If you’re in the hunt for a job today, you don’t need any reminders that it’s tough.

The November Unemployment Rate dropped to 8.6%.  While that number is down, it still represents 13 ½ million people.  The number of individuals with a disability who are unemployed was 13%, and that’s still a substantial gap from non-disabled workers.

With so many people unemployed, and so many skilled workers looking for jobs, can you imagine the pressure on someone coming out of school that may be entering the job market?  Combine that with the added pressure of being a fresh job seeker with a disability.

Susan Lang is the CEO of Lime Connect.  Lime Connect is a not for profit corporation that links students with disabilities to internship opportunities with some of the world’s leading corporations.  Some of their partners are Target, PepsiCo, Merrill Lynch, and Google.  Perhaps you’ve heard of them.

Lang points out that 90% of “all disabilities on campus are invisible”.  They include learning disabilities, medical conditions, and Asperger’s Syndrome.  A student applying for or interviewing for an internship or job could be intimidated by the process and fear the disclosure of a disability.  She cites government statistics and industry studies that show that of the over 2.5 million students who report a disability, only about 30% of them go through a standard recruiting process.  The rest are underemployed or opt for safer environments like family businesses or merely stay in school.

The fact of the matter is that you wouldn’t list a disability on a resume.  You either have the necessary skills or you don’t.  One graduate was asked if his blindness would allow him to perform the job.  He replied, “You saw the resume. You called me. You didn’t know I was blind until I showed up.”

Lime Connect is looking to Re-Brand disability.  They feel that employers historically have seen disability hiring as something “good to do”.  Individuals with disabilities attend schools like Princeton, Duke, and Georgetown.  They are quality candidates.  The team at Lime Connect sees a disability as a characteristic, not a definition.

They are also not a “Job Guarantee Service”.  Lime Connect creates opportunities.  They take bright, qualified candidates and put them in front of businesses that need bright, qualified candidates.  The candidates then get the opportunity to learn, make connections, and become contributing partners.  The positions often lead to further employment.  They also help to break the brand.

The clients of Lime Connect are students first, job seekers second, and individuals with disabilities last.

Written by VABLN

As a B2B Best Practice resource, The Virginia Business Leadership Network assists employers in recognizing the many benefits of including individuals with disabilities in their workforce.