DREAM's Mentor Monday series this Spring is all about Career and Work.

Students - join this free online mentoring opportunity to learn about leveraging the ADA and accommodations, managing the job hunt, and starting a new job.

The first one is this Monday, March 12th! All of the details can be found at the DREAM Mentor Monday page.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is offering free virtual presentations for students and alumni.  

Wednesday March 7, 3:00 - 5:00 pm ET
Finding and Applying for Jobs in the Federal Government (Navigating USAJOBS) (1.5 hrs): This free online virtual presentation provides  an overview of USAJOBS, the official website for Federal Government employment.  The briefing provides a step-by-step process that covers; creating your account and profile, managing your account, searching for Federal jobs and maximizing search results, reviewing Job Opportunity Announcements, submitting your applications, and following up on your application status.

Wednesday March 12, 6:00 - 7:30 pm ET
Writing Your Federal Resume (1.5 hrs): This presentation explains each section of the Job Opportunity Announcement (JOA) in an effort to better inform applicants and to assist them in selecting the right job. The presentation highlights a three part process to assist applicants in writing their Federal resume. Attendees will be shown a real JOA and walked through reviewing the JOA to determine qualifications and interest, identifying the important requirements and then tailoring their resumes with that JOA. Lastly, it will provide a quick overview of the resume builder on USAJOBS.

Wednesday March 7, 1:00 - 2:00 pm ET
Interviewing (1 hr): This presentation introduces the audience to the interview process within the Federal government. It explains the types of interviews (structured/unstructured), different delivery methods, types of common questions, responding utilizing the S.T.A.R (Situation/Task, Action, Result) method and how to also prepare for an interview.

Wednesday March 14, 3:00 - 4:30 pm ET
Pathways Programs – Recruiting and Hiring Students and Recent Graduates into Federal Careers (1 hr): A focused presentation that introduces the audience to the Pathways Programs (Internships, Recent Graduates and Presidential Management Fellows (PMF)). Information presented covers what each program offers to the job seeker, the basic requirements and employment potential after each program is complete.
 
For more information, email outreach@opm.gov
 
Their website has many additional tools and resources that you may be interested in such as:
1)      Federal Occupations Toolkit – This tool helps the user see all of the various types of jobs in the Federal Government, defines each one of them, and provides a quick search on USAJOBS to see what it currently available.
2)      Interns and Recent Graduates – This page gives the user information about the Pathways Programs, for students and recent graduates, and attempts to answer questions concerning the eligibility, program administration, training and development, program completion and additional resources.  
3)      Applicant Tools and Resources – This section offers short informational videos to answer questions we routinely receive concerning the Federal hiring process, and additional documents to assist the job seeker when applying for a Federal job.

Find a Career that is Right for You, a free webinar from the Asperger/Autism Network, featuring Tom Bergeron
 
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
6:30-8:00 pm

There are many factors in deciding on a career path. What are my interests? What is my working style? Are there jobs in the industry I’m interested in? How well do they pay? How does being on the spectrum affect my decision? The path to most careers is through a college education, but with education costs skyrocketing it makes sense to evaluate careers options before entering college, not after graduation. There is even the possibility of exploring careers that require training, but not a degree.
 
This webinar explores ways to identify careers that are a good match. It highlights strategies for landing the right job beyond “getting the degree.” The webinar will also highlight a few organizations that are making a concerted effort to hire individuals on the spectrum.
 
Finding a career that is right for you: Tom Bergeron is the co-founder of InventiveLabs, a career (and business) incubator focused on college-aged adults with dyslexia, ADHD, and/or ASD. The Lab runs a hands-on program helping individuals find their path forward by exploring career and school options, or maybe even starting their own business. Tom has worked at various start-up companies helping to bring new products to market. He uses the skills he learnt in business to help individuals find their “market fit”. Tom experienced many challenges in school, but by charting his own path he found success in business. He noticed the traits that hold some individuals back in school can actually be their advantage in the workplace. He is now committed to helping the next generation find their path forward and launch their careers.

Punch-in, at www.punch-in.org is a project of the Great Lakes ADA Center in Chicago. The site is designed to help disabled young adults to have success with their employment search and career objectives.

Punch-in offers self-paced tutorials, expert advice, a moderated online course, and video resources to develop your job-seeking strategies.

Lots of good stuff to explore there!

