Friday, April 26, 2013

Disability Friendly Employers are Looking for You to Fill Their Openings!



An image of a search box with a magnifying glass in the left hand side, the text "your name here" in the box, and a search button. The implied message is that employers will be looking for you to fill their unfilled positions.
Employers are searching for you,
are you ready for them?







by Megan Elliott, Social Media Developer

Slowly but surely, we’re starting to see national chains pick up on the fact that there are plenty of people out there who are willing and want to work, and have a skill set that makes them perfect for their businesses. These people are our clients, our Ticket Holders, the people with disabilities (PWD), and the value is showing every time one of you gets employed!

Walgreens was one of the earliest businesses who recognized the value of hiring PWD, and has launched an educational initiative to help other businesses recognize opportunities to hire PWD. Walgreens launched a pilot program in Anderson, S.C., which just so happens to be in the same state that ERS operates in, that hired PWD to sort bulk shipments from their suppliers into the stock shipment orders from their stores.
Now, Lowe’s home improvement stores are jumping on board and learning from Walgreens on how to launch their own program for hiring PWD, and they’re not the only ones. OfficeMax, an office supply retail store chain, has won awards for their inclusion efforts from a national association of state vocational rehabilitation agencies. And more can be found here, on DisabilityInc’s list of top 50 companies for diversity.
So what does this mean for Ticket Holders, people who want to work and want to find the jobs out there? Well, make sure that you add your resume to the databases of www.jobaccess.org or www.gettinghired.com. We can help you with that if you are uncomfortable doing it yourself. Bookmark the career pages of the companies you want to work for, and check those postings regularly for positions you think you are qualified to apply for, and then submit your resume!
Alternatively, you can send a prospecting letter to the human resources department head. Here’s a great guide for writing a prospecting letter that will get you noticed. Don’t know the name of the human resources head? Well, here’s how to find that name! Your letter will get noticed more readily if you use a name, rather than a generic “Dear Sir or Madam,” in your cover letter anyway. Just make sure to keep it professional and on-point as to how you’re the perfect person for a job that they don’t have open right now, but may in the future.
Don’t you feel better knowing that companies are searching for you to fill that position that they know only you can fill? Now it’s up to you to let them know that you’re ready to go to work! Make sure to call or e-mail us and let us know if there’s any way we can help you prepare your cover letter, resume, or fill out an application. That’s what we’re here for!

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