Don’t be let down by disability. Develop a winner’s attitude to excel in interviews

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You have been asked to appear for an interview. It’s a nerve-racking situation for anyone, but when you have a physical disability, you may feel you’re going in with two strikes against you. Your mindset is key to your performance. If you convince your potential employer that you can do the job, and do it as well or better than a “nondisabled” person, it may be to the interviewer’s advantage to hire you. Here are several tips to help you develop a winner’s mindset for your interview.

Research rules
Find out as much as you can about the company or agency by going online, asking people you know in the field and by seeing what you can find out about the job you are applying for.

Interview basics
You can do this by calling ahead and asking if there is public transportation or on-site parking, or if you need a visitor’s pass. Ask who will be conducting the interview to find out if it will be an individual or a group. If there are accessibility concerns, you will need to ask about that upfront.

Disability details
If you have a choice, decide whether to disclose your disability. Think about what the job entails and how you will handle it based on your situation.

Trust buddy
Use the feedback to improve and then rehearse. Imagine this interview is a drama and you are the star performer. You want to achieve the same state cultivated by good actors who rehearse their lines so well that they sound natural. The concepts should be clear in your head.

Tuned in
Make sure you are answering the question you’re asked and not something you thought you would be asked. Also, you may pick up cues about the kind of answer the interviewer wants. It’s OK to pause before you answer. It’s better to give a well-thought-out response than sound glib and off-track.

Gaps galore
You’ll need to address the time period, and if you have been on disability benefits, why you are returning to work now.

Clothes call
It’s important to look your best for the interview, but it’s even more important to feel your best. If you smoke, don’t have a cigarette to calm your nerves before the interview. Promise yourself one as a reward afterwards.

Confidence counts
If you don’t project the belief that you can do the job, no one else will believe it.

Keep cool
The interviewer may be ignorant about your disability. Although you may hear statements or sense attitudes that shock you, stay cool. What you hear or feel may convince you that this is not a place you want to work in. But you have an opportunity to give information and change ideas about your disability. If you have examples that disprove the stated or implied concern, tell them briefly and, if possible, tie them into the job profile you would have.

Experience counts
If you’re successful, congratulations! If you’re not, talk about the process with someone whose opinion you value. See what you can learn about doing even better the next time around. For every job opening, there are many applicants and only one gets the job. It may or may not be your disability that cost you a particular position. Keep trying. Eventually, the right job will find you.

Source: The Telegraph (Kolkata, India)

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