Plenty of people with disabilities have “been there, done that”! They have focused on their capabilities and secured rewarding employment. Now, some of them are willing to share their job-seeking insights with you. Contemplate their suggestions and explore whether their experiences could help you get established in a new career.

Hearing Loss—Linda Keyes
Linda Keyes was diagnosed with moderate and profound hearing loss at age 4. Since age 16, she has worked in a number of capacities in the health care industry—everywhere from a nursing home to an adult day care center to various hospital units. Since June 2007, she has been an intensive care unit registered nurse in the Denver, Colo. area.

According to Keyes, her adaptability has been an asset. “It demonstrated that I truly loved working with people, and I did it well.” She is also someone who encourages people to volunteer: “This says a great deal about a person . . . the willingness to give.”

People with disabilities should expect to go 80 percent of the way in getting a job, not just 50 percent, she explains. “If you want to be successful, you are going to have to go the extra mile, fair or not.”

Keyes found the western region of the United States to be more progressive than others in terms of employers’ understanding of people with disabilities. 

When Keyes lost all of her limited hearing five and one half years ago, she was determined to rebuild her life. She hypothesized about the reason for her success: “It was the belief in myself that returning to nursing COULD be done despite others’ inability to believe in the possibilities.”

Spinal Cord Injury—Connie Neal
Connie Neal was offered a medical retirement from her government position. Instead, she chose a job transfer to a position of equal desirability after she was in an ATV accident and sustained a complete spinal cord injury at the T-12/L-1 level. Today she is a compliance manager for the Internal Revenue Service in Ogden, UT.

Neal suggested tips that she attributes to employment success:
• Get marketable skills. Physical strains can drain energy, but consider how you want to spend the rest of your challenging life.
• Make eye contact. You may have to bend back your neck, but look people in their eyes.
• Choose to make a difference. Anyone with a disability can affect 100 times more people than those without: “People notice us, for good or bad. Whatever you're doing will mold their opinion of people with disabilities,” Neal says.

Blindness-Richard Bernstein
Richard Bernstein, a Farmington Hills, Mich. attorney and University of Michigan political science professor, said his blindness considerably impacted his ability to secure employment. Exposure to employers is important, he emphasizes. “You need additional contact with them to allay their fears that you will be unable to handle the work.”

Picture Your Performance
Michelle White is a special education teacher in Lebanon, PA, who described the teaching profession as “very disability friendly.” She has a C-5 spinal cord injury and she has found ways to accomplish all of her job tasks.

Personality is ultimately most important, according to White. “It is important to be positive, take pride in yourself, and get out there and show them that you are a capable, competent person. You just do things a little differently.”