Project VIEW Vision-Impaired Employment and Workplace Readiness, Sri Lanka

Welcome to Project VIEW Softskills Development series: Self-Advocacy: Finding Your Voice, Claiming Your Space.

Imagine this.

You have gone through the recruitment process, answered the interview questions, and earned the job.

On your first day, you sit down at your computer and discover that your screen reader has not been installed. You do not have administrator access to install it. The HR system contains buttons your screen reader cannot identify. And the report you have been asked to review is a scanned PDF.

Suddenly the question becomes:

“Can you actually do this job?”

But that is often the wrong question.

The better question is:

“What is stopping you from doing the job, and what needs to change?”

That is where self-advocacy begins.

And before we go any further, remove one idea completely: asking for the tools you need to work is not asking for a favour.

Think about a pilot stepping into a cockpit.

The pilot does not apologise for needing flight instruments.

They do not say:

“I am sorry to cause trouble, but would it be possible for me to have an altimeter?”

Those instruments are part of what allows the pilot to do the job safely and effectively.

The same principle applies to workplace accessibility.

If you use JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, screen magnification, a braille display, keyboard navigation, or another accessibility tool, that technology is part of how you access information and perform the work.

A screen reader is not the job.

It is one of the tools that allows you to do the job.

Sometimes the hardest part of being blind or having low vision at work is not completing the task. It is explaining how you complete the task.

You may have to explain why a scanned PDF creates a barrier.

Why an unlabeled button matters.

Why an accessible digital format allows you to work independently.

Self-advocacy is not about fighting with your employer.

It is not about being aggressive.

At its best, self-advocacy is a professional conversation.

A simple framework can help you structure that conversation:

Task.

Barrier.

Solution.

Outcome.

Task: What is the work you need to complete?

Barrier: What exactly is preventing you from completing it?

Solution: What practical change would remove or reduce that barrier?

Outcome: What becomes possible when that change is made?

Let us use an HR example.

Imagine you are responsible for preparing the monthly attendance report.

A weak request might sound like:

“I am blind, so I need someone to help me with the report.”

That tells the employer there is a problem, but it does not clearly explain what the problem is.

A stronger version is:

“I need to prepare the monthly attendance report. The source file is being sent as a scanned image PDF, so my screen reader cannot reliably access the table. If I can receive the original Excel file or an accessible digital version, I can review the data independently and complete the report by the deadline.”

Task: monthly attendance report.

Barrier: scanned PDF.

Solution: accessible Excel or digital document.

Outcome: independent completion on time.

Now the conversation is not centred on what you cannot do.

It is centred on what needs to change so you can do the work.

That is the heart of self-advocacy.

Many workplace barriers are not obvious to other people.

A colleague may look at a PDF and think it is perfectly fine.

An IT officer may see a screen reader only as unfamiliar software.

A manager may assume a task is too visual before asking how you normally complete it.

Self-advocacy translates the problem into something other people can act on.

Instead of:

“This system is inaccessible.”

Try:

“I can complete most of the process independently, but the final Submit button is not labelled for my screen reader. Could IT review that control or provide an accessible way to complete the final step?”

Specific problems are easier to solve than general complaints.

This is why one of the most useful questions you can ask yourself is:

“What exactly is the barrier?”

Not:

“Why can’t I do this?”

But:

“What is stopping me from doing this?”

Sometimes the answer is technology.

Sometimes it is a document format.

Sometimes it is a process.

And sometimes it is an assumption.

Imagine your manager says:

“Let’s ask someone else to handle the spreadsheet. It might be difficult for you.”

You could respond:

“I am comfortable working with Excel using my screen reader and keyboard navigation. I can manage the spreadsheet. If there is a particular chart or feature that is inaccessible, I will let you know.”

Calm.

Clear.

Professional.

You have corrected the assumption without turning the conversation into a fight.

Now imagine a colleague says:

“I’ll fill in the form for you.”

They may be trying to help.

You could say:

“Thanks for offering. If you send me the electronic version, I can complete it myself. If I run into an inaccessible section, I’ll ask.”

