One of our readers asked us this question last week. Though Rosalind answered privately, I thought the question might be of interest to others. To start I might ask a slightly different question. “If I know I’m going to be living with these symptoms for a very long time, what kind of job would be best for me?” This question is at the heart Women, Work and Autoimmune Disease.
Consider these three steps outlined in the chapter in our book about Success in the Workplace.
1. Recognize what you want and need.
2. Establish your desired outcomes.
3. Create a plan of action and establish new competencies.
Rosalind has written about the many changes she has made in her career at each juncture when she realized that, though she might have liked her work, something about the position was no longer a fit for her.
I went from job to job for a while. I always looked for a new job when my symptoms were at bay and my energy was good. (I didn’t really have it in me to look when I was ill anyway.) The focus was always on my interest in the position and my ability to fulfill the functions of the position, which had much more to do with my skills than my body. When asked that pesky question, is there anything that would prevent you from doing your job, at the time the answer was no and so I answered no.
You can find some job help on-line. Take a look at For Disabled Women. They have an interesting section, Leadership for Disabled Women. From this page you can link to a whole bunch of websites that offer support for developing your leadership skills and support for finding jobs. Try the National Youth Leadership Network, which mission is to promote education and leadership for men and women between 15 and 28 with disabilities. Or check out Mobility International USA. They do leadership training, exchanges, advocating for the inclusion of men and woman with disabilities in development initiatives and internships.
In an earlier post, Job Help is Just an Internet Click Away, I sited 2 other resources.
Job Accommodation Network: http://www.jan.wvu.edu.
Searchable Online Accommodation Resource (SOAR) Here you can find a link to listings of different illnesses and conditions to find out what kinds of accommodations have been made to people with various illnesses.
Finally, if you haven’t already, check out Rosalind’s Career Guidebook series by visiting http://www.cicoach.com/resources.html.
Joan
The option I picked was to work for myself as a consultant and writer. That way I get to decide what I do each day (more or less).