Recently, I was asked the following question during a seminar I was conducting entitled ‘Preparing for and Getting a Job Interview:’ “Mr. Robles, does it make any sense to prepare for an interview when we know we are not getting the job?”

I didn’t have a response prepared for this type of question. Most often people want answers to questions about how to find a job, whether to disclose disability during an interview, accommodations and their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the risk of losing healthcare and benefits when transitioning to employment.

Tired of Trying
I stared at the young woman for a minute while formulating my response. She sat in a polished red wheelchair and wore a crisp gray pin-striped business suit. Her hair was combed back into a neat ponytail. Judging from her appearance she came to the event for the employment fair, to get a job. She was just 24 years old, but her question was that of someone twice her age; of a person who had been denied opportunities, promotions, and equality. Someone like me! I knew where she was coming from and could relate to the frustration of having door after door shut in your face. I understood going on countless interviews that all led down the road to nowhere. Phrases like “we will call you when we make a decision,” then “sorry, but we have gone with someone else” were familiar to me.

Before I answered the young woman’s question, I asked why she was there. “I came here because I am tired of trying to get a job! I graduated from college two years ago, and I have yet to find work. Most of the people who graduated with me have found work but I am still looking,” she replied.

I explained that unfortunately her predicament was not the exception but the rule. I said that her frustration was understandable. Still I was heartened that, despite the skeptical tone of her question, the fact that she was there meant that she hadn’t given up. I told her that a resolved and unflinching will is what she needed to find employment. It is hard to stick with it when you know that more than 70 percent of people with disabilities are unemployed. I graduated from law school and could not find a job in the legal field. I had to fall back on a part-time position in a disability-related agency, but eventually I ended up in a career path that fit my education and abilities.

I Understand, I’ve Been There
Getting to my position as deputy director of the New Jersey Division of Disability Services was not easy. My first job out of college was as a teacher’s assistant in a program to divert juvenile offenders from jail back to the community. I was nervous but well prepared during the interview. The three program administrators who interviewed me were ex-offenders who had been given a second chance. They grilled me for an hour about my experience and why I wanted to work with juvenile offenders. They were honest, asking questions that had a direct impact in their program. I had solid responses, having experience volunteering at a nearby juvenile detention center. I also had a strong interest in the justice system because many of my friends and some family members had interacted with the juvenile justice system at some point or other. My recent college degree gave me a small edge, but did not seem as valuable as my life experience. I got the job but, more importantly, it was one of the few times where I felt that my disability did not matter. These guys understood the difference one opportunity could make in somebody’s life. They had been there!

Use Your Network
After working for a year in the facility I married my wife, Amy Bertelsen, who I met in college. She is someone who believes that anything is possible. Our marriage also meant a move to a different town and no way for me to get to my job at the juvenile detention center. Transportation is a huge barrier for people with disabilities, especially for those who need it to get to work. After our move, my wife went back to school to finish her master’s degree in social work, and I started searching for work.

I sent out dozens and dozens of resumes and cover letters. I went on numerous interviews but nothing happened, no one called. I became highly frustrated with my inability to find employment. I wanted to be part of the artwork, not just paint on a canvas. Then I started calling people I knew at Rutgers University, my alma mater, and landed an interview to fill in for a counselor who was on maternity leave. After two interviews I was given the temporary position. When I asked the dean why he chose me over other candidates, he said that since I had been a student in the program, he thought I would understand the students’ needs. Although I was seeking a permanent job, this would definitely help build my skills and resume.

Move On to Move Up
When my employment ended at Rutgers, I again began searching for a job. My options were limited, since I did not drive and public transportation was not available. After many resumes and a few interviews, I decided to try to get into law school, a lifelong aspiration. I took the LSAT several times before I got a score which was high enough to submit with my applications. To take the exam, I told an assistant my answers so they could write them in. This is very difficult if you are also trying to figure out logic problems—something like, eight people get in a canoe, number them 1-8 and rearrange them in descending order according to their date of birth. All I kept thinking was “Why the hell are eight people getting into a canoe? My father had trouble getting seven of us into his old Nova, and that was on land !”
I sent out 15 law school applications, and got accepted to about seven, including Rutgers and Seton Hall Law. I decided on Seton Hall Law and entered their summer program, which was part of their condition for acceptance. This program was developed for disadvantaged students to enhance skills needed in law school. The other reason I chose this school was because it was two blocks from the train station. For a poor boy who grew up in the projects of Newark, Seton Hall Law, which was only 10 miles from where I grew up, could have been the moon. My three years there were exciting and exhausting. Many times in class it seemed like the professors dug to middle earth to find the definitions and concepts that only people in England 300 years ago could understand. Law school taught me a lot, but also pointed out how much I still had to learn.

Learn From Your Setbacks
After graduation I studied and studied for the bar exam, which attorneys must pass to get licensed to practice law in a given state. I took it and failed three times. This was crushing to my self-esteem but, at some point, I decided that I had to work in order to pay the bills. I started interviewing and eventually ended up with a part-time position at an independent living center as a statewide coordinator for a volunteer recruitment program. I also got a part-time position at Rutgers working in an advisory role with students with disabilities.

These were the only jobs I could get after years of higher education and a law degree. I sent out so many resumes after I graduated law school that I lost count. Interviews always consisted of a surprised look and a follow-up letter by an employer who would “keep my resume on file.”

Eventually, I was hired by another agency that worked with individuals with developmental disabilities; still part-time, but a greater number of hours. By this time I was driving and could commute back to Elizabeth, New Jersey, where I had left the ex-offender job because of lack of transportation. This job was a jumping-off point to the position I currently hold as second in charge of an agency that serves over 19,000 people with disabilities monthly. My duties include the management of services that positively impact the lives of people with disabilities. I have been in my current position more than seven years and in that time have experienced tremendous growth, both professionally and as an individual.

My Path

My ability to get where I am has been due to a strong support network and an internal drive to succeed. I can give up anytime on taking that next step to a better job or an opportunity. However, I chose not too. Finding a job, any job, is not easy. Unfortunately, some people with disabilities give up before they have an opportunity to show what they bring to the table. This should not be an option. We cannot simply accept it as our destiny.

Recently, the young woman who attended the workshop contacted me. She is still looking for a job, but has renewed hope that she will find one. Her dedication tells me that she will find employment. Sometimes it takes a stubborn person to get the job they want.

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