tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33004692.post116065326588740731..comments2023-10-31T12:58:36.729+01:00Comments on Evil HR Lady: Dealing With A DisabilitySuzanne Lucashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07129772885673695447noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33004692.post-1161205895281235962006-10-18T23:11:00.000+02:002006-10-18T23:11:00.000+02:00This is good advice, but maybe you can help with w...This is good advice, but maybe you can help with with this problem: back when I cooked for a living, I got to the point where I didn't even use a resume or even look in the papers for a job. I would find restaurants I liked and just go in between lunch and dinner service and talk to the chef. <BR/><BR/>I got hired off the street a half-dozen times. There were other times when I got jobs from doing volunteer work - again, I dealt directly with people who came to need help with real problems and when I could help, they hired me. <BR/><BR/>What is frustrating me now is that I feel more capable than ever, but I am less able to get into these conversations. The HR process seems to be this method of taking the person out of the equation. <BR/><BR/>I'm confident that if I can do the job and I can talk to a person who needs the job done, I can persuade that person to hire me. But how does one get the chance to have that talk these days when HR departments are swamped with resumes?<BR/><BR/>Thanks,<BR/><BR/>DaveAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33004692.post-1161124632658061212006-10-18T00:37:00.000+02:002006-10-18T00:37:00.000+02:00You should absolutely not lie. Never lie. Never....You should absolutely not lie. Never lie. Never. You are not obligated to bring up your condition in an interview. You are not required to bring up your condition ever. <BR/><BR/>If you need special accommodations, which by law they must give you (given that they are reasonable and everything meets the criteria for ADA) then you must disclose. But, if you don't have special accommodations, you don't need to disclose.<BR/><BR/>As for dealing with gaps in employment, preparing what you are going to say is different than lying. Practice saying, "I was going through a difficult time due to panic disorder and I was hospitalized for x amount of time. Since then, my sypmtoms are under control. I really feel like I can be an asset to this organization because blah, blah blah. . ." That is what you practice saying.<BR/><BR/>This way, you don't blurt out, "My life was a mess. I went crazy. My wife left me. I couldn't leave my house and I felt like the pressure of my job was going to kill me."Evil HR Ladyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506069540151526951noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33004692.post-1161101835623463162006-10-17T18:17:00.000+02:002006-10-17T18:17:00.000+02:00I'm the person who wrote the original question, so...I'm the person who wrote the original question, so thank you for the advice. <BR/><BR/>Of course you're telling me to lie, which is actually the only advice I've gotten on how to deal with resume gaps. <BR/><BR/>Because you have to remember that people who have things like panic disorder and depression don't necessarily understand that's what it is, especially if the problem gets worse over time. Moreover, these things can be complicated by family and relationship situations and by personal quirks which certainly don't get less pronounced with the strain of a mood disorder. <BR/><BR/>And so, when the problem gets acute enough, one might get a diagnosis that qualifies ADA or disability or some such thing, but that, of course, won't cover the full time period involved. Also when a person feels normal (now) it's hard to put yourself into a category of sick person. It feels wrong both personally and morally. <BR/><BR/>But the real take-home here is that the lying that a person with a mood disorder learns to do to cover up what they are going through just has to continue, apparently.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33004692.post-1160833169661176552006-10-14T15:39:00.000+02:002006-10-14T15:39:00.000+02:00That is really fascinating. I did a little googli...That is really fascinating. I did a little googling and found an article about it <A HREF="http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050921&content_id=1218588&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb" REL="nofollow">here</A>.<BR/><BR/>Totally amazing. Thanks for sharing!Evil HR Ladyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506069540151526951noreply@blogger.com