Careers and Disability
Written by SALC Employability Champion Zach Wulfsohn
As someone who has stammered all their life, I have always been passionate about helping people understand they are not limited by a disability, and I soon realised my role as employability champion provided a perfect opportunity to do exactly that.
I decided to organise a careers panel in which alumni from the University –Julia and Amy – shared their experiences with how their disabilities both impact but also gave unexpected skills. The event was really successful, and I benefited hugely: organising the panel took initiative, a proactive mindset and excellent communication. Hosting the panel, I was extremely nervous, but with the help of Katy Simpson from the alumni team we managed to ensure Julia and Amy got their career experience and knowledge across.
Julia who has ADHD and Autism stressed the importance of being open with colleagues about her disability as well as remembering that everyone have their own, perhaps less noticeable, challenges and yours simply makes you who you are. Amy who has multiple sclerosis (MS – a condition affecting both the brain and spinal cord) explained how her disability lead her to her career today, working as the Founder and chair of the charity MS together. Both of them also highlighted the importance of picking careers that suited you considering a disability. As my older cousins – who is profoundly death – always says; focus on what you can do not on what you can’t.
This opportunity, alongside immersing myself in new experiences at university, has helped to teach me the importance of embracing my disability as part of me and through doing this giving me the confidence to be myself and flourish in situation that I know I can be my best. I would say putting myself in difficult situations – such as a hosting an interview – is a keyway part of process of embracing my stammer.
I now feel increasingly confident in applying for volunteering roles and work experience and I try to mention my stammer in most applications I do; underlining how it has made me a highly empathetic and determined individual. As Julia explained employers are very fond of this kind of honesty and this can help to distinguish you in a competitive job market.
The university’s career’s service offers a huge range of support for disabled students including 60 minute 1:1 appointment, access to the charity EmployAbility, MyPlus Pathway and How to find Disabled Confident employers.
Please use this link to access more information about the services they provide: https://www.careers.manchester.ac.uk/services/equality/disabilityandmentalhealth/