Self-advocacy does not mean rejecting help.

It means having a say in what kind of support is useful.

Sometimes assistance is appropriate.

You may need someone to describe an unfamiliar physical environment or explain a visual-only diagram.

Accepting useful assistance does not reduce your independence.

Independence is not doing absolutely everything alone.

Independence is having choice and control over how you complete your work.

Another important part of self-advocacy is respectful clarity.

Some people stay silent because they do not want to appear difficult.

They think:

“My manager is busy.”

“I do not want to complain.”

“I will find another way.”

Being adaptable is useful. But there is a difference between being adaptable and repeatedly absorbing barriers that could reasonably be removed.

Respect should not mean silence.

You can say:

“I want to make sure I can complete this properly. Could you send the file in Word rather than as an image?”

Or:

“I can take responsibility for this task, but I will need access to the system through my screen reader.”

There is no aggression in those statements.

There is also no unnecessary apology.

Sometimes advocacy is better in writing.

If you have discussed an access issue with IT, you might follow up:

“Thank you for discussing the screen-reader installation today. As agreed, IT will review the available options. Until access is enabled, I may not be able to independently complete tasks that require the HR system.”

That message creates clarity and a record of what was agreed.

You do not have to solve every workplace accessibility issue alone.

Depending on the organisation, you may involve your manager, HR, IT, or an accessibility contact.

Self-advocacy may begin with you, but inclusion should not remain your private responsibility forever.

At first, you may need to say:

“This PDF is not accessible.”

But the organisation should learn:

“We should send accessible documents.”

At first, you may need to explain why screen-reader testing matters.

But eventually accessibility should become part of normal practice.

That is how inclusion becomes sustainable.

Not when one person becomes extremely good at asking.

But when the workplace becomes better at remembering.

There is one final point.

Self-advocacy is not about becoming the loudest person in the room.

It is about knowing when your voice needs to be heard.

Sometimes it is one sentence.

Sometimes it is an email.

Sometimes it is correcting an assumption.

Sometimes it is saying:

“I can do this task, but the current format is creating a barrier.”

And sometimes it is saying:

“Thank you, but I can do this independently.”

So here is your Project VIEW self-advocacy challenge.

Think about one environment where you work, study, train, or volunteer.

Identify one barrier.

Then use four words:

Task.

Barrier.

Solution.

Outcome.

Ask yourself:

What am I trying to do?

What exactly is stopping me?

What practical change would help?

What becomes possible when that barrier is removed?

Then turn those answers into one clear professional request.

You are not asking for lower standards.

You are asking for the tools and conditions that allow you to meet those standards.

Do not make blindness the problem.

Find the barrier.

Name it clearly.

Work toward the solution.

And help the workplace learn from it.

This is Project VIEW.

Welcome to Project VIEW Softskills Development series: Strategic Professional Communication.

Let us begin with a meeting.

Someone opens a presentation and says:

“As you can see from this chart…”

Everyone else seems to know what they are talking about. People nod. The discussion continues. But nobody has actually explained the chart.

If you are blind or have low vision, you may recognise the situation.

You can remain silent and hope the information becomes clear later.

Or you can ask for what you need.

You might say:

“Could you talk us through the main result on that chart?”

Or:

“What is the key change we should take from those figures?”

You do not need to apologise. You are asking for clarity.

And often, you will not be the only person in the room who benefits from the answer.

That brings us to the first principle of professional communication:

Clarity matters more than complexity.

Some people believe sounding professional means using long sentences, complicated words, and business jargon.

It does not.

Strong communication helps another person understand three things:

What are you saying?

Why does it matter?

What needs to happen next?

One useful technique is the PREP framework.

PREP stands for Point, Reason, Example, Point.

Imagine your HR team is deciding whether to extend the application deadline for a graduate recruitment programme.

You could spend a minute slowly working toward your recommendation.

Or you could use PREP.

Point:

“I recommend extending the application deadline by one week.”

