Sorta F*ed..How should I approach this?

[quartermile]

I lost my job back in February and I am getting pretty panicked about finding another one.

Here is my problem:

I apply and people call or email with an interest. We speak/write back and forth for awhile and the interest builds on both ends. When im asked to come for an interview and I check to see if the building is accessible either of the following happen:

1. Communication stops and I never hear from them again. No returned calls, emails, etc.

or

2. Im told all is well and I attend the interview only to hear that Im overqualified and they have seen my resume before the interview.

Do I need to approach this differently? I feel as though I need to drop my disability in their lap instead of letting them know up front.

Opinions and experiences please...help me out. My family is depending on me and the bills are piling up.

[-scott-]

to avoid #1, don't say anything about it before an interview. just show up. do a drive-by beforehand to scout out the location in person.

to deal w/ #2, learn to negotiate if you really want the position. ask about possible openings in the future that would be more fitting, but just be straight-up about things if you need a job.

[KVP612]

even if you are overqualified it still means you are qualified, don't accept that.

[Liz321]

I've driven by the place I'm to interview a week before and check out the landscape so to speak. I make assumptions I'll be peeing in my van during breaks til they get to kow me and make the bathroom accessible or let me know "Oh here's the key to the administrator's office". That being said I never told any interviewer i was in a chair. I did it once and got the initial response of "Oh, we have stairs".

I decided I'd rather dismiss them then they dismiss me.

Good luck!!!

what is it you do, maybe there's some job site we can send you

[titanium4motion]

Quartermile, you have to fight this crippling war on employment with an arsenal or weapons of mass destruction. Most important weapon in fighting this horrendous war is attitude. You number one weapon.

Next you need a polished résumé. I would suggest put nothing pertaining to any disability related organizations or groups you have been associated with or awards you won that would relate to disability. I still feel today even though we have the ADA behind us we still are discriminated against.

To win this crippling war you need to fight it 24/7. It is a full time job in itself to find employment again.

I feel smaller companies are afraid to hire us because we will cause expenses in medical care and work place accommodations. So seek employment at larger companies and organizations.

When you feel you are being beaten or wounded during this war, pull out your next weapon of mass destruction, the Harris Directory. You will find the Harris Directory at your local public library. The Harris Directory is a book in the reference section that lists all the names and addresses of companies, businesses and organizations in your county with number of employees, the CEO or president or owner with a bunch of other detail information. Photocopy each page that are located in your county. Now you make a dirty bomb out this. You incite a letter campaign to win this crippling war on unemployment. You send each name in the Harris Directory a cover letter and a copy of your résumé. I will guarantee you, you will get interviews.

True story here. I built a dirty bomb like above and one night while fighting this crippling war on unemployment I was getting tired. I had two or three more companies to write. I wanted to go to bed but I wanted to finish this task. My last company I wrote a cover letter to and sent a résumé was the company that hired me. I had three interviews and that interview I was hired. But during the interviewing process I had one contact with NASA and I kept sending them a letter of interest every month. Nine months within my first employer NASA called me and had “A window of opportunity for me to come aboard.” I left my first employer and have been with NASA ever since.

Times have changed since I started to fight that crippling war on unemployment. Today we have the internet. Try seeing a job working for this great Nation. Build your résumé online at:

http://www.usajobs.gov

Working for your Country they will accommodate you with your disability with no problems. They don’t discriminate against you because you have a disability but they do want to know if you have a disability because for two reasons? First, so they can make work place modifications for you if you need them. Second, the government has special hiring authorities that supersede regular hiring practices from the normal people to bring you aboard. You don’t have to take a medical exam for one.

Here are some important tips when seeking employment from the US Department of Labor:

http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/ek97/element.htm

Another weapon of mass destruction we have in our arsenal is the customized employment weapon. More information at the link below.

http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/custom/edge.htm

I hope these weapons help you fight this crippling war on unemployment and win!


titanium4motion

[mr_coffee]

I agree,

When I was going for my interview I didn't ask 1 thing about accessiblility, once I got there I then figured out a new game plan and everything worked out great luckly there was elevators everywhere.'

[Mike C]

Excellent post Titanium!

[fuentejps]

leave dis out always

[Uncle Peter]

Hello, Quarter:

You might get more responses to your post if you change it from Sorta F...
to "Help, Lost my job or need a job"
Good luck. Your state vocational rehab department might be able to help, too.

I might be joining you. Gannett, the nation's largest and meanest newspaper publisher, is about take over my employer. And the last thing Gannett wants is a 54-year-old, overpaid quad reporter with a comb-over.

[chasb]

Here is a link with many tips:

http://www.earnworks.com/Job_Seekers/Tools/index.htm

good post t4m. You might get more responses if this were posted in the job forum. Also try changing the title to something like Need ideas on searching for a new job. Just an idea.