My employment history started in high school; but while my peers were getting jobs at Dairy Queen, I realized I had a lot of barriers to employment. I’m in a wheelchair so my disability is the first thing people notice about me; and therefore, make assumptions about my ability to do the job before I could even say “hello”.  I also could not get a job waiting tables and stocking shelves as it’s too physical.  My parents reassured me saying once I went to school and got a good office job, getting employment wouldn’t be a problem anymore. They should have been right, but they weren’t. I am originally from Ontario. There you need 40 hours of volunteer work to graduate high school, so I started volunteering at the Alzheimer’s Society when I was just 15. I know I wanted a career helping people and ended up unlocking a passion for working with seniors; I was good at it despite not a lot of training.

I left high school excited about my job prospects. I have a job I was good at and I figured most hospitals and nursing homes were already wheelchair accessible.

In post-secondary, I graduated from Sheridan College Social Service Worker-Gerontology program, that specialized in senior care and a Bachelor of Healthcare Studies from York University; specialized in healthcare management.

In Sheridan I had two practicums at nursing homes. I had problems getting hired even for an unpaid position. It was frustrating; I needed these jobs to graduate, if I couldn’t get hired for free, what will happen when I need a real job; also, despite being good at the work I was applying for, I kept not doing well in interviews.  

Interviewing is a separate skill.  They involve vague questions like; “tell me about yourself” in where you must give you whole employment and education history in a succinct 20 minute antidote about your life; heaven forbid you forgot to include the specific skills and experiences they were looking for but didn’t ask about.  What would help in an interview is more structure and specific questions. The interviewer should ask about the resumes rather than putting the onus on the interviewee to convey all info. Or even give opportunities to demonstrate the necessary skills; i.e. introduce them to a client, write an email. One of my most successful interview was when I had specific questions ahead of time.

I did finally land placements which ended up being some of my most successful points in my career. There was a huge focus on teamwork and less focus on perfectionism and speed. For example, when doing activities with seniors I did the parts I could, like facilitating the activity and got help with the parts I could not do, like physically setting up the room. My coworkers were okay with this, as I was still doing the majority of the work.  They also did not mind that I took at few extra minutes to fill out paperwork as the job got done and I rarely made mistakes; saving time in the long run.

After graduating with two degrees and 10 years of experience in my field between volunteering and practicums I thought my getting hired troubles were over: I was wrong. I found out that most employers don’t count volunteer work as real job experience. I am frustrated that the only people willing to take a chance on me was people who didn’t have to pay me. I hate the phrase “take a chance on me” I’m educated, experienced and good at my job I shouldn’t be seen as a risk.

Now in my 30s, with 5 years of post secondary, 2 degrees, and years of experience I still can’t get consistent employment. I also had bad experiences when I was employed. Today, modern job environment demands robot like perfection and an obsession with speed. At one office we had less than a minute to go through large documents and figure what department they needed to be submitted to. Despite this, I still had 99% perfection rate, and it didn’t matter, I was still let go for my slowness despite not being that much slower than my co-workers and new at the job.  I had great rapport with my coworkers; they didn’t see any issues with my work or cared if I needed a few extra minutes. At another office; they refuse to accommodate my need for larger text on my computer, I even knew what setting I needed to click but because it was a company’s computer I needed IT’s permission to get into the settings; I never got permission and had to leave that job because of the constant struggle.

Another issue I am finding is break times, instead of giving 45 minutes midday they are doing 15 minute intervals, not enough time to eat or go to the washroom for most disabled people. Flexible break times should be allowed; same amount of time for everyone but taken when/how they are needed.

Another problem from all of this is as it turns out unemployment is compounding; meaning the longer I go without paid employment (the bigger gap on the resume) the less employable I seem.

If employers would just make even one of the small changes I mentioned, a lot more people with disabilities could not only be working; but be successful. As more and more people live below the poverty line, the need to include people with disabilities in the workforce is greater than ever.

By Jenna Flemming