Reason:

“We have received fewer applications than expected from two of our target universities.”

Example:

“Last year, an additional week gave us time to run another awareness session and increase the final applicant pool.”

Point:

“So I recommend extending the deadline and using the extra week for targeted outreach.”

Clear.

Easy to follow.

Everyone understands your recommendation and the reason behind it.

PREP works in meetings, interviews, presentations, and difficult conversations.

You do not need to sound impressive.

You need to make your thinking easy to understand.

Now let us return to that inaccessible chart.

Suppose the presenter says:

“As you can see, absenteeism has changed significantly.”

You could ask:

“Which department had the largest change?”

Or:

“Could you give us the figures for the main change?”

If you need to explain the accessibility issue, you can be direct:

“I am using a screen reader and the chart itself is not giving me the data. Could you read out the main values?”

That is professional communication.

You are not asking permission to participate. You are making sure you have the information needed to contribute.

Preparation also matters.

Imagine you have a recruitment meeting at 10 AM.

Before the meeting, open the agenda.

Open the candidate list.

Open the spreadsheet you expect to use.

Check that you can navigate the documents.

If there is a problem, you have time to deal with it before the discussion starts.

Professional communication is not only about speaking well.

It is also about being ready.

Now let us move to written communication.

In many workplaces, colleagues may know you mainly through email, Microsoft Teams, or other messaging tools.

Every message contributes to your professional reputation.

Imagine you need information from your manager.

You send:

“Hi. Are you free?”

Now your manager has to reply before they even know what you want.

Instead, try:

“Hi Sarah, could you please confirm whether the interview panel for Thursday has been finalised? I need the names before I send the candidate invitations. Thanks.”

One message.

Clear request.

Clear reason.

Easy response.

Short does not mean rude. Short can be respectful and efficient.

The same principle works for status updates.

Suppose your manager asks where recruitment currently stands.

You could write:

“Recruitment update:

Completed: 42 applications screened.

In progress: Shortlisting for the HR Assistant role.

Next step: Interview invitations will be sent tomorrow.

Blocker: Waiting for confirmation of the interview panel.”

Your manager can understand the situation in seconds.

Good written communication respects the reader’s time.

If you are writing a longer document, use headings.

If you have several points, use bullets or numbered lists.

If you need an action, make that action visible.

For example:

“Please confirm the interview date by 3 PM Wednesday.”

Do not hide the most important request in the middle of a long paragraph.

Another important communication skill is knowing how to disagree.

You will not always agree with colleagues or managers.

Imagine your team wants to schedule five interviews back-to-back with no break.

You believe that will leave the panel too little time to record notes.

You could say:

“That is a bad idea.”

Or you could say:

“I understand why we want to complete all five interviews in one block. My concern is that the panel may not have enough time to record notes between candidates. Could we include a ten-minute break after every two interviews?”

Notice the structure.

You acknowledged the other person’s objective.

You explained the concern.

You suggested an alternative.

That is constructive disagreement.

Professional communication is not about agreeing with everyone.

It is about being able to disagree without making the conversation personal.

The same applies when receiving feedback.

Suppose your manager says:

“The report was accurate, but it was longer than we needed.”

Your first instinct may be to explain why every section was necessary.

Instead, you could ask:

“Thanks. For the next report, would a one-page summary with the detailed information attached work better?”

Now you have turned feedback into a practical improvement.

And if the feedback is unclear, ask.

“Could you show me one section that was more detailed than you needed?”

Good communicators clarify instead of guessing.

This also matters in interviews.

If an interviewer asks:

“What is one of your strengths?”

Saying:

“I am a very good communicator”

does not prove very much.

Evidence is stronger.

You might say:

“One of my strengths is communicating clearly with different groups of people. During a volunteer programme, I coordinated participants, trainers, and organisers. I learned to adjust the information depending on who needed it, and that helped us keep the programme organised and on schedule.”

You have demonstrated the skill instead of only naming it.

That principle applies throughout your career.

Do not only tell people that you are organised. Show what you organised.

