The Tryout: Part 2

Headshot of Chris Knapp courtesy of AK Stories.

In part one of this blog, I introduced the topic of when and how to disclose a disability to a current or prospective employer in a unique way – with sports. My intention is for this to be a multi-part blog series that will shed light on this complex topic from a number of different angles and perspectives. In the first blog, I shared some of my life experiences that served as important lessons about winning and losing, which ultimately helped to form my outlook on competition, whether it’s competing in sports or in life. In part two, I will describe how I handled disclosing (or not disclosing) my disability at different points throughout my 15+ year professional career, while providing some insight into my thought process at each step along the way. In future installments, I hope to ask some of my former employers to weigh in on this topic and think back on their first impressions of me from the employment application and/or interview process, and also ask some subject-matter experts, who are far more well-versed than me when it comes to the topic of disability employment, to talk about the legal implications of when and how to go about disclosing a disability to a current or prospective employer.

Going Pro (2001 – 2007)

When I interviewed for my first job out of college, the employer was already aware of my disability. This was because it was technically my second interview with the organization. During an earlier interview for a job with a different program within the non-profit, I had decided to disclose that I had a visual impairment and could not drive, because during the interview the hiring manager had mentioned that the position required statewide travel, and at the time I didn’t feel that was something I was able to do. Luckily, this person had seen enough potential in me, and went that extra mile to consider how other programs within their organization could possibly leverage someone with my skills and abilities.

Honestly, besides writing, doing some basic research and analysis, and my interest in public policy and healthcare, I wasn’t even sure what sorts of jobs I would be able to do as someone who was statutorily blind. Fortunately for me, the guy who had conducted that first interview thought that I might be good for a physician sourcing role that was more of a traditional office-based position. The job required spending a lot of time on the phone and computer, but nothing that he didn’t feel I would be able to handle if provided with some basic accommodations. So, he went ahead and referred me for this other position, and I subsequently submitted my application. 

By the time I interviewed for the position that I would end up getting, the team conducting the interview was well aware of my disability. First, I had assumed that the other hiring manager had made them aware of this fact. Because of this, I had decided to just address this right up front and mention my disability in my cover letter that I submitted along with my resume.

After the fact, (the person who would eventually become my boss) had shared with me that one of these lines in my cover letter where I had talked about my disability, something to the effect of “I am always mindful of my limitations, as well as of my potential” was something that really resonated with her.

During the interview, the vice president of the nonprofit at the time (who has since become a good friend, and is someone I consider a mentor and still keep in touch with on a regular basis) said something that really stuck with me. He had referenced my 3.82 GPA at some point and commented, “Well, you’re obviously not stupid,” which was said lightheartedly, and was his way of saying that he felt I was more than capable of doing the job. I don’t know if he intended for there to be some deeper meaning, but this rather innocuous statement helped to build my confidence and self-esteem more than he’ll ever know, since it was one of the first times  I remember thinking “yes, I can do this!” It was just an innocent statement, but he was right, I graduated with high honors from college, so I should be able to take on whatever challenges I might face during the transition to my professional career.

I guess the take-away with this particular example, is that by disclosing my disability right up front, the employer had more context in which to evaluate me as a candidate, since we had talked through some of the challenges I might encounter, while identifying some of the basic accommodations that might be needed. Because my disability and concerns about my ability to perform certain aspects of the job were part of the interview process, we were able to engage in a productive conversation about how it all could work. There was a lot of back and forth, potential problems would be identified, and then possible solutions would be proposed. By the end of the interview, we all had a clearer idea of how I could leverage screen reader software and off-the-shelf multi-media earbuds to perform most of the basic work required of the physician sourcing role.

Free Agency (2007-2012)

Some six and a half years into my stint with the nonprofit, I was ready for a change. There were very few opportunities for upward mobility within the organization, so when the former vice president (who had since left the non-profit to take a position as a director of a statewide association) told me about an executive director position for the newly created Capital Area IT Council, I was intrigued. Intrigued, but not convinced – at least not initially – that it was a good fit, or that I was the right person for the job.

It took some prodding from my friend, and some further analysis on my part, to come to the conclusion that the work I had been doing for the nonprofit was applicable, and thus transferrable to this new role. I was able to figure out that many of the workforce challenges that the IT industry was facing were essentially the same types of problems that I had been helping to address for the healthcare industry. Once I made that connection, I was able to put together a clear plan for how I would approach the work of leading the IT Council if offered the job.

