As I started to read this, I was startled by how closely it mimics my
current situation.
I am 47 and was diagnosed about 2 years ago (the tremor started about 5
years before that). I, too, am extremely frustrated at my current job - to
the point that I planned to give notice next week without a new job to go
to. I have only interviewed twice, but have offers from both and am having
trouble deciding which to take. They are both excellent opportunities.
My most obvious symptom is the tremor in my right hand. During interviews,
when it started up, I just sat and played with my hands, kind of like when
someone is nervous. Or I rolled my thumb and forefinger - just something
to keep my hand moving and stop the tremor. I'm not sure if the
interviewers noticed or not, but it made me calmer. My other problem was
an extremely dry mouth during the second interview.
I agree with Rob in his assessment of whom to tell. One of the offers is
from a small (7) family business. If I accept that job, I will him about
the PD before actually accepting the job. I feel he deserves the
opportunity to back out if. The other offer is from a very large
corporation. This job was found by a head hunter. I will not be telling
the people at the company beforehand, but I will tell the head hunter.
(BTW, anyone who knows well me knows I have PD. My tremor is at times very
pronounced. Besides, I figure they need to know what having PD means. When
I was battling with cancer I was the same way.)
I currently work for a small software company. Before I took the job, I
asked to see the booklets concerning their benefits. I was up front about
wanting good medical and disability benefits and would not have taken the
job if there was a pre-existing conditions clause for health care. The
disability insurance had a 12 month waiting period. As my PD is relatively
mild, I figured I would get to that easily.
With this job, I will do the same check for pre-existing clauses.
Hope this helps some.
Question to anyone: If you have the choice between job with a small (7) or
a large (1000's) company, which would *you* take? I have till Friday to
figure this out. It's a nice dilemma to have after what I have been
through the past couple of months!
----------
From: Ron Reiner[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 1997 4:11 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list PARKINSN
Subject: Re: Looking for Work With PD
Norma:
I was diagonosed a little under two years ago. Although, I desperately
wanted a new job, I was reluctant to consider giving up the security and
benefits of my current job. Well, my current job finally got to be too
much
for me in terms of frustration. So, I started looking seriously. On
Monday
of this week I got one job offer and I expect another one later this week.
Also, my current boss has offered me a promotion. . . .
[snipped for brevity]
BTW: I had set a personal policy about revealing my condition. If I
talked
to a big company like Sprint, I did not plan to reveal my problem until
after I accepted a job. For smaller companies, I planned to reveal the
condition after I got an offer letter but before I accepted. Smaller
companies, I feel, may have legitimate reasons for discouraging someone
with
PD from starting. Finally, if I networked a job through a friend or
acquaintance, I felt duty-bound to tell them up front.
I talked to a lot of companies and received a lot of rejections. However,
even when I revealed my problem, I did not sense any hesitation because of
PD. Keep in mind that my symptoms are not yet obvious to the amateur.
I think that I am very lucky to be in the computer industry in an area
where
it is a sellers market for job-seekers.
[snipped for brevity]
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