Strategies for Seeking Employment

Self-Advocacy and Job-Seeking Skills

Work is a significant part of your life and it is important that you make your own decisions about what type of work you want to do. Being a self-advocate means speaking up and being in control of decisions about your life.

If your career is interesting and satisfying, it gives you a sense of purpose, enjoyment, and self-confidence. The best way to find satisfying work is to focus on your interests and the type of work you enjoy doing.

Self-advocacy also means improving your job-seeking skills so that you are more in charge of your job search. Focus on core issues first, such as improving your resume, writing a clear cover letter, and taking advantage of chances to meet people who might help you with your job search. Other important skills are how to prepare for and do well in an interview.

CareerOneStop.org has articles on job-seeking skills. The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) also has a page that discusses how to prepare for a job interview.

If you need another person to help you with your job search, you can apply to work with a counselor at Vocational Rehabilitation Nevada, which provides vocational rehabilitation services. Find a local VR Nevada office.

If you have been a homemaker but must return to the workforce because of a change in your family's financial situation, the Nevada Displaced Homemakers Program offers a variety of services, including access to education, skill training, resume writing, interviewing skills, and help with your job search.

On 2-1-1 Nevada, you can find more organizations that offer career counseling and employment support.

Disability-Related Job Resources on the Web

Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Nevada offers jobseeker services, which can include assessments, counseling, support for independent living, assistive technology, job training, help completing applications and drafting resumes, and more.

CareerCircle.com connects people with disabilities to career opportunities.

DisABLED Person allows you to connect with future employers by posting your resume and finding detailed information about potential jobs.

The Workforce Recruitment Program helps connect college students and recent graduates with disabilities with federal and private-sector jobs.

Nevada Career Resources on the Web

EmployNV offers a variety of online tools and resources to help you reach your career and education goals, including:

• The ability to search job openings statewide or in a selected area
• A Career Explorer tool that lets you assess your skills, interests and values, and then identify potential jobs and careers
• An easy-to-use Resume Builder tool to help you create, store, update, and post your resume online (you need to register for a free account to see and use this tool), and
• Details on training and education programs related to your job or a career that interests you (you need to register for a free account to see and use this tool).

EmployNV Career Hubs

Each EmployNV Career Hub provides a variety of free services that can help you with your job search or career planning, including:

• Help finding a job
• Tests to see what skills you have
• Job training
• Career counseling
• Access to training and education programs
• Information about job fairs and workshops
• Help creating resumes and cover letters
• Practice job interviews, and
• Free computer and Internet access.

Your local center can tell you about all the services they offer, and the local employers who are hiring.

Find an EmployNV Career Hub near you.

Vocational Rehabilitation

Vocational rehabilitation is a term for programs that help people with disabilities become employed. Vocational rehabilitation services offer counseling, training, job skills, and job placement services. In Nevada, Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Nevada offers these services to people who qualify.

VR Nevada can help you get training or other services you need to return to work, enter a new line of work, or get a job for the first time. Their services are carefully chosen to match your personal needs. You and your counselor work together closely to set goals and then develop a plan to help you reach them.

Being able to use VR Nevada services is based mostly on whether you have a physical or mental disability that makes it difficult to prepare for, get, or keep work. If you get Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits for your own disability, you should qualify. Other people with disabilities who do not get SSI or SSDI may also qualify.

To learn more about VR Nevada services, you can attend an orientation session (in person or online). You can apply for VR Nevada services online. If you have questions, call 1-775-823-8100 in northern Nevada or 1-702-486-5230 in southern Nevada.

Services to the Blind and Visually Impaired

If you are blind or have low vision, the Bureau of Services to the Blind and Visually Impaired (BSBVI) can help you prepare for, find, and keep a job, and live as independently as possible. Services can include:

• Evaluation and testing to help you make decisions about your future employment
• Counseling and training to help you maneuver safely and with confidence
• Help with your job search
• Assistive technology tools
• Help with needed job site modifications, and
• Transition support if you are in high school.

The bureau also offers:

• The Business Enterprises of Nevada (BEN) program, with training and on-the-job experience in managing and operating snack bars, cafeterias, vending machine routes and other businesses in public buildings.
• A monthly Low Vision Clinic to help determine how low vision is affecting your activities in the workplace and in daily living, and how to efficiently use your vision
• A free audio library service, with audio books on loan through the mail or downloaded to your mobile device
• An iBill currency reader, and
• An Independent living program if you are unable to work and are over 55.

You can apply for these services online. If you need help with the application process, call 1-775-823-8143 or email bsbvinvhelp@detr.nv.gov.

Note: Nevada residents who are deaf or hard of hearing can apply for free interpreting services through ASL Anywhere.