Talking about disabilities in a resume/cover letter?

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Hi,

Gotta give you a little background to understand my question properly I think, so I'll try to keep it short.

I've been on disability for 7 years now... The reasons are back pain (partially crushed a vertebrae when I was 18, I'm 32 now).. Along with the side effects from the pain drugs and muscle relaxers. Also, I have something called non-24 hour sleep wake syndrome which required me to be on sleeping pills... I also had diagnosed "major" depression and social anxiety problems, so I was on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety pills... I also have ADD, which was diagnosed but basically I was only treating it with adderall, I didn't really know much about it at the time. On top of all that, I had undiagnosed Dyslexia as well as Aspergers. Needless to say, between the disabilities and the side effects from all the drugs I was taking, I was a mess...

I managed to get to age 26 or 27 before I just couldn't function on a high enough professional level to keep working. I was either too drugged up, or too dysfunctional to handle things... Lost my $60k a year regional customer service manager job (I delt with insurance company executives in 3 states for the software company I worked for)... I've been on SSDI disability since.

Since then, I've learned a ton about my ADD, have things a bit more under control now... Also got the Aspergers/Dyslexia diagnosis recently and that was huge (as I'm sure most of you can understand ) ... Explained so much about some of the problems I was having.

On top of all this, I moved 2000 miles (for several reasons) from WI to WA. One of the perks of living here, has been I was able to use (legally) medical marijuana. This has been huge for me. I replaced the muscle relaxants, pain killers, sleeping pills, anxiety meds and anti-depressants all with marijuana. It also seems to help a bit with the Aspergers and ADD. I realize there are drawbacks to marijuana, however compared to the combination of drugs I WAS taking, I’m far healthier/safer. Anyhow…

Things have changed a lot now… Due to the Aspergers diagnosis I’ve decided to go back to school and follow my “obsession” (Sci-fi, which translates into a college career in Nanotechnology/Molecular Manufacturing)… Also, Ive decided to go back to work, at least part time. This leads me to an interesting problem…

How the hell do I explain the gap in my employment? I’ve read in several places that it’s not good to mention anything about them on resumes or cover letters, however I feel that theres no way to hide it. I mean, I’ve been on disability for 7 years, so hiding the fact you have a disabilities is… Well, tricky.

I’ve thought about trying to figure out what to say and when to say it… I’d like to not mention the Aspergers/ADD/Dyslexia, however they are real issues, that could require a few adjustments in the way I interact with employer. Since I haven’t worked since learning about all this stuff, I’m a little unclear what problems I might have in a new job, but, I’m sure there will be some.

Telling a potential employer about “mental problems” generally doesn’t help get the job I would imagine…

I was thinking about just saying the disability was because of back problems, however explaining why it was so bad that I couldn’t do a non-physical job, and what I’ve done to make that not an issue at my current job, is tricky… I can’t exactly tell them I replaced the pain killers with marijuana. The truth is it was a combination of all the stuff, not just 1 thing. It’s hard for me to think any one of them was bad enough to put me where I am, but, going into detail is risky for sure…

I dunno, what do you all think? I’m sort of lost as to how to approach this.

Appreciate any advice! (please, no criticism about the marijuana, I’ve heard it all and the choice has been made )

Thanks!

Self-disclosure is the fast-track to unemployability....even in a good labor market.

Being on disability for 7 years might force the issue to the surface. Likewise, there might be organizations/programs to help you get into a good job...but for the rest of us who don't have a clear paper trail of our disability, disclosure is just inviting a rejection. Employers are very risk-adverse, and hiring the disabled is taking a risk.

You can't explain the gap in your employment except to be vague and say you had a medical incident that sidelined you for a few years until you could recover enough to go back to work. They should not ask more about it as it invites liability for them to pry deeper, but again, you might be able to find groups that will help you find jobs with people open to hiring disabled people, and that's your best bet from my point of view.

Back pain is...well...a huge pain! Everyone knows that if you have that kind of back issue for that long, you will be on drugs to help, and we all know they do things too your head. I don't think that disclosing your back issues, and some of the drugs you were on are necessarily an issue. You don't need to be that specific, and they aren't allowed to ask you for details. If you present it as though you are the kind of person that likes to do very well at your work, and being on the medication didn't allow you to be at your best, as well as the pain that is involved in back injuries, it took you this long to get to a point where you can function to your personal standards, and you were lucky enough to be able to afford to take this amout of time to heal and be ready to insert yourself back into the workforce and be successful.

As far as the other stuff? If society understood these types of disabilities (invisible) then disclosing them would actually be beneificial to your employer, unfortunately society doesn't get it, and even people with disabilities that you can actually see get descriminated against also. If for some reason you don't work out, it is much harder to fire someone who falls under ADA, and illegal as it is, people are...people. This may inhibit you from being one of the top picks.

Present your absence in a positive light, and turn it into something that you can say positive about yourself. Be as confident and eager as you can, and most of all...

Good Luck!

I agree - health issues is the way to phrase it. If they ask you directly, I think you should disclose, but make a hierarchy of disclosure, starting with the most easily medically explainable issue first, and offer as little specific information as possible. So, "I was disabled by back pain due to a crushed vertebrae and other concurrent medical issues"

Keep in mind: you don't want a job where they can't deal with you as you are. Full disclosure is one protection against this, but as MommyJones noted, it also means that you might not get any job at all because the interviewer may make assumptions. Make sure that the jobs you are applying for are flexible enough that you can actually do the work. Keep in mind that many jobs also test for drugs even when it isn't a part of the job - you'll need to have a strategy for that as well.

I'd seek the advice of a career counselor - often the local public library offers something for free, but I'd see if they can refer you to someone who specializes in helping people with disabilities.

Right on, thanks for the advice... I agree, I definately think "health issues" is the safe way to say it and just leave it at that. Just try to keep as quiet as I can about my problems unless something becomes an issue.

That brings up an interesting question... If something does become an issue due to one of my disabilities, would I be screwed because I didn't disclose it right away? Or doesn't that matter with the Americans with Disabilities Act?

I'll check out what the local vocational rehab office can offer as far as help finding a job. I do have one in mind I am going to apply for though, so hopefully that works out.

Anyways, thanks again!

http://www.udel.edu/CSC/disclosure.html

This looks like a good general resource, but a neurological difference is a little more touchy. Do some more googling, and ask your vocational counselor when you get one - I think it depends entirely on whether or not you know you will need accommodations.