Communicational tools for improvement of employment chances of the disabled people on job market - the Curriculum Vitae, the letter of intent and the interview

Contract: Improvement of Employment Chances of the Unemployed and Visual and Auditive Disabled by using Virtual Learning Applications (IECUVADVLA)

- RFQP, Romanian Foundation for Quality Promotion, Bucharest, Romania -

Mission : To train physical disabled people in order to make them able to succeed in getting and maintaining a job, by preparing effective curriculum vitae, letter of intent and interview

This mission underlines the principle according to what, in order to get a job, disabled people have to apply the same methods as those practiced by people without disabilities, methods that have always been helpful on job market they want to get in. Thus, they have to prepare three main tools: curriculum vitae, letter of intent and interview. They will learn what are these, which are the main steps of writing the first two, how these three tools are used within different kinds of job markets, and so on.

General objective : To develop written information of how to draw up a curriculum vitae able to make them improve their chances of employment

One of the first steps is to make the disabled people to be able to identify the kinds of job they fit to. These types of job are in direct relation with their disability. Depending on the part of their body they can use better, the disabled people may get training courses, practice and interviews. After identifying the job market they apply for, the disabled people have to study the types of information they should give within their CV. Should they stress upon the hand skills or upon their mind abilities? How quick can they collect all needed information items? How many useful skills do they provide? Etc?

Detailed objectives
1) To develop those skills of disabled people that can help them to improve their behavior within their relationships with the members of community

Most disabled people have specific behaviors. They are usually either extremely shy, restricted, lonely, less communicative or, on the opposite, loud, big mouth people, unable to control their emotional behavior, etc. They have to be thought how employers without disabilities are thinking and acting, how are they viewed by these and so on. Disabled people have to know how to meet the interests of the employers as well as those of employers? customers and suppliers, of all community?s members. Better knowing these people, being aware of their behaviors, customs, needs and expectations will help disabled people to get or to change jobs easier. This way, disabled people will succeed to know each other better, they will become quicker accepted in their communities, and they will be able to get some power within a group.

2) To develop written information on how to write a letter of intent

Another practice is that job candidates are thoroughly studying the information given within available job announcements or by different people, recruitment staff, in initial meetings, within newspapers, etc. in order to realize what kind of company asks for employees, which are the asked skills, which would be their future responsibilities and so on. They have to know what are application letters and letters of intent, which types of such letters may be composed (for a small company, a medium sized one or a big multinational one, etc.), how to compose them, etc.

3) To provide information of on how to find the most appropriate job

It could be useful for disabled people, before the interview, to walk out and meet people, to read papers, and to visit employers? headquarters or plants. Collecting all these information sources would make able to meet people they want.

4) To provide written information on the interview role, principles and procedures

The disabled people should read books to learn what the role, principles, procedures and steps of an interview are. There are some rules to be followed in order to hire a disabled person. Knowing and applying them may improve considerably the employment chances.

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5) To provide recommendations on attitudes and behaviors to be adopted in order to get a successful interview

The disabled people may develop their living experience as for example by studying how to control themselves better during an interview. They have to convince their future employers that their disability will not make trouble during their future work.

6) To provide written information on how to write a final thanking letter (no matter the result of the interview)

Another practice is to send a thanking letter to employer in order to acknowledge for listening, understanding, trying to meet his/her interests and so on. This way, one can remind them of his case, to make them say ?Oh, he/ she was the one that couldn?t ?But he/ she was very good on?And he/ she was rather better than those ones. He/ she worked a lot to come to us so well trained?? In our opinion, a disabled person has to provide a very good image during the interview, in order to get all the eyes and minds focused on him/ her?. He/ she needs to be noticed so hard that people forget he/ she is disabled?

Authors
  • Rodica CATUNEANU
  • Dana CIOC
  • Nicolae DRAGULANESCU