Heres What to Keep in Mind When Hiring People with a Disability

Heres What to Keep in Mind When Hiring People with a Disability One of the worst kept secrets in recruitment is there are still plenty of employers who are not very keen on hiring disabled people for a particular job opportunity in their organization. At times, well-qualified and deserving candidates are ignored for less-deserving candidates that are not suffering from any disability. At the other end of the spectrum, recruiters have to cope with physically-challenged yet deserving candidates who arent very confident about coping with the work responsibilities assigned to them. Their disability saps at their confidence and they begin to question their own suitability for a particular job. Your job as a recruiter is to find the right candidate for a particular job, or if you think from the job searchers perspective, you need to put through a particular candidate to the right job. Through the course of your work, what if you come across a disabled person who you think is a perfect fit for a particular job opportunity? In such cases, you need to keep  a few things in mind while hiring this person. Although we would like to believe the process of hiring a disabled person shouldnt be different from that of hiring a non-disabled person, such thinking might not help you in the hunt for the right candidate. Lets take a look at some of the aspects you must consider if you are planning to hire a disabled person for a particular job: Can the workplace be easily accessed by the person/can the person move around the workplace without difficulty? Now there are organizations who make it a point to make their building/office space and the surroundings more accessible for the disabled. But what if you are hiring for organization whose premises are not very disabled friendly. In such cases, if the person is mobility challenged, and uses a wheelchair for movement, he might not be a perfect fit for the particular job opportunity. Quite obviously the fault in this case lies with prospective employer, but it makes no sense to hire the person for a particular position in that organization and make life difficult for him. In such cases, its better to talk to such employers and know whether they are willing to implement the necessary changes that will make their workplace more accessible for disabled persons. If the answer is a yes, go ahead, if its a no, its advisable not to hire that person. RELATED:  Is Your  Office  Good for Your  Health? What are the prospective employers views about hiring a disabled person? If an organization has tasked you with finding a candidate to fill in a particular vacancy, it isnt going to categorically tell you not to line up a disabled candidate. However, its important that as a recruiter, you have a very clear idea of who the employer will deem to be a suitable candidate. There is no point in lining up a  particular candidate, who sails through the selection process, but the employer finally decides not to hire the candidate because hes uncomfortable with hiring a disabled person. This is something akin to a humiliation for the candidate involved, and you dont want to put him through it, do you? So, make sure you are well aware about where the prospective employers stand as far as hiring disabled people for their workforce is concerned. Also, be aware that employers might give you politically correct answers or even a diplomatic answers to a direct question regarding their particular views. Your job is to cotton on to their actual views and select your candidates accordingly. Where does the candidate stand vis-à-vis the job opportunity? If and when you do line up an interview for differently abled candidates, its important to get into their minds. Talk to them about what they expect from their job and their employers. Also, try and gauge their readiness to take up a particular job opportunity. Find out whether they expect some special consideration from the employer because of their disability. For e.g leeway as far as office timings are concerned. Make sure you answer all your doubts and any questions you have in your mind, before zeroing in on these candidates. This will also help you judge their levels of confidence in their own ability. If you think the jobs going to put the potential candidate in a pressure cook situation all the time, you need to find somebody who is really very confident about his ability to handle any situation and face any amount of pressure. Its all about understanding their problem and “insecurities”: The disabled face a set of challenges that the abled cannot even begin to imagine. In spite of these challenges, they are willing to ignore their  pain and discomfort to work and lead satisfied lives. They do not want their life to be different from anybody elses, and they dont want their disability to come in the way of doing their job. As a recruiter you can only help these people land the right job, if you  understand the problems they might encounter at the work place and knowing whether they are ready for it. Most people are ready to meet these problems head on, but there is a section of people who need to be convinced to do so. Its your job as a recruiter to convince them they are the prefect fit for a particular job opportunity. If you do not keep these things in mind, you might unknowingly force the candidate into a work environment that is not conducive for a disabled person. In the long run, it might just make this person more uncomfortable and less productive. It will make the person less confident about his ability to handle job responsibilities. You play a crucial role in making sure this doesnt happen. Author: Lura Peterson is associated with Topmobility.com. They are specialized in pride go go scooters for disabled and senior people. She has written many articles on health issues for disabled people and senior people.

