Description
Job searching is hard. Job searching with a disability is harder. The standard advice — “tailor your resume,” “network,” “prepare for interviews” — mostly still applies, but it doesn’t address the specific questions adults with disabilities face: how to handle employment gaps that came from health, whether to mention your disability in a cover letter, when to request interview accommodations, how to evaluate whether an employer will actually support you, what to negotiate beyond salary, what to do in your first 30 days. This Job Search Workbook covers all of it — practical templates, worksheets, and decision frameworks for the whole arc from “I’m starting to look” through “I’m in the new role.” Written for you, with realistic acknowledgment that the market is harder and strategies that work despite that.
What’s Inside
The Job Search Workbook is 51 pages organized into 12 sections:
- Job Searching with a Disability: Realities and Strategies — honest framing, plus the strategies that specifically help adults with disabilities
- Self-Assessment — what kind of work, what kind of workplace, what conditions fit your disability
- Building a Disability-Aware Resume and Cover Letter — formatting, employment gap language with sample text, when to mention disability and when not to
- The Disclosure Question Across the Search — different decision points at each stage (resume, application, cover letter, pre-interview, during interview, post-offer)
- Finding Employers Worth Working For — signals of disability-friendly employers, red flags, where to research (Disability Equality Index, Disability:IN, Glassdoor)
- Specialized Routes Most People Don’t Know About — state vocational rehabilitation, federal Schedule A hiring authority, supported employment, disability-focused recruiters (Lime Connect, Bender, Mentra)
- The Application Process and Its Accessibility — when applicant tracking systems are themselves barriers and what to do
- Interview Prep with Disability in Mind — common questions to think through, illegal questions and how to handle them
- Interview Accommodations — what you can request, how to request it, with a template email
- Evaluating Job Offers — beyond salary, especially benefits crucial for adults with disabilities
- Negotiating: Salary, Accommodations, Start Dates — templates for each, including how to get accommodations in writing before day one
- The Start of a New Role — first 30/60/90 days, with hand-off to the other Employment products
This Job Search Workbook Is For…
- Adults with disabilities entering the job market for the first time
- Adults with disabilities re-entering after time away (health, treatment, caregiving, education)
- Adults with disabilities currently employed but looking for a better role
- Adults newly diagnosed who are figuring out how disability affects their work life
- Adults whose previous job didn’t work out due to accommodation issues
- Adults with visible disabilities navigating the assumptions they trigger
- Adults with invisible disabilities navigating whether and when to disclose
- Adults pursuing career changes related to disability (need for different work, different environment)
Honest About The Realities. Practical About The Strategies.
- The unemployment rate for adults with disabilities is roughly twice that of adults without disabilities
- Job application systems are themselves often inaccessible
- Hiring discrimination exists, even when illegal under the ADA
- Some employers are genuinely better than others — finding them is one of the most useful things you can do
- You have options most adults with disabilities don’t know about (state vocational rehab, Schedule A, supported employment, disability-specific recruiters)
- Realistic searches take time — plan for the duration
The workbook acknowledges the realities without dwelling on them, and provides strategies that work despite them.
This Job Search Workbook Provides Practical Templates Throughout
- Cover letter framing for employment gaps
- Interview accommodation request email
- Salary negotiation email
- Accommodations request at offer stage (full letter)
- Offer comparison worksheet
- Application tracking template
- Self-assessment worksheets
- Disability-friendly employer evaluation checklist
Routes Naturally With…
Once you have the job, the other Employment products take over:
- Workplace Accommodation Request Workbook ($19) — for requesting accommodations once you’re employed
- Disability Disclosure Decision Guide ($15) — for disclosure decisions in the broader work context and beyond
- Workplace Performance Tracker ($17) — start it on day one of the new role to build the record that supports every performance conversation
The Bottom Line
The market is harder. The strategies still work. Specific employers, specific roles, specific accommodations, specific data. Run your search with intention. $29 — instant PDF download.
