Tips for Finding a job as someone who is blind or visually impaired

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Tips for finding a job as someone who is blind or visually impaired

WSB is no stranger to the employment barriers that exist for those who are blind and visually impaired. And with October being National Disability Employment Awareness Month #NDEAM, we wanted to share some tips and tricks that might help in finding a job as someone who is blind or visually impaired. The unemployment rate for the blind and visually impaired is over 70%, and WSB is here to help combat that!

Work with a Vocational Counselor

Our first tip is to work with a vocational counselor through your state agency. They are a great resource whether it is finding accommodations for a current job or helping you throughout the job search process.

Discuss with VR counselor about disclosing your disability

We suggest working with a VR counselor to decide if disclosing your disability is something you want and feel comfortable doing. This can be a highly personal choice, and it varies on how one might want to handle disclosure or not. You don’t have to, but some people prefer to disclose.

Start with an internship or volunteering

If you can, start with an internship or even just volunteering. This is a great way to get your foot in the door and show the employer what you are capable of (and can oftentimes lead to employment after!). Volunteering is a great option if you aren’t sure what you want to do because it can give you a wide range of experiences. Internships and volunteering also look great on a resume!

Practice

Practicing before an interview is so important. It not only helps you practice what you’re going to say but it can also help get some of the nerves out.

Confidence is key!

Make sure you go to an interview with confidence. As those who are blind and visually impaired, we know we have to work that much harder but by being confident from the start, it not only helps your self-esteem but also the interviewers possible bias. This leads onto our next tip…

Be Upfront about your skills

As people with disabilities, it is especially important to be upfront about your employable skills so your employer knows what you can do! We don’t just mean your personable skills but employable skills you’d use on the job every day. For example, if you’re applying for a job that requires Microsoft Office experience, be sure to bring up your experience using that software.

Train at WSB

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention all of the amazing career training programs we offer at WSB! We have an 85% employment rate for those who graduate from our career training programs. We also offer extensive employment preparation giving you an edge up on practice interviews, job preparation, and employment searches.