The Purdue Owl Resume is Great For Your Job Search

The Purdue Owl Resume is Great For Your Job SearchThe Purdue Owl resumes is filled with practical tips for your job search. It teaches how to write a resume, find the best job and how to use career paths. The author, Maryellen T. McDonald, has years of experience in the catering industry. She was hired to work in the marketing department of a popular restaurant chain as a writer and when that didn't work out she wrote this book.Most employees find it hard to get in touch with prospective employers and let's face it, we are busy, but the Purdue Owl resumes helps people be proactive in their job search. It also gives them ideas about writing better resumes and how to maximize their job search. The book also teaches valuable tips for preparing for interviews and offers practical advice about the best way to market themselves for jobs.The main points of the Purdue Owl resume include: get your resume into the hands of the person who can make the hiring decision and find out what's next. G et your personal information right so you can get a better chance of getting hired. Find out how to create a customized career path that will allow you to market yourself well. If you're serious about landing that great job then this book should be your guide.Get the right education from your schooling, but how do you get there? This is one area where the guidance of the book and its author's help. They show you how to research the right schools, how to determine which ones are a good fit for you and how to select the right career path. This is a great book for the first time worker, for those who are in their second career and those who have no experience at all. If you don't know much about career planning or you have no idea where to start, this book should be your first stop.We've all heard the stories from friends, family and co-workersabout the kind of job they have, but still we all struggle in our job search. This book helps you see that it doesn't have to be like that. This book teaches you how to make use of networking and where to go to get the best information on the career opportunities you're looking for.The biggest selling point of the Purdue Owl resume is the organization part. The book includes different sections like the Resume Design section, Career Path section, Sales Skills section and the Job Search and Planning section. In this last section of the book explains what you can do to improve your resume by creating a resume with unique information, making sure that you have included all of the necessary information and the steps you can take to improve your job search.The main reason why the Purdue Owl resumes is so popular is because it's filled with practical advice. It guides you through the process and shows you how to be successful in your job search. The process of searching for a job and finding a perfect job takes time, but if you have the right tools it can be easy.You can get the information you need to successfully apply for jobs, how to improve your resume and what you can do to get that dream job in the Purdue Owl resume. It is a great book for those looking for an effective way to go about their job search.

International mentors available apply by 8th February, 2013 University of Manchester Careers Blog

International mentors available apply by 8th February, 2013 University of Manchester Careers Blog By now you will probably have heard of   Manchester Gold, our mentoring programme, which is popular with both our home and international students. You may also know that we have just started advertising our next round of the programme for Spring 2013, but did you know that we have around 100 mentors based outside the UK in over 40 countries, on the programme. Many of these are our own international graduates who studied here as international students and have a wealth of experience to share with you. What is mentoring and do international students get involved? Absolutely, our mentoring scheme is popular with international students. Mentors provide a one-to-one source of feedback, support, insight and ideas for your career progression. International mentors based in your home country could provide a realistic insight into ways to enter the job market after graduation, what employers look for and how jobs are usually gained. You mentor is likely to still be in contact with many fellow alumni returning from the UK so their network and shared experiences can be invaluable. Similarly, if you international mentor has stayed on in the UK, what enabled them to make this step, any advice to share? For more information on how to work effectively with your mentor, there is another useful blogpost with more tips at :https://manunicareersblog.com/2013/01/22/mentors-for-postgrads/   Who is mentoring this Spring? The list of mentors by career area and degree discipline is on the mentoring web pages, but it is also possible to see the mentors listed by country location too. So if you are looking for a mentor in a particular country, this is the resource to check. It is so exciting that, on this Spring programme alone there are over 100 international mentors. Overseas mentors 2013 Whats putting you off? / Concerns from international students answered here? In the past, we have had a handful of incidents where our mentors have not been fully used by you, our mentees, and when we have investigated, some students have had a couple of conerns as follows: My mentor was too senior they were afraid to use them effectively. They were worried that they would ask silly questions, or not make the right impression. Just to reassure all readers that our mentors are doing this to help you, their fellow university students. Your questions will not be silly, if they are a concern for you. As long as you are polite in the way that you approach them. The most disappointing outcome for the mentors is when they are not utilised and their mentee does not take up the valuable offer of their time and enthusiasm that is what makes a poor impression. They just want a professional approach. This is not a test. My mentor was in the wrong career area again, it is about using your mentor effectively. Advice can apply across many sectors, you just have to be flexible, listen and apply the knowledge. Similarly, they may not be in your dream job, but their best friend may be!   The right approach can make it work. My mentor is too far away nope! With the option for email, skype and more, your mentor is only a click away. Many of our mentees have even kept in contact, meeting up when they are home/overseas in the future too. Its all possible. Lots more tips and resources on the mentoring pages, including a mentoring guide in Mandarin for our Chinese students who may find it useful. www.manchester.ac.uk/careers/mentoring   What if I do not find a mentor? The good news is that we also have around 200 more international alumni contacts available to answer your questions on our Mentoring QA resource. You can access this through Careerslink and using the Advanced Search button can search mentors by country. What next? Apply by 8th February, 2013.   www.manchester.ac.uk/careers/mentoring All International China international students mentoring