Part 5: The continued search

The search for a job after American School for the Deaf took a long time again. I faced many rejections as I mentioned in Part 2 here. This time, I contacted the vocational rehabilitation counselor to help me with the search. She assigned me a headhunter, which is an individual who helps me find opportunities. I spent a lot of time with the head hunter applying to jobs, fixing up my resume and following up with the businesses. I saw a huge difference in the search process with a headhunter. Instead of having those companies contact me for an interview, they had her phone number. She would talk with them, reassure them with their concerns of hiring a deaf person. I received more interviews during this cycle than the first time when I was alone.

I had mixed feelings about working with a headhunter. I was appreciative with what she did for me. She came along with me on interviews to help with communication since she was fluent in American Sign Language. However, the headhunter’s goal is to encourage businesses to hire people with disabilities. As part of that outreach service, she offered them an incentive, job training, etc. If I was hired, she would become my job coach. She would stay with me at the job, train me in whatever I needed and check in with me. It was part of her job, so I didn’t like how that took away my independence. I felt like I was bringing my mother to the interviews at times, the people were always focused on her. They talked to her more than me. She negotiated with them. When I answered questions, she added in her words to help me ‘sell myself’. I was being overshadowed. Working with a headhunter showed my deafness more whereas before I was trying to hide it until the interview. I wanted them to see my abilities not my deafness.

I applied for a security guard position at a defense contractor in Southeastern Connecticut. I was told that they had several deaf employees in a variety of positions. I never personally met them. I was invited in for an interview so I went with the headhunter. I met with the security director and a security guard. Throughout the interview, I thought it was one of the best interviews. The men were respectful and looked at me, instead of relying on the headhunter. The radio issues were brought up, but the director immediately stated “we aren’t going to say no to you over that”. I was taken aback by the comment because I was used to rejection.

At the end of the interview, the other security guard who was at the interview, came up to me. He signed to me. I was shocked. Turns out that he had been a graduate of Rhode Island School for the Deaf. He was hard of hearing but knew some signs. This got my hopes up even more, to think they were flexible with someone like him already, so they were familiar to work with folks like us! I felt like there was hope for me. I contacted them several times only to have no callbacks since the interview.

In the summer of 2014, I found employment through my head hunter. She had gotten word about an agency needing someone who was fluent in American Sign Language. The agency focused on providing services to adults with developmental disabilities. The job position was a provider who would work with those individuals in their daily routines whether it is with their jobs, teach them life skills, etc. I went for an interview at the headquarters in Middletown, CT by myself since the lady I had been in contact with knew sign language. She was a child of deaf adult (CODA), growing up in a deaf family! The interview went well. I was invited for a second interview at the location where I would be working out of (New London, CT). I asked for an interpreter. I was told that they had someone who would be able to help out with that.

I showed up to the interview where I met with the manager and the “interpreter”. The manager had a non verbal client who used sign language to help convey her information. It was awkward at first, because I didn’t realize she was non verbal. When I realized, I wrote down my answers to the manager. The interview went well, I felt like the manager was patient with me. Even though the interpreter was not a professional, I saw the open mindedness. She was flexible with me. It helped that the agency had people with disabilities so it wasn’t a frustrating experience to get hired.

The manager I worked for was one of the best that I had worked for. She didn’t hesitate to communicate through writing or email. Other coworkers were flexible with me too, some of them knew sign language. I was able to communicate with some of them. They didn’t look at me differently for my deafness. However, when we went out in public, I was often mistaken to be a client! It wasn’t the greatest feeling because people thought I was incapable to be an employee.

The job required transporting clients, so I had to get a special driver’s license. I went through the testing, got fingerprinted and photographed, and had my background check completed. In the end, I wasn’t allowed to have the driver license because of my deafness. The agency had a pay increase when you got the driver license too. I was furious! Luckily, my supervisor and her boss were understanding of the situation and didn’t hold it against me. I was able to get the pay increase for the effort.

My only regret from this job is that I didn’t push them hard enough to hire an interpreter for the team meetings. A coworker, who had a deaf family member, interpreted at all of the meetings. It was challenging because she had to convey information to me, as well as be able to input her comments and interpret my comments. I could see that it overwhelmed her to be in multiple roles. I felt like I was a burden on my coworker and I hated that feeling. Over time, I contributed less and less to the discussions.

After a year of working for the agency, I needed a change of scenery. I felt like I couldn’t grow. There weren't any further job opportunities for me. I knew I had more to offer!

Stay tuned for the last part of this series!