My job hunt sucked — so I’m trying to make it easier for others
Two years of unemployment led me to embrace career change.
By Katie Corbett, as told to Haley Young
I spent several years job hunting before I landed my current position.
It was lonely and discouraging.
The most stressful moments came when I would apply for a job and things would seem like they were going really well — and then I would tell them that I’m blind.
I did it out of courtesy, and because I would feel unprepared if a potential employee didn’t tell me that information and just showed up to an interview.
Sometimes, I could hear the enthusiasm drain out of a recruiter or hiring manager’s voice once I said the words.
They weren’t willing to discuss how I would do the job — what adaptive techniques and tools I would use — in spite of my disability.
That was really frustrating. Sometimes it felt like I wasn’t qualified for anything — which was ironic because at many points in my job search, I was actually experiencing option paralysis about all of the directions I could go with my career.
I could be an insurance agent or a salesperson or a writer. I could do this, I could do that — I knew I could do so many things. What I couldn’t do was pick.
I discovered a lot of different ways to go about the process. Half of the battle was simply figuring out how to decide what I wanted to do.
I wished I would have had someone to help narrow those things down, and to help me navigate the times when I faced discrimination. I would have benefitted from encouragement and support that I didn’t have — support that I realized I can give to other people.
That’s why I’m starting my own career coaching business.
Since I graduated college in May 2012, I’ve worked for a camp, a university, and myself. Now I work part-time as the communications coordinator for The Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired.
I’ve realized that your first job doesn’t have to be the be-all-end-all.
Life changes all the time. It’s really not a big deal if you get stuck in something you don’t like, especially in career circumstances, because you can just change it.
I remember being really concerned with being successful out of college. Seventy percent of people who are blind are unemployed — and I really didn’t want to be a part of that statistic. I was so focused on whether or not I could do the things I wanted to do. Would I be seen as a successful person?
I still care about that question, but now I’m more interested in the fact that if I don’t move forward because I’m afraid of failure, I’ll never do anything.
It’s better to just start out thinking “I can do it” and not worry how it’s going to turn out. I’m proud that I’ve abandoned what I “should” do in my life and instead have just gone for what I want to do.
I really like my current position, which I’ve had for over a year now. I’ve always been interested in writing, and I get to use my skills for an organization that deals with issues I care about all while working with great people.
But one of the things I enjoy most about it is that it gives me the time and resources to pursue my other interests.
Along with my career coaching, I’m currently writing an urban fantasy novel about a blind werewolf — it’s my Gignite project. I’ve always loved werewolves, and I thought a fun spin on this trope would be to tell it from the perspective of a blind person. And I wanted it to actually be written by a blind person.
I’ve read books with blind characters that are written by people who aren’t blind. And I’ve been upset that they don’t take more care to present the experience accurately.
I remember a story once where the breed of a blind character’s guide dog changed without explanation. That dog is such an integral part of the character’s life — and the author didn’t take it seriously at all.
A lot of the perceptions and ideas out there aren’t how I would present my experience, and I wanted to include that in my story.
I decided in December that I would finally write this novel‚ and it’s almost done. I’m on track to finish by April 1st.
My novel is a personal project, but it’s also a practical one — I hope that if it sells to a publisher it can be a source of income that will allow me to pursue my independent career coaching full-time.
I used to think I wanted to be a recruiter, but I realized that recruiters are primarily concerned with the company. They want to find the right person for the job. They don’t necessarily want to find the right job for the person.
As a result of that company focus, many candidates don’t get positions — and they also don’t get assistance with the skills they might need to improve or the circumstances they can’t change.
Maybe they need help with their resume or their interview presence or their clarity about what they want. They’re not going to get those things from a corporate recruiter, but as a career coach I can help them become the best applicant they can be.
I didn’t have a plan or a website or certifications when I decided to take this step. I had a friend say she’d love a career coach. I heard myself say, “I’d love to be one.”
So I did. That’s where it started — and I didn’t let other things get in the way.
It’s a bit out of character for me to jump into something without painstaking research, but I’m happy that I had the courage to figure out what I want to do and just start it.
Now it’s all coming together.
I want to make sure I love my work — and I want to help others achieve the same thing.
