May 15, 2001

Marketing Yourself as a Person with a Disability

THE HIRING DILEMMA IS THIS: agencies want to hire people with disabilities and people with disabilities want to get hired. How can we get communications open between the two groups?

I was asked to train 60 State of Virginia Rehabilitation Counselors on how to get their consumers Federal jobs. I found out the challenges and went to the heart of it.

No. 1, Getting a federal job is difficult for anyone from outside, not to mention a person with a disability. I taught them the basics of writing a federal application using my book, the Federal Resume Guidebook & PC Disk.

No. 2, Marketing their consumers to jobs in government under the Schedule A Hiring Authority can be different than the regular "competitive" application process. We discussed the competitive process and the more creative and successful approach of developing a relationship with a Selective Placement Official, HR professional, EEO person or Special Emphasis staff. Finding out who is handling the hiring of people with disabilities is challenging - but worth the effort!

The current OPM plan is that each agency is going to analyze their job availability and the skills required to perform the jobs so that they can create a hiring plan for hiring for people with disabilities. When I find this list, I'll post it on my column.

Last week a young man with a hearing disability came to my office for help with getting a permanent federal job. He is a graduate of Gallaudet University with a degree in Information Technology. He has already worked in government for a year in a temporary position and then as a contractor to three different government agencies. He learned how to read lips at Gallaudet and he does speak quite well. His job expertise is computer user support! He performs his customer computer troubleshooting by email, in-person (reading lips and analyzing the problem hands-on) and by phone with TTY. He is quick and friendly and he's looking for a permanent government job. In addition to help with his application package, he wanted to know exactly how to handle the information about his disability. Here are a few of his questions and my answers:

Do I write about my disability in my resume?
Not directly in the resume. The reader will see that you are hearing disabled because of your degree from Gallaudet. They will also see that you have been performing computer support for 4 organizations for the past 3 years.

How do I tell them that I am very good at my work with certain accommodations?
In your cover letter you can write that you are an expert in reading lips, keyboard more than 70 words per minute, are a fast troubleshooter and analyst of user problems, and are responsive by email or in-person to resolve user problems.

Who do I talk to?
I gave him my list of Selecting Placement Officers in the local DC area, plus a couple of others that I am developing because he would like to work in Baltimore, MD. I told him to write an email to them and ask for an appointment to visit in person.

Do I just respond to jobs like other people?
Yes, you can apply through open competitive jobs that are listed on www.usajobs.opm.gov. You would send in your federal resume and KSAs following the instructions. But I honestly think the direct contact and introduction method will be faster and better.

Do I introduce myself and discuss my skills and abilities even with my disability?
When you meet your contact, you will take your resume and cover letter. You will introduce your job interests and skills. Ask if they know if they will be hiring someone with your qualifications in the near future. If special reasonable accommodations would help you perform your job better, discuss those openly. You can help them and they can help you!

If they have a job that is possible, they have the ability to hire sometimes within two weeks because of the special hiring authorities. Remember that the government WANTS TO HIRE PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, so you are in a good place if you are well qualified.

PS - If you are interested in hiring this hard-working young man, please send me an email and I will put him in touch with you. He prefers the Baltimore area, but would probably consider other areas in the DC area. He's still in the job market.

****

Next Tuesday: Part II.

In preparing for my workshop I discovered the SECRET MARKETING STRATEGY to market people with disabilities for government jobs. I interviewed to OPM representatives and four Selective Placement Officials. I will tell you what they recommended for marketing yourself (People with Disabilities) to government agencies. I'll also tell you how to find out about the unlisted jobs for People with Disabilities.

HELPFUL RESOURCES AND WEBSITES CONCERNING FEDERAL JOBS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES:

Write resume@resume-place.com. Ask for FREE People with Disabilities Federal Job Information:

• A list of Selective Placement Officers in the Washington, DC area with phone numbers, agencies and addresses.
• A copy of the memorandum which summarizes the hiring initiative and objectives to hire more people with disabilities.

  www.usajobs.opm.gov click on People with Disabilities to get definitions of Schedule A and the "Hiring Authorities" that allow federal agencies to hire people with disabilities faster than people who are not qualified for these special hiring processes.

**** KT TRAINING STORY UPDATES ****

ELECTRONIC FEDERAL RESUME GUIDEBOOK AT DCMA RESUMIX CLASS
I had the great pleasure to use my new book for Resumix Resume writing training at Defense Contract Management Agency in Springfield, VA yesterday! What a thrill! Last year all of the training I did with the Navy paid off! The book works in the classroom! The participants were happy with the new approach to writing their work experience with nouns in an outline! They liked my before and after Skills Bucket examples and explanation! It was just great! If you don't have the book yet -- I recommend it! (Even though I am the author and publisher - I am not biased) I saw 40 people use the book yesterday and it was very effective! Order the book from my website www.resume-place.com or www.fendonline.com. If you want your Resumix to get you QUALIFIED in a database - you need this book!
***The E-Book will be available overseas in military exchanges very soon! I'll let you know when it's in!

TRAINING HCFA HR IN RESUME WRITING!

What a great day I had at HCFA in Woodlawn a week ago training HR professionals in federal resume and Core Competency Writing! HCFA is using Managerial Core competencies to recruit managers, GS 13 and above. The HR professionals wrote their own KSA in the class and came to appreciate the amount of time it takes to write KSAs. I found out that the HR professionals would like less KSAs so that they can receive more applications from qualified people! Yea! They're on OUR SIDE! KSA writing hint: 2/3rds of one page is enough for each KSA! Use examples to demonstrate your KSA.

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NEED A TRAINER? END OF BUDGET YEAR FUNDING AVAILABLE?

Off-the-shelf federal resume or electronic resume writing, core competency, KSA, SES, or any other new HR initiative? Write to me. I can create enthusiasm and interest in any new government HR program with employees, supervisors and HR! Sole Source for most topics.

Thanks for your time, Kathryn Troutman
my email is resume@resume-place.com

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