Applying for Jobs

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kimpossible

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Normally I'd put my phone number (land line) on my resume when applying for a job but I recently discovered this was a bad idea ... haven't used the phone in a while and, surprise surprise, it sounds completely robotic now, and two places where I'd applied for jobs via e-mail (craigslist) hung up on me today.

So this might seem like a really dumb question but, should I just not provide them with any phone number at all, even though it's a home phone, and other people in my family could answer it...? would that be a bad idea? (I don't have a tty or anything, I've never used relay services...) I also don't really want to give the immediate impression that I don't speak/hear in person, because I hear pretty well now with both my HA and CI, but I don't feel comfortable talking on the phone anymore. I asked this one guy to rephrase his sentence a couple times and the next thing I heard was the dial tone.

But I also am applying to a whole bunch of different jobs this week, online/by craigslist, and in terms of location they are spaced way too far apart for me to apply in person. There are a couple jobs that have stood out so far that I plan to apply for in person, but that's it.

I am so inexperienced as a deaf person!!! Please tell me how I'm supposed to live my life! Haha. I'm just wondering if it's considered unprofessional to provide them with just an e-mail/ask them to respond via email and not by phone... probably a dumb question, I know. Apart from that I'd like to hear of some of everyone else's experiences applying for jobs? (d/Deafies)
 
Why can't you go there in person? I mean, you will have to go there if they hire you. I understand the conveniency, but I think that's a way of not doing your very best in my opinion. I have done similar to this before, and it doesn't give me a job.

Also, can you have your family take messages for you? When they take the message, you know where it's from...go there in person and request this person. If they ask why, explain you can't hear the phone and you need to read lips to hear what people say. It's no big deal. People usually are not comfortable with relay phones and in your case rephrasing for deaf people.

Many of the jobs I have gotten is through meeting them in person. If you can request or find their e-mail address, use it if it's hard to get ahold of them. This is a suggestion jillio had mentioned to get a written response. You could try a family member make the call for you to set up an interview.

Be assertive and let them know you are interested. Show them they can't hide from you by showing up.

Go to those who hung you up. I just thought that if you still want to use the phone. Let them know you're hard of hearing and avoid talking to them except to set up an interview. Explain to them that you'll hear them better when you can see them.
 
Well, on my resume I put my email as way of contact. I also included my phone number but if the interviewer asked if she could call I'd say please leave a message and my mother will give it to me.

But no, I don't think listing your email address as way of contact is rude or tacky. It's imperative, really, for you and many deaf out there.

Leave a small comment on your preference to be contacted in whichever way.
 
Kim, other people will give you the best advice on how you should handle the situation. I can hear and I also hired people in the past. I can give you that side of the story.

There are many weird resumes and aplications come to your way when you put an ad on internet. Once I placed an ad for graphic designer and one of the applications I got was saying he was a waiter, he had no experience but he still wanted to try his chance. Trying his chance? I was wondering if he thought this is a lottery. So you end up dealing with all kinds of people , and you do not know who really is what.

I do not know if you told them you are deaf on your resume. But if I called you and if I didnt know you were deaf , I would think you are not ready/serious about the job when you kept asking me to repeat myself. I understand you , if you dont prefer telling it to them thinking it might lower your chances. But then you should be able to hide it till they hire you. Its a decision you will make and maybe other people here can give you advice on how. I dont know that part much..

Using emails perfectly valid but it depends on the job you are applying. There were times I worked with freelance graphic designers. We rarely spoke on the phone, sometimes never. On the other hand , for example, if somebody was going to apply for assistant position, I definetly expected them to have a phone numbers on their resume. I wouldnt even read their resume if I didnt see all the information is there. Because this is the nature of that job. You dont take somebody as your assitant and share all your business details with him without knowing his phone number. And I would think there is something wrong if he didnt want to supply that information.

