Networking Opens Doors to Employment Opportunities
In October we celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month by spotlighting people with disabilities who are out in the workforce.
Mandy Pinckley is a self-advocate, community leader, and recent master's degree graduate. She currently works as a pre-print area director for "Uniquely You Tampa Bay," where she helps build the magazine’s presence in Hillsborough, Hernando, Pasco, and Pinellas counties.
In addition to her job in publishing, Mandy’s interest in advocacy and leadership has led her to public speaking, volunteer work with the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Florida Chapter, and service with the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD), where she serves as vice chair of the constituency board.
For Pinckley, employment is about more than having a job. She finds meaning and fulfillment in work that benefits her community and describes her career path as focused on “disability policies and resources.” Her experiences have also taught her the importance of networking, embracing differences, and using her voice to create change.
Employer: "Uniquely You Tampa Bay" magazine
Current Position: Pre-Print Area Director
Years on the job: 1
Duties and Responsibilities: Connects with local businesses, identifies potential community partnerships, and works toward launching the free magazine throughout the greater Tampa Bay area.
What is the best advice or encouragement you’d give to a fellow self-advocate about accessing or keeping employment? My biggest advice would be to not assume that because one type of workplace or job doesn’t work for you that there’s not something out there that will work for you. Additionally, I would advise getting more networking classes. Teaching individuals with disabilities how to network is really going to give them better opportunities for employment. [Finally,] before you do any type of interviewing or any type of career, think about how you want to disclose your disability. If you do, have ground rules set for yourself ahead of time.
What advice would you give employers about hiring a person with a disability? I would say that there’s a lot of research that shows that individuals with disabilities are more productive overall as workers. If they are more productive, then we should be more inclusive in hiring more people with disabilities. Just because we have a disability doesn’t mean that a door should open for us that wouldn’t traditionally open.
Which agency (VR, APD, CIL, etc.) was the most helpful to you in accessing and maintaining employment? CARD has been a massive help for me.
What's the most important employment-related challenge you face as a person with a disability? I perceive things differently than others, and that’s always going to be true. Sometimes I’m going to be the quirky one or the one saying something a little different.
How should we be advocating for better employment opportunities and practices in Florida? We should all be coming together and advocating and sharing our experiences and using our voices when we can to say that things need to change. I think programs like the CARD Sensitivity Training can really help with that initiative.
In your opinion, how does working impact a disabled person's quality of life? It drastically improves their quality of life because it gives a lot of people a purpose. Even for myself, I find a lot of meaning and fulfillment in my job. Even if someone can’t do a traditional job, there’s something out there for someone--maybe with a nonprofit or volunteering a few hours.
Florida Self-Advocacy Central would like to thank Mandy for her time and thoughtful answers.
Comments