Do not only say you are confident. Communicate clearly when it matters.

Do not only say you work well with others. Give an example.

And do not think professional communication means having a perfect answer every time.

Sometimes the most professional sentence is:

“I do not know the answer to that yet. Let me check and come back to you.”

Confidence does not mean knowing everything.

It means being comfortable communicating what you know, what you need, and what you will do next.

So here is your Project VIEW communication challenge.

Choose one meeting, interview, presentation, or important conversation coming up this week.

Prepare one contribution using PREP.

What is my Point?

What is my Reason?

What Example or evidence supports it?

What Point or action do I want to finish with?

Then practise saying it aloud.

Keep it clear.

Keep it natural.

You do not need complicated language to sound professional.

Listen carefully.

Ask when something is unclear.

Support your ideas with evidence.

And make it easy for other people to understand what needs to happen next.

This is Project VIEW.

Welcome to Project VIEW Softskills Development series: Collaborative Teamwork in the Modern Workplace.

Let us begin with a situation that may sound familiar.

You join a new team. You want to make a good impression. You want colleagues to know that you can do your work, meet deadlines, and take responsibility.

Then someone shares a screenshot in the team chat without describing it.

You cannot access the information properly.

Instead of saying anything, you spend twenty minutes trying different tools to understand it yourself.

Later, the team starts brainstorming on a visual whiteboard. You can hear the discussion, but you cannot independently follow everything happening on the board.

Again, you stay quiet.

Why?

Because you do not want people to think you are difficult or that you need too much help.

This is where some professionals fall into a trap: trying so hard to prove independence that they create unnecessary work for themselves.

Good teamwork is not about doing everything alone.

Nobody in a successful workplace does everything alone.

A recruiter depends on hiring managers to define what they need in a candidate.

A payroll officer depends on accurate attendance data.

A learning and development professional depends on trainers, managers, participants, and administrators.

Work moves because people depend on one another.

That is not weakness.

That is teamwork.

Professional independence means taking responsibility for your work and communicating clearly when something in the environment affects your ability to contribute.

Sometimes you solve the issue yourself.

Sometimes you suggest a different workflow.

And sometimes you simply say:

“Could you send that information in text as well?”

One sentence may save you twenty minutes and help the team build a better habit.

An important concept in teamwork is psychological safety. It means people feel able to ask questions, raise concerns, admit mistakes, and suggest ideas without fear of embarrassment.

Think about what that means in practice.

If you cannot access part of a shared document, you should be able to say so.

If a meeting depends on a visual board, you should be able to suggest another way to capture the ideas.

Imagine an HR team is planning an employee induction programme using a visual whiteboard.

You might say:

“Could we also capture the ideas in the shared Word document? That will help me participate directly, and it will give all of us a written record after the meeting. I can organise the suggestions under recruitment, induction, training, and employee engagement while we discuss them.”

Notice the difference.

You have not asked the team to abandon the whiteboard.

You have suggested a practical second channel and offered to contribute.

That is a useful teamwork habit: when possible, combine the access request with a solution.

Now consider collaborative documents.

Imagine three people are preparing an HR policy. One person is working on recruitment, another on employee benefits, and you are working on learning and development.

If everyone edits every section at the same time, the document can become confusing.

A simple team agreement can make the process easier.

Assign section ownership.

Use proper heading styles.

Use comments or Track Changes for major suggestions instead of constantly overwriting one another.

These practices are useful for screen-reader navigation, but they are also good document management for the whole team.

Teamwork is a two-way responsibility.

If you want colleagues to describe visual information when they present, use the same inclusive habits when you present.

If you want clear documents, create clear documents.

If you want people to communicate deadlines properly, communicate your own deadlines properly.

Accessibility should not become something only other people are expected to think about.

Now let us talk about over-helping.

Imagine your team is preparing attendance information for a staff training programme. A colleague says:

“Don’t worry about the spreadsheet. I’ll do that part for you.”

They may genuinely be trying to help.

