Available in written form or DAISY audio, “It’s Off to Work we Go” by Bonnie Mosen
About the Book
Having a job promotes dignity, helps with a sense of purpose, and hopefully brings in some money to buy the things we want.
Paperless offices and increasingly capable assistive technology should mean that jobs are easier for blind people to get than ever. Yet it seems that attitudinal change hasn’t happened as quickly as technological change.
The bottom line is that for many blind people, finding a job can still be a long, frustrating journey that can drain the self-belief of even the most positive person. There are plenty of great general resources to help you fine-tune your job-hunting skills, and we recommend scouring the web for things that will help. But if you’re looking for a blindness-specific guide, written by a successful blind professional who has helped many others realise their dreams, you’ve come to the right place.
Bonnie Mosen’s book, “It’s Off To Work We Go”, contains around 40,000 words of practical advice, examples and anecdotes, all from a blindness perspective, drawn from her years of experience as a successful vocational rehabilitation counsellor in the United States. From improving your chances of landing an interview to the all-important question of when, if ever, to disclose your blindness, it’s all covered.
Unemployed and actively seeking work? Underemployed and searching for a job that makes better use of your skills? Entering the workforce for the first time? There’s something in this book for you. It’s written in a chatty, easily readable style, with many real-world examples of strategies that work and strategies that don’t.
Since Bonnie’s years of experience have been gained in the US rehabilitation system, one of the book’s chapters covers the US in-depth, and will be valuable to US Readers. But the majority of the book is packed with practical advice that will stand you in good stead for the job hunt no matter where in the world you’re located. While the book is targeted at the blind and visually impaired population, any job seeker will find some helpful hints within the pages of this book.
The Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents from “It’s Off To Work We Go”.
Chapter One: Barriers to Employment
- Who Are The 70 Percent?
- Attitudes
- Transportation
- Lack of Skills
- Technology
Chapter Two: Working effectively with Vocational Rehabilitation Counsellors
- What is voc rehab?
- Goals of voc rehab
- Finding Vocational Rehabilitation Services in the United States
- Agency Organization
- The Vocational Rehabilitation process
- Intake and Eligibility
- Intake
- Statement of Eligibility
- Individual Plan for Employment
- Counsellor Responsibilities
- Client responsibilities
- Filing a Complaint About VR Services
- Other Employment Professionals
- Overseas Services
Chapter three: Job Readiness
- Vocational Goals
- Skills, skills and more skills
- Upskilling
- Listing your Skills
- Vocational Evaluations
- Dream Job
- Career Exploration
- Resumes
- Blindness Skills
- Volunteering and community involvement
Chapter Four: Covering the Cover Letter
- Job ads
- Job ad one
- Cover Letter One
- Job Ad Two
- Cover Letter Two
Chapter Five: The Resume
- What is a Resume?
- Chronological Resume
- Sample Chronological Resume
- Contact Info
- Summary Statement
- Professional experience
- Volunteer Experience
- Awards and Nominations
- Skills and Knowledge
- Education/Training
- References/Referees
- Functional Resumes
- Exercise
- Sample Functional Resume
Chapter Six: Job Searching
- Tools for the Search
- Where The Jobs Are
- Job Sites, Company Vacancies and More
- Employment agencies
Chapter Seven: Interviewing
- Getting to the Interview
- Preparing for the Interview
- I Have an Interview, and I don’t have a thing to Wear
- The Big Day
- Interview types
- Interview Questions
- What to Take to the Interview
- Body Language
- Greeting the Interviewer
Chapter Eight: Disclosure
- What Is Disclosure?
- When to Disclose
- Schedule A
- Assessment Tests and other Skill based testing
- Disclosure During Interviews
Chapter Nine: Making It Work
- Before You Start
- Learning The Area
- Where’s The Coffee Pot?
- I’m Not a Nat Geo exhibit.
- There’s a Dog in here
- Discrimination
Chapter Ten: Motivation
- Stay Positive!
- Self-Care
- Change your strategy
- Time Off
- Believe in yourself
- Final Thoughts
What it costs, and what you get
Purchase “It’s Off To Work We Go”, and you can download it instantly. It’s available in two formats.
The text version gives you access to the book in accessible PDF or ePub format. These formats give you the flexibility to read the book in iBooks, in apps such as Voice Dream Reader, on many specialised blindness devices such as the Victor Reader Stream and Plextalk Pocket, or on your Mac and PC.
When using iOS to read the book, we highly recommend the ePub version, which renders the Table of Contents beautifully in iBooks and Voice Dream Reader.
The DAISY audio version is a little more expensive because of the time it took to produce. Narrated by Heidi Taylor, formerly Heidi Mosen whose voice will be familiar to many of our customers, it’s a pleasant listen that brings the book to life in a way that only human speech can.
The text version of the book can be yours for just $29.95 USD.
The DAISY audio version of the book is available for just $35 USD.
Buy today, and begin your journey to increasing your chances of landing that life-changing job.
Purchase the text version and download instantly
Press this button to purchase the text version of “It’s off to work we go” for $29.95.
Purchase the DAISY audio version narrated by Heidi Taylor, and download instantly
Press this button to purchase the DAISY audio version of “It’s off to work we go” for $35 USD.