I've obtained one veterinary school interview. I applied to two other schools, but they won't send out any requests until January for their late January-February interview time slots. I expect to do a full update in February or March on how the interview(s) went and whether I got accepted and will begin the terrifying process of navigating through veterinary school as a deaf student.
For the moment I'll mention I requested my usual accommodations for the first interview and I am a bit afraid of how that will go. Will my equipment appear unprofessional? Will they automatically deny me out of fear a Deaf student will cause the school too many potential issues? This school had a Deaf person over 20 years ago, but I'd bet dollars to donuts none of my interviewers were at the college when that happened. If i'm denied, how will I know if it was me or the equipment that made them decide? All the potential outcomes! A positive note would be, it could be interesting to see if my accommodations trips them up. Typically, the applicant being interviewed may be worried about how things will go. My setup will jolt their typical autopilot interviewing process and they may feel awkward and stumble for the first 15 minutes before they become comfortable. That would be both amusing and startling on my end. Amusing because it is not supposed to be the interviewers who are uncomfortable. Startling because I will notice their behavior and it may affect my own behavior.
Now would be about the right time to quickly dive back into ASL and become fluent by the time I start surgery rotations in veterinary school. My current accommodations would be awkward in the surgery room. I've seen videos and it's POSSIBLE and has been done by a student with my same exact accommodations, but it would just be easier with an ASL interpreter if I can obtain fluency by that time. So 2016 new year's resolution is once again to practice ASL--something i've failed to do throughout the years because new habits can be hard to form when it doesn't directly involve school. I suppose the upside to not getting accepted would mean more time to work on ASL, but the downside is I'm already "old" and would like to go ahead and get started on what has been a long, bumpy ride through school. I say "old" because I am a non-traditional student. Most students starting veterinary school are in their early 20s whereas I am in my 30s.
So there we go, I've now put a notification to shame myself if I haven't started practicing ASL the next time I update about my veterinary school application status.
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Job hunt
I successfully completed my job hunt last April and was hired at the best place for me to work as a student. The business is not opened on weekends and they're flexible with my student schedule so I'm able to go in before and after my classes. This leaves me without the stress of begging and pleading to avoid scheduling me during classes. It's also fantastic because it leaves me time on weekends to drive two hours back home to see my husband and to continue volunteering. I was lucky and the entire job process for my #1 job choice involved e-mail communication without any requests for phone calls. Once hired, I went through orientation where all the videos were old and not captioned. These videos were made by a private company who did not caption their videos. My job found alternative, captioned sources for me to view to complete the orientation.
Technically, the job duties include answering phone calls. I stated in my interview that phone calls are not possible for me, but I would be more than willing to make up for that by handling the e-mails and faxes. They understood and the information did not scare them off. To date, that is still how things are handled. I will work on the problems that involve faxing paperwork while the others make the phone calls. There have been a few annoying jokes/slip-ups where one coworker will ask me to do Such-And-Such duty and I replied, "Sure! Was there something else to do?" "Make phone calls." "I can't do that." "Exactly." I have interpreted their facial expression to mean they are not happy with my inability to make phone calls, which means they do not understand I WOULD LOVE TO DO THAT IF I COULD! It's not a matter of anxiety, or personal distaste for phone calls, I simply cannot use a phone the way they do. It certainly wouldn't be productive to make a phone call and go, "uhh hello? I won't know what you're saying so just listen to me and do everything I say." Always possible I misinterpreted their facial expression. I'm super sensitive to peoples' unusual behaviors and notice when things are different and not normal, but that does not mean I always correctly identify the source of their subtle changes. Sometimes I wish I could choose to be oblivious to peoples' body behaviors. I'm too tuned in!
However, this job is a student worker position. Which means when I graduate in May, I will no longer be able to work there unless I
1) apply to and attend graduate school, then I'm still a student and qualify to work there.
2) get accepted to vet school (would work summers and winter break only).
3) some other position within the company opens up and I apply and obtain it.
That is the main downside to this job. I enjoy working there and I prefer working at the same place for years! I prefer to show that I'm reliable, and who really enjoys the awkwardness of when first training for a job? However, they were aware of my graduation date and they chose to hire me anyways. So I will start looking for a full-time job over winter break in case I do not get into veterinary school my first time applying.
Monday, April 27, 2015
Q&A: How do you job hunt?
How do I find and obtain a job as a deaf person?
In this entry I'll discuss my experience obtaining a job: How things are difficult, how they are convenient, the realistic expectations, and my current job hunting status.
In the early 2000s, the job market was transitioning from door-to-door style job hunt to self-serve kiosks and website applications. Back then it was still the norm to visit the prospective employers to ask for an application while dressed in interview clothing so you could make a good first impression. You later return the application and hope for a call back.
My first job offered me an employee position after a couple months being a volunteer. A job offer without putting in dozens of applications sure made it convenient for me to skip the interviewing process entirely.
My second job came through a temp agency business. I went in to take a typing test, they found me a data entry position.
Another job came around the time where application kiosks were becoming common. I went in prepared with my job history and references. They simply told me to come back the next day after 1pm and they'd be doing open interviews.
The above was pretty much right time, place, and opportunities.