If the spreadsheet is your responsibility and you can manage it, you could say:

“Thanks, I appreciate the offer. I can handle the spreadsheet with my screen reader. If I run into an accessibility issue with a particular part, I’ll let you know.”

That response is calm and professional.

You have acknowledged the intention without giving away your responsibility.

Perhaps there really is one part you cannot access. Be specific.

“I can manage the employee records, formulas, and data entry. The only issue is the visual dashboard. Could you give me the values from that chart?”

You are not saying:

“I cannot do Excel.”

You are identifying one barrier.

That helps colleagues understand the difference between needing support for one part of a task and being unable to do the whole task.

It is also useful to have a short conversation with a new team about how you work.

You do not need a long presentation.

You might say:

“I use a screen reader, so I work mainly through keyboard navigation. Word, Outlook, Teams, and most Excel tasks work well for me. Images, screenshots, and some visual dashboards can be difficult, so if important information is only visual, a short description is helpful. If you are ever unsure, just ask me.”

That conversation removes uncertainty.

But do not stop there.

Ask your colleagues what they need from you.

“Is there a particular format you prefer for these reports?”

“When would you like the meeting notes?”

“How should we divide the recruitment tasks?”

“What can I take ownership of?”

Strong teamwork is reciprocal.

Now consider what happens when the team is under pressure.

A deadline is approaching and one colleague has not completed their section of an employee engagement report.

You could send:

“You still haven’t completed your section.”

Or you could say:

“Hi, I am putting together the final report and still need the training section. Are you able to send it by 2 PM, or is there anything blocking you?”

The deadline is still clear. Accountability is still there. But the message leaves room for information.

Perhaps the colleague is waiting for data.

Perhaps they misunderstood the deadline.

Perhaps they need support.

Accountability does not require aggression.

The same applies when you make a mistake.

Suppose you send an older version of a document.

Say:

“I have just noticed that I sent the previous version. That was my mistake. I’ll send the correct document now.”

Teams become stronger when people can acknowledge mistakes, correct them, and move forward.

One more teamwork skill is often underestimated: listening.

You do not need to speak constantly to prove that you are contributing.

Listen carefully.

Ask useful questions.

And when a discussion becomes complicated, summarise what was agreed.

For example:

“Just to confirm: I will prepare the interview schedule, Sarah will contact the candidates, and Ahmed will confirm the interview panel. We are aiming to complete all three by Thursday.”

That short summary can prevent a week of confusion.

Being blind or having low vision does not automatically make someone good at teamwork. Just as being sighted does not automatically make someone good at teamwork.

Teamwork is a skill.

You learn when to speak up.

You learn when to listen.

You learn how to ask for what you need.

You learn how to offer help without taking control away from someone else.

You learn how to take responsibility when something goes wrong.

And you learn that asking for an accessible way to participate is not the opposite of independence.

Sometimes it is exactly what allows you to contribute independently.

So here is your Project VIEW teamwork challenge.

Think about one team you are part of.

Ask yourself three questions:

What do I contribute?

What is one thing that would make it easier for me to contribute?

What is one thing I could do to make collaboration easier for someone else?

Then act on one answer.

Strong teams are not created because everybody works in exactly the same way.

They are created when people learn how to work effectively with one another.

This is Project VIEW.

Welcome to Project VIEW Softskills Development series: Introduction to AI for Workplace Productivity.

Imagine you have just joined an HR team.

It is Monday morning. Your manager sends you a job description, an Excel attendance sheet, notes from a staff meeting, and a PDF containing a chart from an employee survey.

Then comes the message:

“Can you help me make sense of this before our meeting this afternoon?”

A few years ago, that could have meant moving between several documents, manually organising notes, and perhaps asking someone else to describe visual information your screen reader could not interpret.

Today, you have another option.

You can bring Artificial Intelligence into the workflow.

Not to do your job for you. Not because AI is always correct. And not because every AI answer should be trusted.

You use AI because it can help you understand information, organise ideas, draft content, work with data, and reduce some of the friction between you and the task.

