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Meet the change makers. These organizations and businesses are making a difference and increasing employment opportunities for blind and low vision job seekers.
Let us introduce you to Tanner Gers, Managing Director of AccessAbility Officer. Next, Marianne Haegeli, Director of Learning and Leadership for NSITE — A Vision For Talent. Lastly, Joseph DiNero, Assistant Program Director of Assistive Technology Services at Helen Keller National Center.
A Collaborative Snapshot
Tanner Gers
Tanner Gers’ (AccessAbility Officer) goal is to reduce the unemployment rate of blind and low vision to the unemployment rate for job seekers who are not blind or low vision. Learn more about Tanner Gers here. Joseph DiNero and his Helen Keller National Center (HK) team supervise a vocational rehabilitation training program contracted with NSITE. His goal is to infuse competency and confidence in their vocational training students.
Marianne Haegeli (NSITE) brings passion and corporate-level experience to connecting and procuring effective vocational training materials, partnerships, and contracts.
Varying Roles Same Goal
Marianne Haegeli
When listening to Tanner, Joseph, or Marianne speaking of their role, it is evident that each is highly skilled and enthusiastic about what they bring to the unemployment and vocational training arena. Each is personally and professionally invested, working together to promote employment equity, positive placement outcomes, and career advancement opportunities for blind and low vision vocational clients.
Path to Placement Success
One electronic resource material for preparing an individual with a disability for the hiring process is the job sourcing and development tool, The Getting Hired Playbook (GHP) created by AccessAbility Officer.
Search engines like Google list dozens of reference guides with similar titles. This particular job sourcing guide is unique because it focuses on job seekers with disabilities.
Most playbooks are structured guides to help find possible employment for individuals without a disability. For example, recent college or trade school graduates or young professionals refer to a playbook for simple strategies to jump-start the search for a position and provide online instruction during the various steps on the path to employment.
Some playbooks are geared for a specific position or desired career path. However, a playbook focusing on the added considerations of an applicant with a disability is rare.
Job Sourcing and Development
The GHP unlocks the secrets of getting hired. In a recent post from Tanner on LinkedIn, “Our 12-week instructor-led program will equip you with the skills to ace job interviews, develop strategies, and conduct self-assessments.”
It is a guide about sourcing more interviews and securing job offers independently and systematically. If you were a student or vocational client, what would you learn from this playbook besides searching for a job on LinkedIn?
Two aspects that Tanner, Marianne, and Joseph agree are important and covered in the playbook’s curriculum are increasing your critical thinking skills and confidence. Joseph adds that competence and confidence are the two main components of employment success and career advancement.