A Guide to Employment for People with Disabilities

The job market is tough right now -- especially for people with disabilities. So for Labor Day, I won't waste your time with summaries or links to ceremonial speeches about the holiday and the importance of work in our society. Instead, here are resources that may be helpful to people with disabilities who are seeking employment. If you have other tips, please post them in a comment.

FOR JOB SEEKERS

Teleseminar: Using the Internet to Find a Job
On Sept. 16 there's a free teleseminar on "10 Secrets That Every Job Seeker with a Disability Needs to Know: How to Make the Internet Work for You When Looking for a Job." The seminar, led by Seth Acosta of the Sierra Group will share tips when posting a resume to an electronic job board. 1:00-2:00 EST. More information. The seminar is sponsored by One More Way, which is an interesting initiative to support employment for people with disabilites. Visit their website.

Resources from Disability.gov
Disability.gov is a great resource for people seeking employment, and for employers who want to know the laws related to disabilities. You can find information on:
- Career counseling
- Job training
- Job banks -- real jobs available right now
- Mentoring and internships
- Federal employment

Employment Locator
Career One Stop, an initiative of the U.S. Department of Labor, offers an employment locator that allows you to search for jobs by state and industry. I haven't used it -- if you have, share your thoughts.

Articles from Disaboom.com
Disaboom.com has partnered with JobsCentral to create a database of jobs available to people with disabilities -- visit DisaboomJobs.com. They also some excellent advice for people with disabilities in their employment section. For example:
- Finding employment with a disability during a recession
- Five crucial tips for acing an interview
- How to tell if a company is "disability-friendly"
- How to get hired from virtual volunteering

FOR EMPLOYERS

Disability.gov has an entire section on Employing People with Disabilities. It includes tips on recruiting and hiring, interviewing, workplace accommodations and supports, HR tools and resources, tax incentives, occupational health and safety, and more. Read success stories of solutions that have benefited companies and workers with disabilities.