FW: Book helps job seekers with disabilities

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Book helps job seekers with disabilities

By Banks

Knight Ridder/Tribune

December 21, 2001

" Job-Hunting for the So-Called Handicapped or People Who Have Disabilities,

Revised "

by Bolles and Dale Brown

Ten Speed Press, $12.95

Few would disagree that people with disabilities face more roadblocks in the

job search than their " able-bodied " counterparts. It is how they approach

those roadblocks that can make the difference to their getting a job. That

is

the premise of " Job-hunting for the So-called Handicapped or People Who Have

Disabilities " by Bolles and Dale Brown.

People with disabilities have the highest unemployment rate in the U.S. and

have been called the " untapped workforce. " Despite disincentives to work

such

as the loss of state or federal aid and not being covered by employers'

medical insurance because of preexisting conditions, most people with a

disability want to work. Unfortunately, many give up after being rejected

time after time. This book can help the disillusioned find the inspiration

and confidence to keep trying.

Bolles is the author of the perennial best-seller " What Color is Your

Parachute? " now in its 32nd edition. His " creative approach to job hunting "

has helped millions of readers find success in life and work, and Brown,

co-author of this second edition of the disability book, believes the method

works especially well for people with disabilities.

The pair decided to update the book, first published in 1991, to include the

Americans with Disabilities Act and to describe in detail how people with

disabilities could use the " recipe " in " Parachute " to get hired.

Intended as a companion to " Parachute, " the book offers practical tips on

how

to respond to employers' biases, explains the reasons behind them and

provides useful tools to overcome them.

" Job-hunting for the So-Called Handicapped " begins by explaining just what

constitutes a disability. It then explains clearly what the ADA, signed into

law in 1990, does and does not do. Employers who may be unclear about some

aspects of the law could also find it an invaluable resource.

Readers will also find real solutions to some of the challenges they will

face in the job search. For instance, if your disability causes you to talk

slowly, the authors suggest memorizing a " script " or programming responses

in

advance if using an artificial speech program.

A couple of chapters are devoted to overcoming fears -- of both the

potential

employer and the job seeker. Many employers might be concerned about the

cost

of accommodating a person with a disability. But if he or she has done

research, the job seeker could tell a potential employer the least costly

way

to accommodate the disability. Or the job seeker could offer to buy whatever

aids may be needed to do the job.

The book exhorts readers to recognize the difference between external -- or

real -- oppression and internal oppression. Internal oppression refers to

the

way people with disabilities start thinking about themselves. They might,

for

example, believe that they are less than others or that they should be

grateful to anyone for hiring them.

" Job-Hunting for the So-Called Handicapped " does not discount the fact that

some people with disabilities don't get the job for the same reason others

don't: They are not qualified. And while the authors tell readers what

recourse they have if they feel they've been discriminated against, they

wisely do not focus on litigation. Instead, the book advises readers on what

employers to avoid -- " those who will be bothered by your disability or will

rigidly stick to the job requirements exactly as they are. "

Despite Bolles' impeccable reputation, some readers could dismiss this

advice

as " easy for you to say. " But co-author Brown, who has a learning

disability,

gives it the necessary credibility. She is writing as someone who has been

there.

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© 2001, Chicago Tribune.

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