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I have been trying to find either work for my existing freelance writing business or a full-time position. My thinking has been that a prospective employer would have to be quite large, to be okay with sustaining my medical/Rx bills. Small companies have so few employees to average together (to evaluate their insurance costs) and I would be sure to stand out. My thinking has been that I would NOT mention the PD to a prospective employer--certainly not before an interview, anyway. Lots of people are looking for jobs right now; it's just too easy to flip the page and look at the next applicant. And my PD is not so obvious right now, especially since I've been taking Requip. I find the new age of job-finding pretty frustrating. It's not that I'm not a Web user. It's just that it's hard to know what you're doing that's right or wrong. Prospective employers don't want you to follow up on submission of your resume. Thousands can apply for the same job. And with the economy down...well I just can't see giving an employer a reason to overlook me so great as PD--before ever even landing an interview. On the other hand, many many of my colleagues know about my PD, because I refuse to be in "the closet" about it. So it's quite possible that possible clients or employers will hear through the grape vine. If they do, I'm always ready to discuss PD and how it currently affects me. My 2 cents worth. Sally ----- Original Message ----- From: "William A. Parrette" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Monday, August 12, 2002 7:19 PM Subject: Advice please ... > Hi all, > > I know that there is a wide range of ages in the subscribers > to this forum. I've seen notes from early-onset PD'ers through > PD'ers who get hit with this rotten dis-ease at the more common > ages. I have read with great interest, many stories about the > PWP's and their employers. But, I do not remember seeing any > discussion on trying to obtain a job -- to keep working after a > lay-off -- while in the throws of PD. > > You all received (and I did clear it with the list owners be- > fore I sent it) a combination cover-letter/mini-resume that I am > using to try to harness the "power of the Internet" to find a new > job. Has any PWP on-list tried to obtain a *new* job with the > disease? > > It's been over three weeks, I've registered myself with some > 20+ 'Net job search Web-sites, and sent my cover-letter/mini-re- > sume to some 50+ companies who allow prospective employees to ap- > ply for employment from their through corporate Web-site or a > "jobs"-type e-mail address. > > And, this is where I need advice ... > > One of the things that I pondered in my mind over and over > again was weather I should even mention that I had PD to a > prospective employer. I was uncomfortable with the idea of not > mentioning it ahead of time, showing up for an interview, and > getting a polite "thanks, but I don't think there's a 'good > match' here -- good luck in your job search." And, over a few > days I decided to mention it right up front. My thinking was: > > 1) A friend had once advised me (when I had the same fears > in the classes I taught) to go ahead and mention it in my > class introduction, get it out and in front of everybody. > They're going to see the symptoms and movement disorder so > why not tell them up-front so they know and can relax with- > out having to wonder what was wrong with me. They could see > that I was "okay" with it so maybe they could be "okay" with > it too. And, it seemed to work in class. Shouldn't it work > with a prospective employer too? > > 2) There has been a lot of "press" about PD lately. Many > folks are getting a good look at other -- some famous and > some not so famous -- people who have PD and are still use- > ful, contributing members of society. Michael J. Fox can > still act and can write a book, Janet Reno can still partic- > ipate in politics and run for office, Billy Graham can still > preach, and The Pope can still ... well, ... can still be > The Pope. Shouldn't it be obvious that I can still help a > prospective employer achieve the company goals? > > (FWIW, I had a secret hope that the PD could actually be > a "sales tool" for a company's EOE/Employee Diversity pro- > grams. Kinda' like "Look here! Not only are we hiring a va- > riety of different ethnic groups, not only are we hiring > women and people with different sexual orientations; but > we're also hiring disabled people ... people with PD ... > you know, like M.J. Fox. and Muhammad Ali!" Maybe it would > have helped if I had been as good looking as these two, too! > (-:) > > 3) I have to have -- I must have -- health insurance. > Health insurance with a drug benefit. It seemed to me that > it wouldn't be much too fun to land a, job, show up the > first day to fill out all of the forms and paperwork, only > to find out that my (and my wife's) pre-existing health con- > ditions denied coverage for us. Maybe this isn't an issue > -- I don't know. Maybe I need a clarification on what the > law says in this case. The only thing I know is that the > COBRA will let me pay what my company paid to the insurance > company (i.e. not the full price but the group rate price) > to continue the same insurance for 18 months. And, after > that, (it was my impression) that I was "on my own." > > But, obviously, my thinking isn't getting me anywhere. In the > last three weeks -- between Monster, HotJobs, and several other > job Web-sites -- I've had between 10 to 15 people look at my mi- > ni-resume (with links to my real, full resume, and professional > experience); I have not had any replies on that mass-e-mail I > sent out (which you all received and another group received the > week after); but have not had any personal contacts. > > I really, really, really dislike "head-hunters" (or, employ- > ment agencies, as they prefer to be called), but I may have to > resort to one here soon. If I don't have any strong possibili- > ties by the beginning of September, I'm going to be on a "short > slide down a steep hill" (silly analogy, -- but that's the way it > feels). > > So, again, have any of my fellow PWPs been in a similar situa- > tion? What did you do? Does anybody want to share their > thoughts? Does anybody have any advice? Does anybody know why > the answer is 42 (I'm trying to keep a sense of humor here too > (-;)? > > Note that I'm on the digest-version of the list -- I get > batches of list-mail once or twice a day. So, feel free to re- > spond on- or off-list. Thanks in advance ... > > Bill-- > ...who sometimes thinks that Chicken Little was right. > +-oOOo---oOOo------+ > .. William A. Parrette ...... 