Next, I took advantage of an opportunity to attend a luncheon hosted by Capital Area Michigan Works! (CAMW!), where they would be sharing the findings of their “Growing I.T.” Labor Market Information study. I didn’t know them yet, but my future friends Bob Sherer and Mark Reffit were the two main presenters that day, and I sat at a table with the guy who would end up being my contact at the State of Michigan for the Regional Skills Alliance program. Again, it didn’t cost me anything, and I was able to gather even more intel about the position I would be applying for.

At some point I even found Bob’s contact information on the CAMW! website and sent him an email to let him know that I had attended the luncheon, and was intending to apply for the Executive Director position. I wouldn’t find out until much later, but he had forwarded my email onto the guy who ended up hiring me, which probably helped to establish that I had a lot of initiative.

So, I was prepared.

The one wrinkle I ran into during the application process happened when I first went to respond to the posting. CAMW! required that applicants fill out a general employment application along with submitting their resume and a cover letter. Typically, the candidate would just fill out the application when stopping into the service center to drop off their information, but because of my disability, I was going to require assistance to fill out the paper form, so this wasn’t an option for me. When I contacted the receptionist and explained my situation to her, she checked with some people, and when she got back on the phone she told me that I could come in and pick up an employment application to take home to fill out, which I could bring back when I drop off my resume and cover letter.

Couple things here. First, at this point I had shown my cards, the cat was out of the bag, the beans were spilled. Whether I liked it or not, things were now out of my control. By contacting this receptionist and telling her about my visual disability, I had no idea if she would share this information with others involved in the application/interview process, but I had to be prepared to operate under this assumption.

Second, because I was going to have to go into the service center and pick up an employment application, this would give me an opportunity to check the place out, which would help me a little later when I was called in for an interview. For now, the part to know here is that for this first trip into the building I used my cane to navigate my way around the service center. Also, while I was standing there waiting to be helped, there were a number of subtle things about the building that I was able to pick up on, for example, every so often I could hear people walking up and down a set of stairs which were located to the left of the main entrance, and at some point I heard an elevator door over in the corner open and close.

This sort of detail may seem irrelevant; however, it was important in terms of establishing a certain level of comfort that I would be able to move around the building without the assistance of my cane. I understand the necessity of the cane, and god knows that my cane has saved my butt on numerous different occasions, but that doesn’t change the fact that I hate using my cane, so if I feel comfortable enough to use my limited vision to try and get around, then that’s typically what I prefer to do. 

After arriving in the lobby for my interview I checked in with the receptionist, and while taking a seat in one of the nearby chairs to wait, I discreetly folded up my collapsible cane and placed it on top of the padfolio I was carrying.

A few minutes later, the executive assistant for the CEO led me up to the conference room where they would be conducting the interview. When I entered, I was greeted by Dave Hollister who had been selected to lead the interview, and was introduced to the other members of the interview panel.

I won’t get into the specifics of the interview, other than to say that I was all business. At one point, after introducing some of my initial ideas about leading the IT Council, I asked whether they would be interested in seeing a one-pager that I had prepared which outlined some of these high-level strategies, which I would find out later, really sealed the deal and indicated to the interview panel that I was the right person for the job.

The other thing I will say, is that the topic of my disability never came up once. Again, I was operating under the assumption that the receptionist might have passed the information about my visual disability along to the individuals involved with the application/interview process, and I had previously met Dave Hollister back when my friend Bob was serving on his administration at the City of Lansing and I was part of the group that was working on the Blue-Ribbon Committee for Minor League Baseball, but I wasn’t sure he remembered me, or how much he knew about the issues with my health and eyesight that I had been experiencing back then. I didn’t know, but at the same time, I didn’t care. I had gone into that interview more prepared than I had ever been for something, and I was going to convince that interview panel that I was the best candidate for the job, blind or not.

Travis Stoliker, Chris Knapp, Kate Snyder and Matt Hill at Liquid Web’s DC3 groundbreaking event.

The Call Up (2012 – 2017)

Now let me stop for a moment to clear the air and set the record straight about something.

The 5+ years I spent as executive director of the Capital Area IT Council were some of the best, and most rewarding years of my professional career. I loved most every aspect of my job. I enjoyed working with the employer community, and I loved the people I worked with. I also loved working for Doug Stites, who by far, is one of the smartest, most brilliant people who I’ve had the pleasure of knowing professionally. Under his tutelage and guidance, I learned a lot. In 2012, I was happy, perfectly content doing what I was doing. Of course, there were parts of my job that I didn’t particularly care for, but no job is perfect.

So, in 2012 when I started receiving calls from some of my contacts at the State of Michigan about a new posting they were looking to fill, I ignored them for the most part. But after the third or fourth person reached out, I decided I better look into it a bit more to see what all of the commotion was about.

