” and find ways collaboratively to achieve victories for them and for them to have the skills to never need my services again.
To make any progress, we have to begin.
As a project manager, I always subscribed to the Agile Methodology of delivering value early and often and this hasn’t changed as a career advisor; helping anyone find a job or better career is the ultimate project for anyone. The key element is to help anyone is they need to want to work. Career advisors cannot help someone who does not want to work; often it is the parents and support team who want someone to work; however, without the willingness of the primary person progress is impossible.
Choose a direction.
Begin with what would be your ideal job. That gives you a point to aim at, it might require many steps; however, once we have a direction decision-making becomes easier. If you change your mind, that is allowed and is quite common; but having a point to aim at is key.
Details.
Do you want full-time or part-time, remote or in-person, or hybrid? Where would you like to work, and where are the opportunities. BARRIER: Transportation – this is a significant barrier for my job seekers. Grey/Bruce, where I practice, is the same size as the Greater Toronto Area at 8,000 square kilometers and there is virtually zero public transit. Currently, I have approximately 40 job seekers; only three of them have licenses and only 2 of them have reliable vehicles.
What are your skills? Everyone has skills, and more often than not, they have more transferable skills than they think. List everything you have done and consider how those skills and experiences can help you. You may need to upgrade and/or acquire new or more skills. BARRIER: Education and Experience – To be hired; a job seeker needs experience, but often they can’t get experience because no one will hire them. Fortunately, organizations such as Contact North, Adult Learning Centres, and services from the provincial and federal governments help to bridge gaps. BARRIER: Where to find more information – Few people are aware of where to look and how to start, fortunately, tools like 211, Chatgpt, and other artificial intelligence apps can help, Career Advisors (shameless plug) are good places to begin.
Financial assistance may be available for acquiring employment-related skills and certificates such as Skills Trades and apprenticing, Digital Skills Training, Job Search, resumes, interview skills, SmartServe, Safe Food Handling Courses, Standard First Aid, Mental Health First Aid, Cannsell, etc.
Would asking an employer for accommodations help you? Despite what is happening in the US, Canada is forward-thinking and values Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness. Job seekers who live with a disability can ask for and receive accommodations that help “level the playing field,” and websites such as JOB ACCOMMODATION NETWORK are great tools to help know what is available.
Are you getting all of the support available to help you? Our “social safety net” is not even close to being adequate; however, there are resources available to assist people who live with disabilities, such as Ontario Works, Ontario Disability Support Plan, the new Canadian Disability Benefit, Disability Tax Credit, and learning about and finding out if you qualify is very important. BARRIER – Finding out, qualifying, and applying is a labyrinth of not-always-helpful bureaucrats, obtuse rules, and confusing processes. Fortunately, organizations such as the Grey Bruce Legal Clinic, the United Way, and others you can find on 211 can and do help.
Important: File your taxes regularly as many benefits are automatically triggered from your tax returns.
Do you have safe and affordable housing? BARRIER – Too often people living with disabilities live precariously in their communities. Wait times for municipal geared-to-income housing are measured in years and are scattered amongst this large geographic area. Job seekers who do not have reliable transportation and are offered housing may have to either give up a job to take the open housing opportunity or drop to the bottom of the list if they turn down a spot to keep a job. Compounding this issue, despite multiple deadlines set and missed by governments and organizations, many housing units are not accessible for everyone who lives with barriers, nor are they necessarily close to needed medical/mental health facilities.
BARRIER – Not only are many housing units and rental units not accessible; but many organizations that could potentially employ people with disabilities are not either.
BARRIER – Inadequate financial resources – This is a barrier multiplier because it can combine with other barriers to make an impossible situation worse. In my community, a single bachelor apartment rent is approximately $2000/month. The social assistance available or the Disability Support Plan neither come close to covering that rent, or much less cover costs for food, clothing, emergencies, or anything else.
BARRIER – For job seekers who live with mental health conditions or addiction concerns, the paucity of qualified clinicians, doctors, nurse practitioners, and psychologists is disappointing at best, and virtually criminal at worst for one of the wealthiest regions in the world.
It was my goal to define, “What is a barrier?” these significant barriers exist today, right now, and don’t even begin to address the other barriers faced by people who live with disabilities in living and finding employment.
The tools to help overcome.
People you know – Everyone you know should know you are looking for work. Experts say only 20-30% of the available jobs are ever posted, “word of mouth” and networking has less competition and while harder, might be the best way of finding a good fit for you. Also, in small or medium-sized communities, list 2-3 references (Your references won’t mind and it might just be the difference between getting an interview and not getting an interview.
BARRIER – Conventional wisdom – To be successful, you should want to stand out; you want your resume and cover letter to help show you are the person with the skills the employer is looking for and that you are the best prepared and can meet their needs. You should answer interview questions as well as you can while always keeping the employer’s requirements in mind. Practice, practice, and practice interviews with the mindset to take “good” answers and make them “better” answers.
It’s okay to be nervous and anxious – Looking for a job or career is hard, and social anxiety and self-imposed pressure are really common; talk to your friends, family, and a career advisor (ps many of us are available for no charge because we are funded by the government).
Resume, cover letter, tracking, and following-up – Tailor your resume for easy scanning, use the ATS format (so AI can scan them better), reshuffle your skills to match up with the employer’s needs, do courses to add micro-credentials, write a tailored cover letter for every job, practice the standard interview questions and don’t memorize; learn to provide 3-4 bullet points answers with examples for each question. Bring 5-6 questions in a small notebook to ask when they ask you “If you have any questions for them.” Follow up with a thank you email within 24 hours of an interview, track all applications, and follow up on your applications in 5-7 days.
This is the end of part 1. ” What is a win?” for a job seeker, a win is a job they like, a job they can grow in, and a job that gives them the independence to live their life the way they want. Wins are rare, but they do happen. We will talk more about them next week when we finish part 2 of “Wins, losses, ties, and how to find Victory.”
Paul.
Ps. Normally each post is a stand alone topic; however, for this one a second part is necessary and even that is barely enough.