Hearing Awareness Project
The purpose of this article is to help you prepare for the initial interviews regardless of whether you do your own job search, or get help from an agency. Your job search will be easier and more successful if you 1) Identify your needs and 2) Follow a plan.
Employment and Vocational counseling is big business in Canada. Municipal, Provincial and Federal government departments fund a myriad of programs run by non-profit agencies as well as the private sector. Finding out where to go is not usually the problem faced by persons with hearing loss.
This article is not meant to lead you to specific services in your community. You can find that yourself by accessing the Internet, or speaking to a Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSD) officer at www.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca, or the Public Service Commission of Canada at www.jobs-emplois.gc.ca, or the nearest CHHA Branch representative at http://chha.ca/chha/about-branches.php.
Before you begin your search
- Prepare a resumé/cv
- If you plan to do your own job search you will need the very best resumé/cv possible, even if you have to pay someone to do it for you. If you plan to get help from a non-profit agency, bring in an updated version of your last resumé/cv and they will use it as a foundation to help you make a better one. Resumé/CVs should be customized for each job you apply for.
- What do you need?
- The degree of your hearing loss, will have some influence on the communication issues you need to resolve. You need to determine what those are and ask for help to solve them. If the hearing loss is new to you and you are uncertain of your needs, speak to an Employment or Vocational Counselor or a Job Coach.
- If you use speech and lip-reading - You will need to determine if the hearing aids and assistive listening devices currently in your possession are adequate, or if you need to supplement them at interviews and/or in training sessions. Where will you obtain these devices? Who pays for them? Will you need/obtain Computer Assisted Realtime Translation (CART)? Who provides this service in your area? Who has money to pay for it? Again, speaking to an employment of vocational counselor can help you answer these questions.
- If you use oral/sign language - You may need an interpreter for interviews and/or training. You will need to know how to get an interpreter, the costs involved and who pays. Keep this information handy in your personal agenda in order to share it with the employer or agency you are dealing with.
- On the job accommodations - You may need devices to help you perform your job like everyone else in the office. This is called accommodation and all Human Rights codes support its provision. You may need an amplified telephone, assistive listing or alerting devices and so on. You could also benefit from your co-workers receiving some hearing awareness training so that their expectations of what you can and cannot do are reasonable. You need to know where these devices and training sessions can be obtained.
- If you use speech and lip-reading - You will need to determine if the hearing aids and assistive listening devices currently in your possession are adequate, or if you need to supplement them at interviews and/or in training sessions. Where will you obtain these devices? Who pays for them? Will you need/obtain Computer Assisted Realtime Translation (CART)? Who provides this service in your area? Who has money to pay for it? Again, speaking to an employment of vocational counselor can help you answer these questions.
- Know the resources in your community
- If you go to an organization that has experience in dealing with deaf and hard of hearing persons they will know what government, technical, counseling and financial resources are available to you.
However, if you go to a typical organization that offers employment services to the general public, you may need to help them learn what services are available in your community. They will need to know how to contact these services so they can obtain the resources required. Examples of these resources are (but are not limited to):
- Technical devices for the hard of hearing
- Computer Assisted Realtime Translation (CART) or similar services
- Oral/Sign language interpreter services
- Vocational rehabilitation counseling
- Employment counseling
- Financial resources to pay for any of the above such as:
- Municipal and Provincial social services
- First Nations and Inuit services
- Human Resource and Skills Development Canada
- Federal, Provincial, and Municipal hiring policies
- Worker's Compensation Boards (WCBs)
- Service Clubs such as the Lion's, The Elks, Quota International, the Royal Purple etc.
Have a plan
- Update your resumé/cv
- Visit an employment service to help you determine the next steps
- Know where to obtain the technology and communication strategies you require to resolve your accommodation needs
- Practice your interviewing skills
- Practice setting up interviews and requesting the accommodations you require
- Practice requesting the accommodations you require for training programs
- Practice educating others about your type of hearing loss
- Join a Job Finding Club and receive ongoing support from your peers a facilitator
Where to get further Information
- Contact your local hard of hearing and deafened service provider
- Obtain a copy of Working with Hearing Loss-a guide for employees, employers and entrepreneurs from CHHA's Publications section
- Disability Weblinks- Programs, Services and Contacts across Canada www.disabilityweblinks.ca
Copyright © 2009 the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association (CHHA)
Direct commercial exploitation is not permitted. No warranty of accuracy is given concerning the contents of the information contained in this publication. To the extent permitted by law, no liability (including liability to any person by reason of negligence) will be accepted by CHHA its subsidiaries or employees for any direct, or indirect loss or damage caused by omissions from or inaccuracies in this document. CHHA reserves the right to change details in this publication without notice.