Reflecting on your time commitment
As you’re starting your job search, checking in with yourself on your capacity time-wise and energy-wise can help you determine which roles would currently be the best fit for you, and can help prevent burnout.
Below are some questions you can ask yourself to assess your capacity to commit time to work:
- If you’re planning on working while taking classes, how are you finding your current academic schedule?
- Does your current schedule allow for time to study, complete your assignments, and practice self-care?
- Thinking back to past semesters or work terms where you felt overwhelmed or drained, are you noticing yourself currently feeling similarly?
- What commitments do you currently have on your plate, and how would you prioritize them alongside working?
- How would you feel if you took on another commitment on top of the ones you currently have?
- How many hours per week would be doable for you to work so that you can still have time for your responsibilities and hobbies outside of work?
Understanding Your Skills and Accommodation Needs
Taking inventory of your unique strengths is another aspect of your job search that can help you narrow down the types of roles that you’d enjoy and would excel in. Some prompts that can help you identify your skills and strengths are below:
- What types of situations or tasks have you excelled in? Looking back on your previous experiences, identifying these situations, and how you excelled in them can help you pinpoint your skills.
- What strengths have others highlighted in you (academically, personally, or professionally)? Reviewing feedback on projects or assignments, or any comments you recall from professors, TAs, supervisors, colleagues, and loved ones can also help you brainstorm your strengths.
- What types of challenges do you feel confident navigating?
- What accomplishments have you felt proud of yourself for, within and outside of the classroom?
- What experiences have you enjoyed and been most interested in, within and outside of the classroom?
Similarly, reflecting on tasks or situations where you’ve struggled can help you identify your accommodation needs and/or the types of jobs that you wouldn’t feel comfortable doing.
- If you’re receiving academic accommodations, this can be a helpful starting point when brainstorming workplace accommodation needs.
- If you’re looking for more information on types of accommodations, or how employers can accommodate individuals with various types of disabilities in the workplace, reviewing the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) is a helpful place to start.
Planning Your Job Search Process
As you’re starting to apply for roles that you’re interested in, planning a system for your job search that works for you can make the job search process more sustainable. Some strategies to help you with this are below:
- Scheduling time specifically for your job search tasks (i.e. tailoring applications, attending career advising/career counselling appointments, informational interviews to structure your job search.
- Setting goals for the week, whether you prefer to plan for a specific amount of time spent on job searching (i.e. 1 hour per day), or a specific number of applications you send out (i.e. 3 per week).
- Continuing to be mindful of your capacity to take on additional tasks throughout your job search, and be flexible with your goals depending on any changes to your disability symptoms, academic workload, and other commitments.
- Considering the types of environments you prefer to do job search tasks in can help motivate you; for example, some people prefer to work on tailoring their applications in a setting with ambient background sound, while others prefer to work in silence.
- Taking into account the time of day you find job search tasks most doable in. For example, some people prefer to job search at the beginning of the day, while others prefer to after their classes/work shift for the day has wrapped up.
- If you find it helpful to work alongside a friend or support person, try scheduling time with them where you both work on tasks together and hold each other accountable.
- Another option if you’re looking for an accountability person as you’re doing job search tasks is a co-working platform like Focusmate, where you can set a goal for a work session and work alongside someone who will be doing their own tasks; you can find more information on Focusmate.
Applying to jobs
- As you’re researching roles to apply to, it can also be helpful to look at the organization’s EDIA policies, and diversity hiring initiatives, and their accommodation policies, which you can typically find on their website.
- If you’re looking for more information on whether a role would be doable for you, or if a workplace would be inclusive to you, informational interviews can be a helpful way to learn more about the role you’re considering applying to from someone who’s currently working in it.
- For more information on what informational interviews are, how to set them up, and how to prepare for them, please review our Informational Interview tip sheet.
- When you’re applying to roles, some details to double check would be that you have:
- Used the date of the application on your resume and cover letter.
- Double checked that the job title and ID number matches the position you’re applying for.
- Made sure that you have the correct name and spelling of the company in your application, and that you have reviewed any information from the posting on who the cover letter should be addressed to.
- Thoroughly read through your application and made sure that the spelling and grammar are correct.
- If you have several job postings to apply for, prioritizing them by the deadline can help you submit them on time.
- When you’ve submitted each application, make a note of each job you have applied to, and keep a copy of the posting with the version of your application that you submitted. When you’re invited to an interview, you’ll have a clear sense of the role and the skills required even if the posting is no longer available online.