Generative AI can work with text, documents, images, audio, and data. You may encounter it through tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or workplace products such as Microsoft 365 Copilot. Model names and versions will keep changing. The important skill is not memorising the latest name. It is knowing what AI can help with, what it cannot be trusted to do alone, and how to check the result.

Let us look at three practical workplace uses.

The first is understanding information.

Suppose your manager sends you an image of an employee engagement chart. Your screen reader identifies an image, but it does not give you enough information to understand the data.

You can ask a multimodal AI system:

“Describe this chart. Give me the title, categories, values, overall trend, and any information you are uncertain about. Do not guess missing values.”

That prompt is useful because it tells the AI exactly what you need and also tells it not to invent information.

The response may help you understand that satisfaction increased in Learning and Development, remained stable in Recruitment, and declined in Operations.

That is valuable. But remember: the AI has interpreted the chart. It has not replaced the original data.

If those numbers are going into a report, check them against the source whenever possible.

The second use is writing and organising information.

Imagine you have rough notes for a staff training invitation:

“Training next Wednesday. 10 AM. Teams. Communication skills. Two hours. Register before Monday.”

You could ask:

“Turn these notes into a short professional email to employees. Keep the language friendly and clear. Do not add information I have not provided.”

The AI gives you a first draft.

Then you review it.

If it sounds too formal, ask:

“Make it warmer and shorter.”

If it is going to senior managers, ask:

“Make this more formal and concise.”

The important phrase is first draft.

AI can help you move from notes to a draft quickly, but you remain responsible for what is sent.

The same applies to meeting notes.

Suppose you have a long transcript from an HR planning meeting. You can ask:

“Summarise these notes under Decisions, Actions, Person Responsible, and Deadline. Do not create deadlines or responsibilities unless they are explicitly stated.”

That last instruction matters because AI sometimes fills gaps with something that sounds reasonable, even when it was never said.

A confident AI answer is not automatically a correct AI answer.

The third use is working with data.

Suppose you receive an Excel workbook containing employee training records. There are hundreds of rows, several sheets, and you need to understand the structure before analysing anything.

Instead of immediately asking for conclusions, begin with orientation:

“Explain the structure of this workbook. Tell me the sheet names, column headings, approximate number of records, and any obvious missing values. Do not analyse performance yet.”

For a blind or low-vision professional, that orientation can be useful because it gives you a map before you begin exploring the workbook in detail.

Then you can ask:

“Calculate training completion by department and present the result in a simple table.”

Or:

“Help me create an Excel formula to identify duplicate employee IDs.”

Or:

“Explain this formula to me in plain English.”

This is a better way to think about AI at work.

Understand.

Ask.

Check.

Then act.

Now let us talk about prompting.

A prompt is simply the instruction you give the AI.

Good prompting does not mean writing something extremely complicated. It means being clear.

A useful workplace prompt usually contains four things.

First: context.

“I am an HR assistant reviewing employee feedback from a training programme.”

Second: the task.

“Identify the three most common themes.”

Third: boundaries.

“Do not invent information or assume meaning when the comments are unclear.”

Fourth: the output.

“Give me a numbered list followed by a short management summary.”

You can add one more instruction that is particularly useful:

“Tell me where the evidence is uncertain.”

Now the AI knows what role the information is serving, what it needs to do, what it must not do, and how you want the answer presented.

But prompting is not the most important AI skill.

Verification is.

AI can misunderstand an image.

It can miss part of a spreadsheet.

It can summarise a document incorrectly.

It can make up a quotation.

It can make a calculation error.

It can give an answer that sounds confident and professional but is still wrong.

So when the information matters, verify it.

If AI says 68 employees completed a training programme, check the source data before putting 68 into a management report.

If AI summarises an employment policy, check the actual policy before advising an employee.

If AI identifies themes from interview notes, use those themes as support for your review, not as an automatic recruitment decision.

You can challenge the output.

Ask:

“Which part of the document supports this conclusion?”

“Check your answer again.”

“What are you uncertain about?”

