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I spoke at a careers forum this week for university students with disabilities. I shared my story, and some of the wisdom I have gained about employment. In this blog, I will share it with you.
What are the lessons I have learned? Following the Buzzfeed model, here are my Ten Top Tips for getting a job as a person with a disability.
One, it will be harder for you to get a job than your peers without disabilities. That’s the reality, supported by the statistics. So suck it up. And as Sara Henderson famously said – don’t wait to see the light at the end of the tunnel – get down there and turn the bloody thing on yourself. Your opportunities are in your hands. Be proactive, and keep being proactive.
Two, think hard about whether or not you disclose your disability. It’s a bit hard for me not to disclose mine when I walk into a job interview with my guide dog. But some people with hidden disabilities have that option. I learned quickly that when I disclosed my disability during a phone conversation with an employer, that was usually the last interaction I had with them. So I just turned up, and surprised them at the interview.
Below is a link to an article about gagging of advocacy by government.
The link takes you to the exact page, so just press h for heading until you get to the heading:
Brandis ties NGO funding to non-advocacy
From today, Age Discrimination Commissioner Susan Ryan will add Disability Discrimination to her portfolio and will focus on improving dignity, respect and equal opportunities for people with disability.
“As I commence my term as Acting Disability Discrimination Commissioner, I want to reinvigorate a national discussion about how we create opportunities for people with disabilities to enter the workplace,” said Commissioner Ryan.
“It is important that we have this discussion at a time when the Government is considering significant changes to the welfare system, including the disability support pension. The only way we can reduce welfare dependency is to address the barriers to paid employment that are faced by people with disabilities,” she said.
“These barriers start from the moment a person leaves their house: is there reliable, accessible transport to get to work? It continues as they reach a workplace: Is the workplace design accessible? Are there flexible workplace practices that can accommodate people’s distinct needs? And it continues on with prevailing attitudes and stereotypes about what people with disabilities are capable (or more commonly, deemed incapable) of achieving.”
THE federal government is “open” to negotiating the most controversial element of its budget welfare measures, making young people wait six months for the dole, in a concession that Labor branded an “unravelling”.
Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews told ABC radio yesterday he first wanted to test the strict welfare measure, which would save the budget $1.2 billion if completed in full, in a hostile Senate.
“We’ll see then what the other parties and the independents in the Senate have to say about it,” Andrews said.
“We will see what they say … in NZ everybody faces a one-month delay before they can go on benefits, but that’s a different system to what happens in Australia.
“But my door is open … if the independents or the minor parties want to talk about it, then obviously we will talk about it.”
Graeme Innes AM
Disability Discrimination Commissioner
July 2, 2014
'Address to the National Press Club'
Australia's Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes will complete his term of office on 4 July. In this presentation, Commissioner Innes will review his eight and a half years in the role. Appointed by the Howard Government, in 2005 he was re-appointed by the Rudd-Gillard government.
The Federal Government announced - as part of budget savings measures - that his position would not be filled by a full-time Commissioner who has lived experience of disability, and knowledge of the disability sector. Instead, one of the current Commissioner's will fill the role on a part-time basis.
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