There’s no official membership card for it, but the club I belong to is the “frequent fainters” club. I can’t ride in an airplane without causing an international incident or sit under fluorescent lights for more than an hour without swooning like a 19th-century book character. I wander around with blue fingernails and a heart arrhythmia and blood pressure so low that it makes every medical professional I meet want to write a paper about me. Just call me Zombie Girl.
 
I woke up once, after fainting, with my head cradled in my boss’s lap while he yelled at everyone to call 911. Despite the dramatics, many people who interact with me at work don’t know that I have a disability. In fact, sometimes I don’t even see myself as Zombie Girl because for the past few years, with the help of accommodations, treatment, and some evasive manoeuvres I’ve developed, I have the luxury, most of the time, of not thinking constantly about how not to faint. My disability has become an “invisible” one.
 
Canadian university and college Disability Services regularly report at national conferences that the majority of students using their services have a so-called “invisible disability.” Are you one of them? Have you thought about how, or if, that might play out when it comes to getting a job?
 
You’ve probably seen the blurb at the bottom of many job postings: Applications from people with disabilities encouraged and accommodation will be provided. But what does it really mean for you, the applicant?
 
The good news is that there are times when that blurb is a genuinely enthusiastic request from the organization to ensure that they have a workforce that represents the diversity of the larger population and to provide accommodations that allow all applicants to compete fairly. This kind of “disability positive” statement might even mean that they have some or lots of experience hiring skilled people — who also happen to be Zombie Girls/Guys — into their organization.
 
But, both as a former recruiter and an employee with a disability, I know that sometimes those statements lead you to a situation where the employer is bumbling and inept when recruiting and hiring a person with a disability — especially an “invisible” one.
 
Employers want to hire the best people and even if they have never knowingly recruited or hired a person with a disability before, they may be able get up to speed pretty quickly. Why? They want to attract the best candidates and you’re one of them! It is your right when and if you choose to disclose that you have a disability to your employer, but once disclosure has occurred, the Canadian Human Rights Code provides that you cannot be discriminated against and are entitled to receive disability accommodations — with some slight variations in the legal details from province to province — in order to apply to, compete equitably for, and work in Canada.
 
And, with all the time you spent on your resume, you probably want to have a diverse range of organizations to send it to. So, it’s worth investigating organizations, even if they seem a little, uh, dim, when it comes to disability issues.
 
Your first connection with employers should and will be about the skills, experience and education that you bring to the table — not about your disability. Employers want you to be successful (after all, this helps them!) but they won’t always appropriately navigate your disability or accommodations, nor will they necessarily feel compelled to advocate on your behalf, the way Disability Services at your school may have. They might need your help as they say the wrong thing, forget to ask the appropriate questions and ignore things that have always been a “given” for you. They may even inadvertently or knowingly break the law.
 
The reality is often that as a student with a disability, you may have more research, rights, and responsibilities to weigh than the average job hunter. But, that extra prep can lead you to a much more satisfying fit with the job and organization you end up in.
 
Sometimes, being a member of the Zombie Club has its advantages. jp
 
Christine Fader works as a career counsellor at Queen’s University and the author of Career Cupid: Your Guide to Landing and Loving Your Dream Job. She was a voting member of the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario’s Employment Standards Development Committee as it developed new legislation for accessible employment in Ontario. Visit her website at careercupid.com.