Few college students feel expressly confident that they have the skills and knowledge to find a job or succeed in a workplace, according to a new study.

Inside Higher Education reports on students' confidence in being prepared for employment. https://tinyurl.com/ydeprc48

Spring Semester 2018 is all about Employment and Students with Disabilities. We will share information here and elsewhere in the NCCSD Clearinghouse for students, Career Services staff, Internship and Practicum supervisors and employers.

Today we encourage you to sign up for the free web event sponsored by the Association on Higher Education And Disability:

"College to Career Transition: Leveraging the ADA & Accommodations at Work"

Jan 24th, 2018 / 12 -1:15 pm (EST)

Sponsored by the Association of Higher Education and Disabilities (AHEAD) Career SIG and the Cooperative Education and Internship Association (CEIA) in partnership with the Job Accommodation Network (JAN)

Students with disabilities who receive accommodations in higher education should be knowledgeable about disability disclosure, and requesting and negotiating reasonable accommodations under title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when transitioning from college to career. During this session, the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), will share information about using JAN as a resource, offer practical tips for leveraging the ADA to request accommodations at work, and will enable service providers to empower graduates with disabilities to self-advocate in the workplace.

This is free but there are limited spots.

Visit: https://goo.gl/forms/aVUpuZzU8tbYhYxx2 to reserve your space now for Jan 24th, 12 pm [EST]

Please reach out if you have any questions. We hope to see you there!
Marci Shaffer, Ronnie Porter and Tracey Foreman
AHEAD Career Special Interest Group

Welcome to fall semester!  As courses get underway, the National Center for College Students with Disabilities and our student group, DREAM, have a few NEW FREE RESOURCES for you and your campus:
 
* Our latest research brief on campus climate by Wendy Harbour & Daniel Greenberg offers research-based strategies for improving the campus climate for students with disabilities, including examples of colleges with innovative ideas that everyone from freshmen to chancellors can use: http://www.nccsdonline.org/research-briefs.html

* Set up a DREAM chapter on your campus, or have existing student organizations become DREAM affiliates – benefits include monthly digital “Care Packages” of resources for student leaders: http://www.dreamcollegedisability.org/dream-chapters--affiliates.html
 
* Get a few tips and resources for planning inclusive student orientations and events this fall: http://www.nccsdclearinghouse.org/planning-new-student-orientation.html
 
* We have a new “Be An Ally” poster that would look great in any dorm room or office: http://www.nccsdclearinghouse.org/nccsd-posters--products.html
 
* Are you affected by Hurricane Harvey?  We’ve put together a list of hurricane and disaster relief resources for students, faculty, and staff with disabilities (http://www.nccsdonline.org/harveyflood.html) and continually update our existing crisis resources, including 24/7 hotlines offering support (http://www.nccsdclearinghouse.org/crisis-resources.html)
 
 
Remember, too, that during the academic year, DREAM sends out a weekly newsletter about disability and higher education news from around the U.S. – you can read more about it at http://www.dreamcollegedisability.org/this-weeks-news-in-disability-and-higher-education, including a link to subscribe.
 
Any questions about these products?  Need support, technical assistance, or materials in other formats?  Contact us at NCCSD@ahead.org or DREAM@ahead.org or check out our websites from the NCCSD, DREAM, and our sponsoring organization – the Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD):

• NCCSD: www.NCCSDonline.org
• The NCCSD Clearinghouse: www.NCCSDClearinghouse.org
• DREAM: www.DREAMCollegeDisability.org
• AHEAD: www.AHEAD.org

 

This Summer we're gathering Facts and Figures on disability and college students to help with your research and on-campus reporting.

Up first is our NCCSD Research Brief on National Databases with Information on College Students with Disabilities.  The authors pulled together information on eleven federal and university-based databases that include disabled college students in their data collection. This brief includes descriptions of each database, target populations, what information is collected and how to access the data, all in one place to make it easy for your assessment and reporting needs.

Watch this space for more facts and figures.

This term we're focusing on exploring the climate for students with disabilities on campus. What's the current state of affairs? Where are there promising practices, and what needs improvement?  Read all about it in our new research brief about improving the campus climate for students with disabilities.

Also check our Two-Minute Training, "Fostering a Disability-Friendly Campus: What You Can Do" at the NCCSD Training Center. Feel free to share it with campus colleagues.

We welcome your thoughts and practices around fostering a healthy campus climate at your college or university in the comments.