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Students with Disabilities

At FPU Career Development Center, we understand the added attention to coursework and other commitments students with disabilities encounter. With all this, it can be difficult to actively engage in career development. However, it’s important to make the time to seek out experiences in college that will help you identify your career interests and gain the skills needed to obtain employment upon graduation—if not before. Our career services team can help you start with your strengths, so you can communicate your value to employers.

FPU's Disability Access and Education Office

Further Information

Career Assessment & Exploration

Assessments

The Career Development Center offers assessments covering career interests, personality style, values and skills. These assessments are tools in self-discovery and will help you develop a profile of your interests and abilities.

  • My Next Move – Answer questions about the type of work you enjoy and My Next Move will suggest careers that match your interests and training.
  • Career One Stop Interest Assessment – Tell Career One Stop what you like and don’t like to do. They’ll show you careers that fit your interests.
  • CDELC Assessments Page – Use these assessment tools to help you develop a profile of your interests and abilities.

Career Exploration

Discussing the results of any assessment with a trained career counselor is important, as he or she can help you make sense of your results and guide you in making a deliberate and thoughtful career development plan.

Resume Writing for Students with Disabilities

Three Easy Steps to Craft Your Resume

  1. Look at the job description of the position for which you are applying. Highlight areas in the job description for which you have experience, skills, knowledge and abilities.
  2. Use the highlighted language to craft your resume using this template, using the job description section to help you complete the profile section.
  3. Schedule an appointment to have your resume critiqued by Career Development Center staff.

Helpful Hint 1: It’s okay to repeat key words if they have been used multiple times in the job description, but don’t overdo it!

Helpful Hint 2: If you are changing careers, use a Relevant Work Experience section and Other Work Experience section. In the Other Work Experience section, focus only on transferable skills as they relate to the position for which you are applying. If necessary, you can also fill space by including course names of relevant coursework.

Helpful Hint 3: If you have very little or no work experience, you may use volunteer experience if it’s consistent. You can also utilize your experience from classroom research or projects. Any extracurricular activities such as leadership, sports, or student club positions can be included. You can also provide a summary of summer jobs, such as mowing lawns or babysitting, at the end of the experience section. If you still can't fill in the blanks and you don’t have a full page, you now know the skills, abilities, knowledge and experience you need to develop to reach your goal.

Resources

  • Resume Guide – Describes how to create a resume and provides an example.
  • Resumes & Cover Letters – Learn about the components of writing a winning resume and getting it noticed. Also learn what you should say in a cover letter.
  • Career One Stop-Resumes – Provides a sample resume walk-through.
  • Federal Resumes – Federal resume guide and what you should know when applying for a federal career
Interviewing for Students with Disabilities

Successful interviews don’t just happen. Learn interviewing skills by scheduling a practice interview with a career counselor or use our subscription to Big Interview to learn and practice your interviewing responses.

Other Resources

Career One Stop-Interviewing – Prepare for interviews by knowing how to handle questions related to your disability.

Interview Preparation-FPU Career Development Center – Learn good interviewing skills and become fully prepared to help you make a winning impression and get the job you want.

Internships for Students with Disabilities

The internet can be a very useful tool in locating internships, but it is not the sole answer to your internship search. In addition to checking out the following links, stop by the CDELC to make sure your internships search is on the right track.

AAPD Summer Internship Program – Places eligible students and recent grads who self-identify with any type of disability in summer internships within Congressional offices and federal agencies, as well as non-profit and for-profit organizations in the Washington, DC, area.

Emerging Leaders Internship Program for Students with Disabilities – A highly competitive program that places top college students with disabilities in internships that providie meaningful leadership development and networking opportunities nationwide.

FPU Career Development Job Search Strategies – Learn about the four best job search strategies that work.

Internships.com – Provides a job-seeker portal that connects job seekers with disabilities directly to businesses actively looking to diversify their recruitment pool.

FPU Career Development Internship Information – Use the listings on this page to search for internships if your department/program does not require and/or coordinate internships.

Smithsonian Accessibility Internship Program – A paid internship program at the Smithsonian for young adults with disabilities tailored to interns’ areas of interest.

AAAS Entry Point-STEM for Students with Disabilities – Identifies and recruits students with apparent and non-apparent disabilities studying in science, engineering, mathematics, computer science and some fields of business for internship and co-op opportunities.

U.S. International Council on Disabilities Internship Program – A project to increase disability inclusion in U.S. foreign affairs by supporting future generations of Americans to invest their skills and talents in this field.

Employment for Students with Disabilities

The internet can be a very useful tool in locating employment opportunities, but it is not the sole answer to your job search. In addition to checking out the following links, stop by the CDELC to make sure your job search strategy is on the right track.

FPU Career Development Center Job Search Strategies – Learn about the four best job search strategies that work.

Abilitylinks.net – A job opportunity website for people with disabilities.

ABILTY Jobs – The largest employment website for job seekers with disabilities.

Disability Job Exchange – Helps find the perfect match between dedicated workers and employers looking to build a strong workforce and provides résumé and career advice.

Disability Jobs.net – Job listing site for people with disabilities.

Disabled Person – Post your resume and look through job listings for people with disabilities.

Enable America – A job board for people with disabilities.

Entrepreneurship – Provides resources for individuals with disabilities to assist in developing their business.

Getting Hired – Job listing website that links job seekers with disabilities to employers looking to hire.

Hired Disability Solutions – Lists employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.

Job Search for People with Disabilities – Article discussing tips to find the best jobs for people with disabilities.

National Industry for the Blind – Job listings for people who are visually impaired or blind.

Our Ability – A disability-owned and operated business dedicated to building employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

Recruit Disability – A no-fee job board for job seekers with disabilities.

FPU Career Development Center Job Listings – Lists top job listing search engines, including FPU’s Handshake; national, international and regional listings; top 10 local listings; local newspapers and listings and niche listings specific to your major or career field of interest.

Disclosure & Other Helpful Resources

Reasonable Accommodations for the Application Process — Addresses questions about how the ADA protects applicants with disabilities during the application process and beyond.

FPU's Disability Access and Education Office — Serves as the liaison between faculty and students in the coordination of academic accommodations and services, provides students with information regarding their rights and procedures and helps the whole campus reach a better understanding of the needs of a variety of students.