7177 Heritage Drive ....+------------------+ > .. [log in to unmask] .............. Westchester ............| || || (42?) | > .. [log in to unmask] ......... OH 45069-4012 ..........| ||/|_|\|| / | > ............................. 513/779-0780 ...........| \\ @ @ // | > .............. http://w3.one.net/~wap/ ...............+--- ( V ) --------+ > / O \ > > Original message: > > >From [log in to unmask] Tue Jul 23 14:32:37 2002 -0400 > >Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2002 14:32:32 -0400 (EDT) > >From: "William A. Parrette" <[log in to unmask]> > >To: [log in to unmask] > >cc: [log in to unmask] > >bcc: ... (several other friends, family, etc.) > >Subject: Person w/Parkinson's Seeking Employment > >Message-ID: <[log in to unmask]> > >MIME-Version: 1.0 > >Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII > >Status: O > >X-Status: > > > > (Was written in a 24x80 terminal window with a monospaced font in 64 lines) > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > >* I'm a "Person with Parkinson's Disease" (PWP) recently laid off. > > =====> http://www.parkinson.org/ > >* Looking for a new Employment Opportunity in IT. > > - Have programming, administration, training, and writing experience. > >--- Technical ----------------------------------------------------------------- > >* Self-acknowledged UNIX geek, admitted Macintosh addict, PC literate. > >* Fingers talk vi, brain thinks in C/C++/Java, enjoy shell but appreciate Perl. > >* Believe "regular expressions" are "the best thing since sliced bread." > >* Think C is best, C++ hides C's beauty, value Java's more O-O merge of both. > >* Would, someday, like to work on a real-world project using yacc and lex. > >* A true believer of the UNIX tool/software development philosophy. > > =====> http://w3.one.net/~wap/wapResume.html > > =====> http://w3.one.net/~wap/wapProfessional.html > >* Published author with titles about UNIX and X/Motif. > >* Actually used vi/troff to write the books and find uses for nroff in scripts. > >* Enjoy writing -- two unpublished manuscripts on C programming on the shelf. > >* Say teaching UNIX can be like a "religious experience" when students "get it" > > =====> http://w3.one.net/~wap/wapUnixFAD.html > > =====> http://w3.one.net/~wap/wapMotifPITXWSE.html > >--- Job ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > >* Salary negotiable -- haven't reached "six figures" yet. ;-) > >* Prefer full-time/salaried, but contract/consultant work given consideration. > >* Consider telecommuting a valid option. > >* Travel okay -- currently a Delta lifetime Silver Medallion Million-Miler. > >* Enjoy SW Ohio but relocation might be considered with appropriate assistance. > >* Health Benefits Required! Need Immediate Coverage! Must Cover Pre-Existing! > >* Salary history and References available upon request. > >--- Training ------------------------------------------------------------------ > >* Need great software training? The best money can buy? > > - Contact my previous employer: > > =====> http://www.batky-howell.com/ > >--- Personal ------------------------------------------------------------------ > >* PWP diagnosed in 1995, still work w/leg & hand tremors and head dyskinesia. > >* A drummer who enjoys "classic-rock." Favorite band: Grand Funk Railroad. > >* Enjoy reading. Favorite book: Heinlein's "Stranger In a Strange Land." > >* One of the few adults who seems to understand the Teletubbies. :-) :-) :-) > > =====> http://w3.one.net/~wap/wapTremorStory.html > > =====> http://w3.one.net/~wap/GFR_WEB/ > > =====> http://w3.one.net/~wap/wapGrok.html > > =====> http://w3.one.net/~wap/TELETUBBIES_WEB/ttlAdultEnjoyment.html > >--- YOU ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > >* This e-mail was certainly sent unsolicited but is not "spam." > >* You have received this e-mail message because: > > - You are a friend/acquaintance of mine. > > - You are an employer of a friend/family member who told me I ought to apply. > > - You are subscribed to a mailing list I subscribe to. > > - You are part of the media that I read, watch, or listen to. > >* This e-mail is an attempt to use the "power of the Internet" to find a job. > >* If you can help, please reply. If you know somebody who can, please foreword. > >* *PLEASE* reply directly *To Me* ([log in to unmask]). > >* If you received this from a mailing list *PLEASE* DO NOT reply on-list. > >* If you have no input for me, exercise your right to press the "delete key." > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ > >Bill-- > > ...who has heard that the modem Jimi Hendrix used was a purple Hayes. > > __ _-==-=_,-. > >.. William A. Parrette ...... 7177 Heritage Drive ..../--`' \_O-O.--< ---+ > >.. [log in to unmask] .............. Westchester ............`--'\ \ <___/. | > >.. [log in to unmask] ......... OH 45069-4012 ..........| \ \\ " / | > >............................. 513/779-0780 ...........| >=\\_/`< 42?| > >.............. http://w3.one.net/~wap/ ...............+--- /= | \_/|----+ > > _/=== \___/ > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn