Archive for the 'Talking about it' Category
A new client, I’ll call her Judy, is in the 3rd “flare” of Hashimoto’s disease in 5 years. She told me that she learned about me when a friend forwarded my article, 5 Things I Want You to Know About Working While Living with Chronic Illness. Judy told me in our initial conversation that she [...]
This month’s career collective bloggers question is: “What should job seekers do now to prepare for interviews?” Scroll down for thoughtful ideas and useful tips from my fellow bloggers. MY FANTASY: With every chronic illness diagnosis comes a toolkit filled with all you need to prepare for the unpredictable (more on this in my [...]
Since hanging my shingle as a “chronic illness career coach”, the question I get asked most often is: “Should I disclose my illness when interviewing for a job?” Naturally, as a coach, I have more questions than answers. But there is one guideline I’ve found is worth following: If symptoms get in the way of [...]
Phyl Rubin is talking but not about furniture. Phyl and Bernie own a New England furniture store chain. No, Phyl is talking about a secret she’s kept for 40 years: living with multiple sclerosis. 40 years of silence? Why? She didn’t have to worry about losing her job or a demotion. Did she think it [...]
Living with chronic illness can leave even the toughest person feeling vulnerable. You just wish that other people could “get it”, don’t you? I know from personal experience how hard this is in a marriage (How a Marriage Survives When One Person Gets Sick, MORE Magazine) . And marriage is all about the relationship, where [...]
Misery loves company
When I was young and the only one I knew with bad health, I felt like the rotten apple in a bowl of healthy fruit. It didn’t matter where I was – at work, with family or with friends. No one could relate. I worried that my “bruises” made me stand out and unappealing. But [...]
Take a minute to ask someone, anyone: “Do you know what the Americans with Disabilities Act is?” Most likely you’ll hear Yes. Now ask, “What does the ADA do?” Maybe you’ll hear that it protects people with disabilities from discrimination. Funny how many people, with and without disabilities, know about this Act but don’t [...]
I’m delighted. Last week, beloved Boston Red Sox commentator, Jerry (“Remdog”) Remy spoke “on air” about living with chronic illness. Explaining to Boston fans that lung cancer (treated last fall) was tough, he said it’s depression that’s keeping him from working since April. What followed was a frank a description about what it’s like to [...]
FYI – If you tried to “comment” recently and couldn’t, that’s fixed now! Two chronic issues for people with chronic illness who are job interviewing are: disclosure and employment gaps. In this post, I’ll discuss disclosure. I’ll cover employment gaps next time. Disclosure centers on 3 big questions: Should I say it? What should [...]
Most of us find that other people can be clueless about what it’s like to live with a chronic illness. It makes sense since this is invisible, unpredictable and often debilitating. It’s hard enough to explain this to your friends and family. It’s even more difficult to explain to co workers who only know you [...]
