Disability and the worst interview

I hate interviews. Not that this makes me special or unique, many people do. I was just reflecting on the number of interviews I had before getting a job after university – I had around 17. It was hard enough applying for a job and receiving rejections all of the time, but preparing for an interview means finding out about the role, the company, its ethos, why you would want to work there. You do all this, and don’t get the job. One of the interviews I had, I will never forget.

The job was for a really cool internship in another country. It sounded perfect, the internship would be office based but it was perfect for a SOAS graduate like me, who wanted to make the world a better place. I was very optimistic, I knew a lot about the country I would be going to, because I studied it as part of my degree. The role would give me the experience I needed to work in the development field. The interview started off well, I made the reasons why I wanted to be involved clear, and I told them about my skills and experiences. That was when things started getting awkward.

They brought up my eyesight, and whilst I don’t mind explaining the basics to people who don’t know about it, they made several assumptions. They said it would be difficult for me to walk because most of the paths were uneven, it would be hard for me in unfamiliar surroundings, and that I would have to go with someone. It was like they assumed I hadn’t thought any of this through. There are ways to familiarise myself, and once I know an area I am extremely independent. I attempted to convince these people that I would be ok, explaining all of this to them, whilst forcing myself not to get angry or breakdown. All I ever wanted to do in life, really, is help people. I was being told (not in so many words) that I couldn’t really help people less fortunate than myself, because of my disability.

I had the opportunity to give another member of the team feedback on the informal chat after, which they did for all interviews for this internship. I was very grateful for this. I told him how this made me feel, I told him that for what they were trying to achieve, I didn’t expect to be put on the spot like that, and my disability shouldn’t come up like that in the interview process. He seemed to agree and I hope they took it on board.

I am a strong willed and motivated person, but this experience taught me something quite early on in the job search, to never let people perceptions of my abilities get me down. I kept going, and that’s how I made it to where I am today. I didn’t give up. Challenge ignorance and don’t give up. We can achieve great things, even if sometimes that means a bit more determination is needed, we can be the game changers.