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CAREERS & the disABLED Magazine, established in 1986, is the nation's first and only career-guidance and recruitment magazine for people with disabilities who are at undergraduate, graduate, or professional levels. Each issue features a special Braille section.

CAREERS & the disABLED has won many awards, including several media "Award of Excellence" acknowledgments from the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities.

This magazine reaches people with disabilities nationwide at their home addresses, colleges and universities, and chapters of student and professional organizations through a paid subscription.


CAREERS & the disABLED

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 Driving Your Own Success

Lois Vidaver
 
 
GET BEHIND THE WHEEL AND TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR CAREER PATH WITH THESE KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL CAREERS IN THE GOVERNMENT AND MILITARY SECTORS.
 
HOW DID YOU GET YOUR FIRST JOB?
 
WHAT WAS THE MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE WHEN SEARCHING FOR A JOB?
 
WHAT LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS WERE HELPFUL IN YOUR JOB SEARCH?
 
THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS ASKED OF THE FOLLOWING PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES WORKING IN THE GOVERNMENT AND MILITARY JOB SECTOR. THEIR ANSWERS CONTAIN SOME GREAT INSIGHT, AS WELL AS THE KEYS FOR A SUCCESSFUL CAREER.
 
USE THEIR ADVICE AS GUIDEPOSTS ON YOUR CAREER PATH BECAUSE, ASARMYAIR FORCE EXCHANGE SERVICE HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER TRAINEEMIMI JOHN SAYS, “YOU ARE THE DRIVER TO YOUR OWN SUCCESS.”
 
BUILDING A CAREER AT ODEP
 
NATHAN CUNNINGHAM IS A POLICY ADVISOR AT THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR’S OFFICE OF DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT POLICY (ODEP) THAT ADVANCES A MISSION TO DEVELOP AND INFLUENCE POLICIES AND PRACTICES THAT INCREASE THE NUMBER AND QUALITY OF EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
 
How he discloses his own disability, he says, depends on the context.
 
“At work, I think first and foremost about how and what to disclose in order to receive the accommodations I need to be successful. It’s important for me to communicate directly to my employer that I have low vision, which is a term I use to refer to my disability as a form of vision impairment. When disclosing that I have low vision, I explain to my employer that I need a few pieces of assistive technology to help me access materials in print or on a computer,” explains Cunningham.
 
He uses ZoomText screen magnification software, handheld and desktop magnifiers, and a larger monitor in order to perform his job duties. “Receiving these accommodations is essential, and I may need to provide medical documentation of how my disability relates to them when I disclose to an employer,” he says.
 
Cunningham began searching for jobs while still in college, thinking about the direction he wanted to take and applying for internships and full-time positions that would advance his career goals. After earning a bachelor’s degree in 2013, he decided to participate in an internship program in Washington, DC coordinated by the American Association of People with Disabilities.
 
“This internship augmented my work experience, exposed me to different facets of youth transition and disability policy, and allowed me to expand my professional network. As a result of this work experience, I applied for my current position on the youth policy team at ODEP,” Cunningham recalls.
 
What helped him most in this job search was his prior work experience. By taking on a handful of internships during and after college, he assembled qualifications that stemmed from a proven work history.
 
“I developed new technical skills in specific areas like crosscultural communication, teaching and analyzing youth transition issues. I applied research and writing skills cultivated during college, and I exercised soft skills through working on a team, communicating information clearly and thinking critically to complete tasks,” he states. Beyond improving his qualifications, prior work experiences exposed him to professionals who could offer feedback about his performance and recommend him for future positions.
 
To perform his job duties he regularly analyzes and familiarizes himself with the policy environments (laws, regulations, etc.) that relate to people with disabilities, youth in transition and employment. He works with his team to identify policy changes and effective strategies that help more young people - including youth with disabilities - transition from school to work.
 
For example, some of his responsibilities include co-directing a youth development initiative, developing topical resources for their stakeholders and promoting increased access to work-based learning experiences like volunteering and apprenticeships, which help lead to competitive employment. The stakeholders primarily include youth with and without disabilities, families, youth service professionals and policymakers. 
 
“Although definitions of success and skill-attainment may vary for different people in different fields, a few skills stand out to me as particularly important across careers, and I continue to hone them as I take on new responsibilities,” Cunningham says.
 
“For one, clear oral and written communication is crucial, whether regarding expectations for a task [or] the content of a resource, or in managing conflicting viewpoints. At a more fundamental level I find that flexibility and self-motivation are characteristics of some of the most successful workers because they can adapt to fluctuating, malleable environments, and they can accomplish tasks with a necessary amount of independence and dependability,” he continues.
 
“Finally, I think critical, interdisciplinary thinking is an invaluable skill because much of our work takes place in connection to the goals of partners around us, and finding those connections is a mutually beneficial way to advance everyone’s priorities,” adds Cunningham.
 
Job candidates with disabilities can seek out a local community of young professionals with disabilities called Hidden Army that offers regular job postings, networking and social events, and support for new people who have questions about employment, housing or other aspects of life in Washington, DC. In addition, job seekers with disabilities can further find selective placement program coordinators (SPPCs) at federal agencies and learn about Schedule A hiring, an expedited hiring authority for individuals with disabilities searching for federal employment.
 
“As people with disabilities consider employability skills and succeeding both [inside] and outside of the workforce, an often overlooked, but essential set of skills to establish is positive selfcare habits. Self-care is what individuals recognize they need to do for themselves to maintain their health and well-being. It encompasses many aspects of a person’s lifestyle, and in a work context, self-care encourages people to identify overwork and untenable levels of stress as harmful. Taking time to reflect on what an individual needs to be healthy is another important part of succeeding in employment,” Cunningham points out.
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