Adrienne Kleinman's Blog (121)

It’s no surprise to anyone immersed in the healthcare world that there’s been an extreme shortage of direct support professionals (DSPs) the last few years. DSPs are anyone that works closely with individuals who need extra care, whether in a facility, or in a person’s home. While this position is of extreme importance, it rarely gets the recognition it deserves from the state and government lawmakers. DSPs are given low wages that are hardly sufficient to…

One of my biggest nightmares is having to endure some type of an evacuation when I’m in a building not on ground level. This occurrence terrifies me in my own apartment where I live on the second floor. It’s even scarier to envision going through this at my place of employment where I’m surrounded by individuals who aren’t familiar with my personal care needs. The best remedy is to have an emergency plan in place should a situation arise.

At my…

One of the most effective ways to grow is to gently push your limits on what you can handle. This includes various areas of your life: professional, personal, emotional, mental, physical, etc. It's important to recognize when you are able to increase your limits for the purpose of growth, but equally as important to decipher when you need to set limits for yourself.

Whenever I start a new job, I like to do everything I can to showcase my…

As we near the end of May, I’d be remiss if I didn’t draw attention to the importance of this month. This May marks the 70th year celebrating Mental Health Month! Mental illness can affect anyone, it doesn’t matter your background, who you are, or what you do. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), along with the rest of the country, raise awareness on mental illness to fight the stigma, provide support, educate the public, as well as advocate for…

Whenever we start a new job, we bring with us the accumulated experience of our past positions of employment — and even skills we’ve acquired in our own personal life. All of those moments add up to make us into the person we are today, and the individual that will be joining the team, or crew, or group at any given new place of work. Applying what you already know is an excellent way to bring an edge with you into your new, or current, workplace.…

Kianna Lehman has been a receptionist at Metropolitan Center for Independent Living (MCIL) for almost 5 years. She enjoys her job because of how she gets to be of assistance to those who have disabilities such as herself. Her background is in Business and Management.

You had mentioned that your…

Over the years I have gone to countless interviews. Some of these meetings took place in quaint non profits or super hip production houses, while others were in big corporations that were within glistening skyscrapers. The majority of my meetings and interviews with prospective employees went off without a hitch, but some had complications. These issues sprang from lack of an accessible location.

One of the first things I do when I get an offer…

Michelle Vrieze spent several years working in the education field, and then went back to school for her Master’s Degree in Human Services. Currently she works as a Staffing Specialist for MCIL -- meaning that she matches clients with PCA’s in order that their personal care and homemaking needs are met. Read on to learn more about Michelle!

How did you get started at MCIL as a Personal Assistant Staffing Specialist? What…

The hiring process can be a stressful time for anyone. There’s a lot to think about and consider: fine tuning your resume, gathering references, creating a convincing cover letter, and submitting your application. Next in line comes the offer for the interview—the applicant’s time to really showcase to their potential employer why they’re a great fit. As you get ready for the interview, there’s a few things that you should consider and be aware…

Mary Kay Walch, director of sales and marketing at BlueSky Designs, has worked in the assistive technology

industry for more than 30 years. Improving product design and life for individuals with disabilities. Educating

families, therapists, teachers and suppliers. Her specialty is improving accessibility and independence…

As a person with a physical disability, there are a myriad of things that I need to think about and plan for in my daily life. This includes my personal life, my mobility, my education, and even my career. I may need to adjust the way I complete tasks, get to a destination, complete my schoolwork, or navigate my place of employment. Any workplace that I am hired at will have to accommodate me to their best of their ability--enter Assistive Technology (AT)…

Nick Wilkie has devoted his career to working in the Human Services field. The last 12 years he has been employed by the Metropolitan Center for Independent Living (MCIL), working as a Transition Specialist, then shifting to Advocacy within Public Policy. Currently, he is heading the promotion, outreach, and teaching of a new…

For our last topic on the subject of resumes, I will discuss with you all the matter of disclosure. For someone like myself who has had a visible disability her whole life, I am never really given a choice when it comes to keeping my disability a secret. At one point or another, my potential (or future) employer will know that I use a wheelchair. I do, however, have say in how and when I disclose to them that I have a disability, as do any of you who have a…

Since the age of about four I have used a wheelchair. I was born with a neuromuscular condition that made it impossible for me to walk, or be completely self-sufficient. Though I required total physical assistance, my drive, tenacity, and ability to think for myself has never faltered. That has always been my reality and life, it’s my normal.

Enter onto the scene the idea of Ableism, a term that isn’t as discussed…

By now we have addressed several different topics that have to do with cover letters. We’ve discussed their function, outlined a variety of formats, and now this month I’m going to detail how to customize yours to make it stand out from the rest. The way to accomplish this is by adding in personal anecdotes, mentioning prior knowledge about the company in question, or including facts and hidden history about the industry you are applying to be a part…

Michelle Maloney is an Equal Employment Opportunity Specialist with the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, specifically an ADA Coordinator. I had the pleasure of chatting with her on the phone last week and discussing her career journey. As an individual who is hard of hearing, Michelle’s unique perspective was so wonderful to learn about. Check out her…

There are two types of people in the world—those that like to talk about themselves, and those that don’t. Of course, it can depend on the situation—or who it’s concerning—but generally it can be difficult for someone to make a concrete list of attributes, qualities, etc. that describes who they are in a positive light. When you’re applying for a job and meeting with potential employers, the act itself beckons you to create clarity in regards to who you are as a person and how much of an…

Thabiso Rowan identifies as a free spirited, out-of-the-box thinker. After enduring a spinal cord injury in June 2011, he received an Associate Degree of Human Services. His current occupation is Options Counselor at Disability Hub MN, where he assists people with disabilities -- and their caregivers and family…

We’ve all been there—applied to a job that we were very qualified for, and then never heard back. Generally that applies to jobs in which you haven’t directly spoken with a recruiter, but more or less when you submit a resume and cover letter to an online application portal. A huge part of why the majority of individuals don’t ever hear back from a job is because of a concept called, Resume Black Hole—or, that cyber void that seemingly swallows up the resumes of perfectly qualified…

Diego Mariscal is the Founder, CEO, and Chief Disabled Officer behind the nonprofit startup 2Gether-International— directly supports entrepreneurs with disabilities. At the age of 26 he has already created Limitless Prepa Tec (a disability education program that benefits students in Monterrey Mexico), is a…