That's not to say I never pounded the pavement for other job positions. T process wasn't fun. The above only highlights three easily hired job positions. Here's what I did to get around the pesky telephone portion of job hunting: I used female friends to call the business back, pretend to be me and set up the interview. As much as I'd like to believe businesses would have given me a chance if I called them using relay services, I am grossly aware discrimination is a reality. Not everyone gives people a chance to be interviewed because they may assume a Deaf person is going to be the worst fit for their business. It presents potential employers with too many what-if scenarios and it shuts down opportunities. People spoke on my behalf to schedule interviews and I don't feel the least bit guilty about that particular type of misrepresentation. In order for me to show the employer what a fantastic employee I am, I first need the interview to prove myself to them. I don't expect the world to be fair, so I do what I can to adjust.
I'm currently on a new job hunt. It's time to switch my job position to something that complements my interests in Animal Science / Veterinary. Thankfully, the job hunting world has changed from door to door application requests and has shifted heavily into an online communication process: You apply online; you communicate online to schedule interviews; you (sometimes) receive your job offer/declination online. This is an fantastic shift from relying on others to help me get a job, to being able to communicate with employers entirely on my own. So for everyone who bah-humbugs the shift towards technology reliance, I say, WOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!
[One slight downside to this shift is how some companies are now including on-site video pop questions. They play a video during your online application, you're given 30 seconds, and then your webcam records your response and it is sent to them. This shift is NOT favorable towards me as they are not captioned. It's just as much of a hindrance as it is to have someone call the company on my behalf. So far, this shift is geared towards specialty careers. Right now, I'm only looking for a job, not a career. So it shouldn't be an issue. ]
There's still an issue trying to obtain a job that does not require employees to use telephones. I'm hoping over the next 10 years, the majority of jobs/careers will be finished transitioning into online communication methods. E-mailing clients instead of calling them. Most people may not realize just how many jobs out there required telephone duties, so it's not just the interviewing process that involves finding alternatives to telephone communication. It is also difficult to find a decent job that doesn't mandate all employees handle phone calls. Sometimes this is an easy workaround if you can convince the employer during the interview that your strengths outweigh the telephone weakness. Most of the time, it will be a deal breaker for them. Why take the risk and hire someone who can't complete one duty when they can find someone who can do everything? This is not favorable towards deaf people like myself.
So how do I job hunt? It requires adjustments. But luckily the world is starting to adjust to favorable conditions for optimal results!
Here's to my new job hunt, and it is my hope everything remains an online process with the exception of the in-person interview.
In this entry I'll discuss my experience obtaining a job: How things are difficult, how they are convenient, the realistic expectations, and my current job hunting status.
In the early 2000s, the job market was transitioning from door-to-door style job hunt to self-serve kiosks and website applications. Back then it was still the norm to visit the prospective employers to ask for an application while dressed in interview clothing so you could make a good first impression. You later return the application and hope for a call back.
So how did I get around the phone call aspect of job hunting? More or less, I didn't need to and that was luck on my part.
My first job offered me an employee position after a couple months being a volunteer. A job offer without putting in dozens of applications sure made it convenient for me to skip the interviewing process entirely.
My second job came through a temp agency business. I went in to take a typing test, they found me a data entry position.
Another job came around the time where application kiosks were becoming common. I went in prepared with my job history and references. They simply told me to come back the next day after 1pm and they'd be doing open interviews.
The above was pretty much right time, place, and opportunities.
That's not to say I never pounded the pavement for other job positions. T process wasn't fun. The above only highlights three easily hired job positions. Here's what I did to get around the pesky telephone portion of job hunting: I used female friends to call the business back, pretend to be me and set up the interview. As much as I'd like to believe businesses would have given me a chance if I called them using relay services, I am grossly aware discrimination is a reality. Not everyone gives people a chance to be interviewed because they may assume a Deaf person is going to be the worst fit for their business. It presents potential employers with too many what-if scenarios and it shuts down opportunities. People spoke on my behalf to schedule interviews and I don't feel the least bit guilty about that particular type of misrepresentation. In order for me to show the employer what a fantastic employee I am, I first need the interview to prove myself to them. I don't expect the world to be fair, so I do what I can to adjust.
I'm currently on a new job hunt. It's time to switch my job position to something that complements my interests in Animal Science / Veterinary. Thankfully, the job hunting world has changed from door to door application requests and has shifted heavily into an online communication process: You apply online; you communicate online to schedule interviews; you (sometimes) receive your job offer/declination online. This is an fantastic shift from relying on others to help me get a job, to being able to communicate with employers entirely on my own. So for everyone who bah-humbugs the shift towards technology reliance, I say, WOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!
[One slight downside to this shift is how some companies are now including on-site video pop questions. They play a video during your online application, you're given 30 seconds, and then your webcam records your response and it is sent to them. This shift is NOT favorable towards me as they are not captioned. It's just as much of a hindrance as it is to have someone call the company on my behalf. So far, this shift is geared towards specialty careers. Right now, I'm only looking for a job, not a career. So it shouldn't be an issue. ]
There's still an issue trying to obtain a job that does not require employees to use telephones. I'm hoping over the next 10 years, the majority of jobs/careers will be finished transitioning into online communication methods. E-mailing clients instead of calling them. Most people may not realize just how many jobs out there required telephone duties, so it's not just the interviewing process that involves finding alternatives to telephone communication. It is also difficult to find a decent job that doesn't mandate all employees handle phone calls. Sometimes this is an easy workaround if you can convince the employer during the interview that your strengths outweigh the telephone weakness. Most of the time, it will be a deal breaker for them. Why take the risk and hire someone who can't complete one duty when they can find someone who can do everything? This is not favorable towards deaf people like myself.
So how do I job hunt? It requires adjustments. But luckily the world is starting to adjust to favorable conditions for optimal results!
Here's to my new job hunt, and it is my hope everything remains an online process with the exception of the in-person interview.