You can also compare results using another AI system when that is useful. But two AI systems agreeing does not automatically make something true. The original evidence still matters.

There is another responsibility you must understand: privacy.

Imagine you have an employee spreadsheet containing names, phone numbers, salaries, attendance, and performance information.

Do not simply upload it to a personal AI account because you want a quick summary.

Your organisation may have rules about what can be entered into AI tools. Use approved workplace systems where required and follow organisational policy.

Even when a tool is approved, ask yourself:

Do I need to include the employee’s name?

Do I need their phone number?

Could I remove identifying information and still complete the task?

Good AI practice is also good information-security practice.

For blind and low-vision professionals, AI can be particularly useful when information has been designed visually.

A chart can become a description.

A screenshot can become text.

A long transcript can become an action list.

An unfamiliar workbook can be explained before you start navigating it.

A complex formula can be translated into ordinary language.

But the goal is not dependence on AI.

The goal is greater independence and productivity in your work.

Use your screen reader.

Use keyboard skills.

Use your professional knowledge.

And add AI where it genuinely helps.

Sometimes the answer will save you time.

Sometimes it will help you understand information that was difficult to access.

And sometimes you will read the answer and think:

“That does not sound right.”

That moment matters.

The future of work is not about accepting whatever AI produces. It is about knowing what to ask, knowing what to check, and knowing when human judgement must take over.

So here is your Project VIEW AI challenge.

Choose one real task this week: an email, a meeting transcript, a spreadsheet, a chart, or a set of notes.

Ask an AI tool to help you understand or organise it.

Then verify one important part of the answer yourself before you use it.

Remember three habits:

Ask clearly.

Think critically.

Verify before you act.

This is Project VIEW.

Welcome to Project VIEW Softskills Development series: CV Writing, Interview Mastery, and LinkedIn Basics.

When a recruiter opens your application, you have a limited amount of time to make a strong first impression. Your CV needs to answer three questions quickly: Who are you? What can you do? And why should this organisation consider you?

For a blind or low-vision job seeker, there may sometimes be another question in the recruiter’s mind: How will this person perform the job? You cannot control every assumption another person may have. But you can control how clearly you communicate your skills, your experience, the technology you use, and the value you can bring.

Let us start with your CV.

Your CV is not your life story. It is a focused marketing document. Its job is to help an employer understand why your experience matches the role.

Keep the layout simple. A clean, single-column CV with clear section headings is easier for you to review with a screen reader and easier for many recruitment systems to process. Use headings such as Professional Summary, Work Experience, Education, Skills, Training, and Achievements. Avoid relying on decorative graphics, text boxes, rating bars, or complex multi-column layouts.

Then look at the content.

A weak CV often lists duties.

For example:

“Responsible for maintaining employee records.”

That tells the recruiter what your job description said, but not what you actually contributed.

A stronger version might be:

“Maintained employee records for more than 150 staff members, checking information for accuracy and ensuring documents were available when required by the HR team.”

Now the recruiter can see scale, responsibility, and outcome.

You can use the same thinking even if you are entering the workforce for the first time. Experience does not come only from paid employment. A university project, volunteer role, community activity, internship, sports club, or training programme can all demonstrate useful skills.

Perhaps you coordinated registrations for an event. That shows organisation.

Perhaps you communicated with participants and trainers. That shows communication.

Perhaps you prepared attendance records or schedules. That shows administration.

Perhaps you worked with a group to deliver a project by a deadline. That shows teamwork.

The important question is not only, “Where have I worked?” It is also, “What have I done that proves I can contribute?”

Where possible, support your CV with real evidence. Use numbers if they are accurate. “Coordinated induction activities for 25 new employees” is stronger than “Helped with induction.” “Supported eight staff development programmes” is more meaningful than “Assisted with training.”

Never invent numbers just to sound impressive. Real evidence is always stronger than exaggerated claims.

Now let us move to the interview.

An interview is not an examination of your disability. It is a conversation about whether your skills and experience match the role.

One of the most useful techniques for behavioural questions is the STAR method: Situation, Task, Action, and Result.