I dont know the nature of the jobs you are applying. But if you are going to tell them : Respond by email only! .. Then also explain them why. Without knowing you are deaf, this request seems suspicious. But if you are applying for a job that requiers no an immediate phone conversation (freelance graphic designer was a good example to it) , then do not give them your phone number nor say anything about that.

I hope these can help you. I tried to give two different examples for two different situations. I dont know which one fits you best. I wish you good luck in your search and wait to hear your good news.

Hermes
 
If you have VP, then use the 866 number as your contact. You can get it through your VP's settings. I use this on my applications.
 
i did search jobs online and someone says must send resumes and no receive calls! that rude for deaf people!

i did fill out application paper they drop stores they will call for interview
 
Kim,

I faced the same issue recently and hope my experience could help you a bit :)

Post your phone number AND e-mail address on your resume and have someone (a friend or a family member) respond to the calls. Have this person jot down all the messages addressed to you and forward them to you. Sometimes hiring managers or recruiters are not satisfied by just leaving their messages and insist that you call them back; in this case, let your "phone assistant" tell them that it is inconvenient for you to talk on the phone (never mention the reason for it though) but you are ready and willing to talk to them in person. If they keep insisting, you will probably have to confess that you are deaf and unable to speak on the phone at this stage :( but some people do agree to arrange a personal interview which is WAY easier to handle than a telephone interview.

Another approach seems very cumbersome (and it is!), but I recommend you to give it at least a try. You'll need a phone set with a loudspeaker and a friend or family member with quick and clear handwriting or good typing skills. While listening to the hiring manager over the loudspeaker, have your friend write down or type what is being said, and reply in your own voice. If you can understand most of what you are being told over the phone, it'll be relatively easy for you. I get almost nothing, but once managed an entire phone interview in such manner :giggle:

And one more option I can think of is to use the services of some disability employment councellor or agency. There are lots of such agencies across Metro Vancouver, just ask the Google or browse ads at the local newspaper. Have a family member take calls from the prospective employers and ask the councellor call them back and speak on your behalf. The good thing with a councelor involved is that companies tend to take your application more seriously and to act less discriminatory.

:topic: One thing I did not understand from your post is whether your hearing on the phone is worse now with the CI than before with the HA. Hopefully I misunderstood. I don't have any experience with CI yet (mine was implanted 2 weeks ago and has not been activated yet), but I met quite a lot of CI folks recently and most of them said that phone comprehension becomes good in approx. 6 months after activation. So give it some more time and practice! And good luck in your job search! :wave:
 
I have my own phone # with IPRelay. Check out their website for more information. I use it for anything and everything. It works with AIM (you do not have to actually use AIM but you do need to register for an AIM account and then an IPRelay account.)

So anyone who calls you with your own IPRelay phone # can leave a message, and that message is translated into text and sent via email so you can "read" all your voice mails. It is a free service. The drawback to this is that when people who are unfamiliar with you (such as prospective employers) call and encounter a live person instead of an automated voicemail like they were expecting, they're startled and either hang up or leave an awkward message. But regardless of whether they hang up or leave a message, the phone number they called from is still recorded so you know who tried to call you. This gives you an opportunity to call them back (especially if you can match a phone # to a company you applied to) and say, "I got your call and am returning your call" or something to that effect.

Since IPRelay also works with AIM, if you happen to have your AIM screen open and you are on your computer or on your sidekick/blackberry, you can actually take the call right then and there without them having to leave a message. It has worked wonders for me in many different situations. It's almost like having real voice mail when you're not available, and instant access to the Relay (and answer the call) if you happen to be on AIM.
 
Assynt said:
Kim,

I faced the same issue recently and hope my experience could help you a bit :)

Post your phone number AND e-mail address on your resume and have someone (a friend or a family member) respond to the calls. Have this person jot down all the messages addressed to you and forward them to you. Sometimes hiring managers or recruiters are not satisfied by just leaving their messages and insist that you call them back; in this case, let your "phone assistant" tell them that it is inconvenient for you to talk on the phone (never mention the reason for it though) but you are ready and willing to talk to them in person. If they keep insisting, you will probably have to confess that you are deaf and unable to speak on the phone at this stage :( but some people do agree to arrange a personal interview which is WAY easier to handle than a telephone interview.