What I would find out, is that there was a new position being created at the State of Michigan that appeared to be tailor-made for me. Besides the attractive compensation package, the thing that convinced me to apply for the job was when I stopped and realized that I wouldn’t be happy if anyone other than me was serving in this role.

I applied for the position and was contacted to come in for an interview.

Now, at this point, I was able to draw on past experiences from having gone through the application/interview process for the other jobs. For instance, I had been in the Victor Center for meetings on multiple different occasions in the past, so was familiar enough with the layout of the building to determine that I wouldn’t need my cane. It was a gamble, but one that I was comfortable taking. Also, because of my time at CAMW! I had a better idea of how the government sector operated, and was relatively certain that the State of Michigan would have an enterprise license of the JAWS screen reader software that I use on my computer, so there was really no need to unnecessarily complicate the interview process by focusing on my need for assistive technology. Also, since this was a position with statewide responsibilities, I knew the required travel would be challenging for someone like me who is statutorily blind, but I figured the state would have ample resources, or I would just figure that part out later. So again, no need to focus on this as a potential obstacle.

Picture of Chris Knapp in a suit standing next to the 2008 Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup Championship banner. We were at Joe Louis Arena for a work function and had an opportunity to have our photograph taken with the banner.

Like when I had interviewed for the IT Council position, I came to the interview prepared, pulling out one flashy marketing piece after another, passing extra copies I had brought along with me around the conference room table to the multiple members of the interview panel.

It went well. When I went to leave the interview I wasn’t sure that I had hit a home run, but I felt pretty good about my chances. Blame it on my  being extremely confident, borderline cocky, but I wasn’t exactly sprinting down the first base line, and admit I might have done the equivalent of flipping my bat and momentarily pausing to look up at my long ball to admire my impressive feat.

As soon as I received the official offer and completed the initial onboarding process, I set the accommodations piece in motion. At this point, I still hadn’t had a single conversation with my new boss about my disability or need for accommodations. I just took matters into my own hands and got to work on getting the IT folks to set me up with the assistive technology I would need.

I don’t want to skip ahead and share anything that some of my former employers might want to say about the above experiences, so I will just mention one other item as it relates to my perspective on this topic.

As someone who is statutorily blind that finds themselves in front of an interview panel for one of these high-stakes, winner-take-all professional positions, one of the toughest things to do is to effectively engage with the various members of the interview panel. It’s a balancing act. On one hand, you don’t necessarily want to disclose that you have a visual disability, but on the other hand, you don’t have the luxury of reading people’s reactions and body language. Most times it’s not an issue, but occasionally things can go off the rails.

At the end of the day, it’s an individual decision on whether or not to disclose a disability. Personally, I resist disclosing my disability unless it is absolutely necessary. Right or wrong, I can’t help but think that many employers will see this as a weakness. They should be evaluating you on whether or not you are capable of performing a job. Of course, it’s more complicated than this, and different situations call for different approaches.

I’ve been in interviews when someone has slid a piece of paper across the table to me, obviously wanting me to look at something on the document, but for the most part this never created problems for me, since I was able to glean enough from what the interviewer was talking about and ask my own questions to get the gist of whatever they were referencing. That being said, as an employer, I would ask that you don’t ever require people to fill out documents or complete tasks during the interview that would put people with certain disabilities at a disadvantage. It isn’t cool, and it isn’t fair.

Now something about control. One thing that I do when confronted with the interview panel situation that has worked for me – and is something that you can try – is to pause at the start of the interview and ask that everyone on the panel go around and introduce themselves so that you know who is in the room. This is a relatively simple technique to employ and is perfectly acceptable, and the members of the interview panel won’t be any the wiser to what you are up to. They’ll gladly state their name and position within the organization, clueless to the fact that what you are really doing is assessing your surroundings, like a bat pinging echoes off of a cave wall. But there’s no need to keep applicants in the dark. As an employer, you should adopt the practice of having everyone on an interview panel go around and introduce themselves anyway. Not only will this help to avoid potentially awkward situations with applicants who might have hidden disabilities, but it is a great way to put candidates at ease, since the interview process is already stressful enough.

So that’s it for this part. Again, this is Chris Knapp speaking. These are my words, my perspective on the topic of when and how to disclose a disability to an employer based on some of my own personal experiences. As previously stated, this is a complex issue, and there certainly is plenty more about this topic that can be said. There are other people who have important information to contribute to the conversation. Be sure to check back in for future installments of this blog series, and like the great Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over!”