Where to Start
This list of general resources will help you get started and develop a strategy for your job search.

• Where to Start

Government and Community Services
Consider using government programs, community agencies and disability organizations and support groups for assistance in your job search.

• Government & Community Services

Evaluating Your Skills
Whether or not you have worked before, whatever your disability, you have acquired skills and abilities which are valuable in many different work situations. Find out your marketable skills, and use them when choosing an area of employment, developing your resume, or preparing for an interview.

• Evaluating Your Skills

Marketing Yourself
Creating an effective resume and feeling confident in an interview are essential skills which need to be developed.

Workers with a disability need to consider as well some of the stereotypes employers may have and prepare ways of counteracting them in the resume and interview. Technical skills are valued in the workplace today - having a resume that is scannable, and adaptable to e-mail or the Web shows a potential employer that you are familiar with new technologies.

• Marketing Yourself

Disclosure & Other Challenges to Employment
You must decide for yourself the best time and place to disclose your disability to an employer. The following resources will help with that decision.

• Disclosure & Other Challenges to Employment

Job Accommodation & Alternative Work Arrangements
Employers may ask what changes would be needed for you to do the job, or you may want to bring it up yourself in an interview. These resources will help with ideas and contacts who will be able to work out solutions.

While permanent full-time work with paid benefits used to be the norm, today’s workplace is often one of short or long term contracts, temporary work or working from home. Teleworking or working from home may suit your personal situation and accommodate your special needs. With advances in computer technology, telework is a growth area while temporary or contract work may lead to other contracts or more permanent work.

• Job Accommodation & Alternative Work Arrangements

Job Posting Sites
There are many job banks on the Internet which you can search through Career Bookmarks. In addition, the following sites have lists of jobs posted by equal opportunity employers, or encourage resumes from people with disabilities. Think about internship programs which will help you develop work skills.

• Job Posting Sites

Networking
It is useful to remember that most jobs are found through the hidden job market - through your contacts. Share suggestions with others with similar challenges. Consider volunteering, which allows you to help a cause you believe in, while enlarging your network of contacts. News groups and mailing lists on the Internet, related to both work and hobbies are other possibilities. The following resources will give you some ideas on how and where to connect.

• Networking

Work Experience Programs
Here are ways to learn new skills while you are getting some on-the-job experience. Check the requirements for each program, as not everyone may be eligible.

• Work Experience Programs

Self Employment
Think about starting your own business or other self employment options. You can use the experience you have gained in previous work, or develop interests or hobbies into a business. For more information about starting a business, try the Virtual Reference Library's gateway, SmallbizXpress.

• Self Employment

Injured Workers
These resources provide support and information for injured workers.

• Injured Workers

Library Resources
Check your local library for copies of these suggestions or try the subject headings and call numbers which follow to find similar items.

Annable, Gary and McInnes, Rob. Tried and true: tips and advice for job seekers with disabilities. Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work, 1995.

Bolles, Richard Nelson and Brown, Dale S. Job-hunting for the so-called handicapped: or people who have Disabilities. 2nd ed. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2001.

Bowes, Barbara J. The easy résumé book: a transferable skills approach. Winnipeg, Man.: Barbara J. Bowes, c1998.

Bredin, Alice. The virtual office: what telecommuters and entrepreneurs need to succeed in today’s non-traditional workplace. New York: J. Wiley, 1996.

Bridging the gap: government of Canada programs and services of interest to Canadians with disabilities. Ottawa: Office for Disability Issues. Human Resources Development Canada, 2002.

Brown, Dale S. Learning a living: a guide to planning your career and finding a job for people with learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, and dyslexia. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House, 2000.

Canada. Human Resources Development Canada. Future Abilities and Creative Employment. Working together: an employer's resource for workplace accommodation. Future Abilities and Creative Employment under the sponsorship of Human Resources Development Canada. [Ottawa]: Human Resources Development Canada, 2000.

Canadian assistive devices & technology industry directory. Serial. Updated regularly.

Canadian Association for Community Living Everybody's business: self employment issues and opportunities for people with a disability, 1996.

Canadian Association for Community Living. A guide to self employment: a creative career choice for persons with an intellectual disability.

Criscito, Pat. Resumes in cyberspace: your complete guide to a computerized job search. 2nd ed. Hauppauge, N.Y.: Barron's, 2000.

Directory of community services in Toronto: blue book. Toronto: Community Information Centre of Metropolitan Toronto. Annual Use to find community services by subject or agency name. Also available electronically. Check your local library for equivalent publications for your location.

Fast, Yvona. Employment for individuals with Asperger syndrome or non-verbal learning disability : stories and strategies. London ; New York : Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2004

Human Resources Development Canada. 10 essentials to get that job: an employment guide for persons with disabilities. [Ontario: Enterprise for Youth Group and Human Resources Canada], c2001.

International Labour Office. Managing disability in the workplace.Geneva : International Labour Office, 2002

Kimeldorf, Martin. Portfolio power: the new way to showcase all your job skills and experiences. Princeton, NJ: Petersons, 1997.

Kissane, Sharon F. Mrotek . Career Success for People With Physical Disabilities. Lincolnwood, IL:, VGM Career Horizons, 1997.

Moniz-Lecce, Sandy. EmployAbility: job search strategies for students with disabilities, a facilitator's manual. [Rev. ed.] Surrey, B.C. : Kwantlen University College, 1999.

Rajan, Doris. Peñafiel, Teresa. Roeher Institute. Multi-Ethnic Association for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities. Job integration for persons with disabilities from ethnocultural communities. North York, Ont. : Institut Roeher = Roeher Institute, c2003.

Ryan, Daniel J. Job search handbook for people with disabilities. Indianapolis : Jist, 2004.

Sansregret, Marthe. My transferable skills checklist plus my personality traits. Montreal: Hurtubise HMH, 1997.

Stevenson, Ollie. 101 great answers to the toughest job search problems. Hawthorne, N.J.: Career Press, 1995. Includes tips for people with disabilities.

Weber, Amy and Heinrich, Aaron. Job interviewing for people with disabilities. Charleston, WV: Cambridge Educational, 1998. (Video)

Weber, Amy and Heinrich, Aaron. Job search tactics for people with disabilities. Charleston, WV: Cambridge Educational, c1998. (Video)

Weber, Amy and Heinrich, Aaron. Resumes & applications for people with disabilities. Charleston, WV: Cambridge Educational, 1998. (Video)

Yate, Martin John. Cover letters that knock 'em dead. 5th ed. completely rev. and expanded. Holbrook, Ma. : Adams Media, 2003.

Yate, Martin John. Knock 'em dead:[the ultimate job-seeker's handbook].Holbrook, Mass: Adams Media, c2005.

Subject Headings: use these words to search your library catalogue for other items:

Attention-deficit-disordered adults -- Vocational guidance
Attention-deficit-disordered youth -- Vocational guidance
Blind -- Employment
Career Development
Cover Letters
Deaf -- Employment
Discrimination in employment -- Canada
Employment Interviewing
Job hunting -- Data processing
People with Disabilities -- Employment
People with Disabilities -- Employment -- Canada
People with Disabilities -- Vocational guidance
People with Mental Disabilities
People with Mental Disabilities -- Employment
People with Visual Disabilities -- Employment
Resumes (Employment)
Résumés (Employment) -- Data processing
Social Networks
Vocational rehabilitation -- Canada

Call Numbers: use this call number to look for other items in your library.
331.7
331.59
650.14
808.06