Another approach seems very cumbersome (and it is!), but I recommend you to give it at least a try. You'll need a phone set with a loudspeaker and a friend or family member with quick and clear handwriting or good typing skills. While listening to the hiring manager over the loudspeaker, have your friend write down or type what is being said, and reply in your own voice. If you can understand most of what you are being told over the phone, it'll be relatively easy for you. I get almost nothing, but once managed an entire phone interview in such manner :giggle:

And one more option I can think of is to use the services of some disability employment councellor or agency. There are lots of such agencies across Metro Vancouver, just ask the Google or browse ads at the local newspaper. Have a family member take calls from the prospective employers and ask the councellor call them back and speak on your behalf. The good thing with a councelor involved is that companies tend to take your application more seriously and to act less discriminatory.

:topic: One thing I did not understand from your post is whether your hearing on the phone is worse now with the CI than before with the HA. Hopefully I misunderstood. I don't have any experience with CI yet (mine was implanted 2 weeks ago and has not been activated yet), but I met quite a lot of CI folks recently and most of them said that phone comprehension becomes good in approx. 6 months after activation. So give it some more time and practice! And good luck in your job search! :wave:
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hey, thanks for your help (and everyone else of course)! I actually did respond to a call I got about a week ago, and I did what you mentioned in the 1st paragraph. I had my stepmom call and write down all the details. I got the job (I'm now a line cook) and I start tomorrow, woohoo! I have had an interview, then orientation, and I haven't told them (nor have they figured out for themselves) that I'm hard of hearing. (I'll tell them tomorrow for sure though, haha.) My interview went so smoothly with zero repeats that there wasn't a need to tell the interviewer.

To answer your question, my phone skills aren't good on any one ear. You need one good ear to use the phone, but I have a HA on one ear, and a CI on the other. Combined, they're great, but since the sound qualities are polar opposites to each other, I can't just use one ear to talk on the phone. I actually tried holding two phones, one up to each ear, but it didn't work haha. I have had the CI for 1.5 months and I'm not quite ready to use the phone with it yet.
 
kimpossible said:
My interview went so smoothly with zero repeats that there wasn't a need to tell the interviewer.
Click to expand...
Congratulations on your success and all the best of luck at your new place! Hope I will be able to perform on par with you at an interview when time comes for me to seek a new job :giggle:

As to what you wrote about your phone perception, you probably should try using a phone set with loudspeakers. Such a device is very convenient 'coz it enables you to listen with both ears at a time and you never have any trouble trying to position the headpiece right against the HA/CI mike :lol:

Will you mind if I ask you a couple of questions about your activation time? For example, did you have the option of choosing the colour of the external part of your CI? My own activation day is less than two weeks away from now, and I have never had an opportunity to acknowledge my preferences so far; hope I won't end up with a beige or grey processor and coil :giggle:
And one more - did they ever tell you the technical stuff like how many electrodes could be positioned inside your cochlea, and how many of those are active now, etc.?
 
Assynt said:
Will you mind if I ask you a couple of questions about your activation time? For example, did you have the option of choosing the colour of the external part of your CI? My own activation day is less than two weeks away from now, and I have never had an opportunity to acknowledge my preferences so far; hope I won't end up with a beige or grey processor and coil :giggle:
And one more - did they ever tell you the technical stuff like how many electrodes could be positioned inside your cochlea, and how many of those are active now, etc.?
Click to expand...

Yeah, they asked me (sent me a form to mail back to them) what colour processor, coil, and microphone covers I would like for my CI, about 2 or 3 weeks before the activation date, so that they could have it all ready when I came in.

hmm I don't think they told me any of that technical stuff... I'm not sure =P
 
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