- If you need a second set of eyes on your applications, reaching out to someone you trust for feedback can help draw your attention to any areas to change. You can also book an appointment with a Career Advisor at the Student Success Center or attend our drop-ins for job search coaching support as well.
- For more information on researching the hidden job market, networking, assessing whether to apply to a position, and on industry-specific job search resources, please visit our Job Search Strategies Tip Sheet.
- As you’re job searching, reflect on whether you would feel comfortable to disclose any accommodation needs, and at what stage of the application/hiring process you would do so. This is completely your decision; only you can decide if and when you want to disclose a disability to a prospective employer.
- Note that disclosing your accommodation needs at each stage has its own pros and cons to consider; for more information to help you with making this decision, please visit our Accommodations and Disclosure Tip Sheet.
Preparing for interviews
When you’ve been invited to interview for a position, this is a victory in and of itself! It’s a sign that your applications are passing the initial review stage.
- If you feel comfortable to share any accommodation needs at the interview stage, reviewing the interview invitation, and any instructions on who you would send accommodation requests to, and any deadlines on doing so can help make sure that you feel comfortable while interviewing.
- If the interview will be in person, helpful to familiarize yourself with the area ahead of time, whether it’s mapping your route or commute there, or traveling this route ahead of time.
- Plan to arrive at least 15 minutes before your interview begins; accounting for this when planning your commute can help you calmly navigate to your interview.
- If the interview will be virtual, take time to navigate the platform it will be hosted on, its features and review any demonstrations or tutorials available for how to use it. Practicing virtual interviews with someone you trust, and troubleshooting any technical issues ahead of time can help build your comfort level with using the platform.
- Wearing business attire that you’re comfortable in can help you feel more confident and will help you make a strong first impression as you’re speaking to your interviewers.
- Choosing what to wear ahead of time (at least 1-2 days before the interview) may help you feel more prepared on the morning of the career fair.
- If you need support with this step, scheduling time with a loved one to plan your attire together can help motivate you and give you a second opinion on what you’re planning to wear.
Preparing any items that you need ahead of time is another way to feel more comfortable during the interview. Some examples are below:
- Water bottle
- Any assistive devices you need
- Any translation apps you need
- A notepad/pen to jot down any notes/contact information
- Multiple copies of your resume
For more information on preparing for various types of interview questions, questions to ask your employer at the end of your interview, and techniques to manage anxiety during your interview, and more, please refer to our Interview Tip Sheet.
- Practice! Interviewing is a very different social interaction to those we typically do in our daily lives; it’s natural to find them difficult. The more you practice your interviewing skills with a loved one and/or a Career Advisor at the SSC, the more comfortable you can feel as you do them.
Your Support System While Job Searching
Job searching can feel daunting at times, but you’re not alone throughout the process.
We’re here to help if you’re looking for further support with your job search. Visit Career Access Professional Services (CAPS) to learn more about career and job search support tailored to your needs.
With job searching comes the possibility of rejection; leaning on your loved ones, whether it’s your family, friends, any professional supports (i.e. counsellor, Career Advisor), support groups, and your professional network can help you stay encouraged as you job search.
We recommend checking out the Neurodiversity Hub for more information and tips on job searching as well.
Disability-Specific Job Boards
To support you with your job search, the job boards below are specialized to supporting individuals from neurodivergent populations with finding opportunities. This is not an exhaustive list but can be a starting point to finding organizations that are inclusive.
Discover Ability Network – Ontario Chamber of Commerce
Discover Ability Network is a unique job-matching platform. Free for both candidates and companies, the online portal aims to connect people with disabilities directly to Ontario businesses.
Integrate Autism Employment Advisors
Integrate Autism Employment Advisors support skilled autistic professionals reaching their potential; a workforce delivering non-traditional solutions; candidates and clients recognizing the value of an inclusive environment—that’s success at work. Founded in 2010, their decades of corporate experience drive their mission to help organizations identify, recruit, and retain professionals on the autism spectrum. Visit their website for more information and resources.
Ontario Disability Employment Network (ODEN)
ODEN produces a monthly email newsletter that’s packed with valuable, informative content including information about upcoming webinars and training; disability sector information and updates; a round-up of disability and employment related news; the Disability Insights quote of the month; and promising practices shared by ODEN members.
Lime Connect
Lime Connect is breaking stereotypes and leading companies of every size, industry, and location to understand the importance of, and fully value, the talent, and strengths that employees with disabilities bring to the workplace.
We’re here to help if you’d like further support in preparing for your job search. Visit the Career Access
Professional Services (CAPS) section of our website for more information on accessing our services.