Imagine the interviewer asks:

“Tell me about a time you had to complete an important task under pressure.”

You might say:

“During my HR internship, our team needed to prepare employee information for a training programme at short notice. I was responsible for reviewing the participant list, checking contact details, and preparing the final attendance records. I used keyboard navigation and my screen reader to work through the Excel file systematically, corrected missing information, and completed the list before the deadline. That allowed the team to send the final communication to participants on time.”

Notice what this answer does. It does not turn the whole story into a discussion about blindness. It shows organisation, attention to detail, technology skills, and time management.

If assistive technology is relevant, explain it naturally.

You might say:

“I use a screen reader and keyboard navigation to work with Word, Outlook, Excel, Teams, and other digital systems.”

Then bring the conversation back to performance.

The employer needs to understand not only what technology you use, but what you can accomplish with it.

Before an interview, study the job description. Identify the main skills the employer is looking for. If you are applying for an HR role, that may include communication, confidentiality, recruitment support, record management, teamwork, Microsoft Office, employee engagement, or organisation.

Prepare a real story for the most important skills.

Do not memorise a speech word for word. Prepare the experience, the key facts, and the result. That will help you sound natural.

You should also be ready to explain any workplace adjustment you genuinely need.

For example:

“For computer-based work, I use screen-reader software. Once it is installed and the systems are accessible, I can independently manage most standard digital tasks.”

Keep it practical. You are not asking the interviewer to feel sorry for you. You are explaining how you work effectively.

Now let us move to LinkedIn.

LinkedIn can become your professional digital identity. It is not only a place to say that you are looking for work. It is a place to show the direction of your career.

Start with your headline.

Avoid writing only:

“Looking for a job.”

Instead, describe the professional direction you want to build.

For example:

“Aspiring HR Professional | Recruitment, Administration and Employee Engagement”

That tells someone what field you are entering and what areas interest you.

Then review your About section.

Write in the first person. Keep it clear. Mention your background, key skills, career interests, and the type of work you want to grow into.

For example:

“I am an aspiring HR professional interested in recruitment, employee engagement, learning and development, and inclusive workplaces. I have experience supporting administrative activities, coordinating programmes, working with Microsoft Office, and communicating with different groups of people. I am looking for opportunities where I can continue developing my HR knowledge while contributing to an effective team.”

Your profile should also show evidence. Add your education, relevant training, certifications, volunteer roles, projects, and skills.

If you helped organise an employment workshop, supported a recruitment activity, coordinated a training session, or held responsibility in a community organisation, include it.

Then build your network with purpose.

Connect with recruiters, HR professionals, learning and development specialists, talent acquisition professionals, and people working in organisations or fields that interest you.

You do not need to begin by asking strangers for jobs. Start by building professional relationships.

A simple connection message might say:

“Hi Sarah, I am building my career in Human Resources and found your work in learning and development interesting. I would be happy to connect and learn from the insights you share.”

You can also share useful professional content occasionally. If you complete a course, share one thing you learned. If you attend a workshop, share a useful takeaway. If you read something interesting about recruitment, employee wellbeing, AI in HR, or workplace inclusion, share a short reflection.

Your disability does not have to become the whole story of your professional profile. You may choose to discuss accessibility, but you can also talk about HR, technology, leadership, employee development, or any other part of your profession.

The final message is simple: do not only tell employers that you have strengths. Give them evidence.

Do not only say, “I am organised.” Show what you organised.

Do not only say, “I am a good communicator.” Give an example.

Do not only say, “I can use technology.” Explain how you use it to complete real work.

Your strongest career story is built from evidence.

So here is your Project VIEW career challenge.

Open your CV and choose three bullet points. Rewrite each one to show what you did, how you did it, and what value or result came from it.

Then review your LinkedIn headline. Does it clearly show the professional direction you want to build?

Finally, prepare two STAR stories for your next interview: one about teamwork and one about solving a problem.

You already have experiences. The skill is learning how to communicate them clearly.

This is Project VIEW.