Disclosing disability
Hi all,
Long time lurker in need of some advice. I have a disability that does not impact my job performance or require any accommodations. Am I better off not disclosing it on full time applications or should I disclose it? I've heard a mix of "if you don't think you need accommodations, don't disclose" and on the other hand "if you disclose you will have a better chance so they can reach their quota of employees with disabilities".
Let me know if any additional info or specifics would be helpful. Thanks.
If you don't need accommodations and it doesn't impact your performance, there is little positive that can be achieved. Investment banking in particular has a lot of people who are willing to accentuate others' weaknesses (there are good people in the industry, but enough jerks too).
For some context, I sat next to a guy who said that depressed people shouldn't be doctors because they couldn't hack it (in reference to a doctor who was first on the scene to his own father's death and was struggling). I also had to sit through my MD and VP routinely mock an external consultant for being bipolar (he probably wasn't), and that "he had his lithium this morning" after a productive call. These examples are about mental illness, but I'm sure there are plenty of stories about physical illness out there.
Don't disclose anything that could be perceived as a weakness, especially if this is in writing. I cannot stress this enough. It's not about getting in the door. It's about staying and succeeding in the job.
Some people are diagnosed with a disability but have it under control or are high functioning.
From the WHO: "Disabilities is an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions. An impairment is a problem in body function or structure; an activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action; while a participation restriction is a problem experienced by an individual in involvement in life situations."
By definition a disability is an impairment or limitation. It doesn't sound like OP's disability is an impairment or limitation in the context of work. (Perhaps OP becomes violently ill when eating spicy food -- that certainly constitutes a limitation or a participation restriction, but I don't think anyone would call it a disability in the context of work, unless your job is chief chili pepper-taster.)
All I'm saying is that OP would be making a lot of hay over something that doesn't affect performance and doesn't require accommodations. If he told me he had a disability that would not affect his performance at all, and would not require any accommodations, I'd look at him like "Then why are you telling me this - unless you are trying to elicit sympathy or game the system."
That said, I don't agree with other posters that people will view it as a "weakness" to be seized upon.
1 - No this will not hurt your chances; if evidence arose of them denying applicants based on health, they would not only be sued, but face damaging reputation in the space. There are written laws that prevent employers from denying applicants based on issues such as these (other examples include race, religion, gender, etc.).
Per the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission - "The Americans with Disabilities Act, which was amended by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, is a federal law that prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities."
2 - Apologies if I come off as naive here, but do most type I diabetics classify themselves as "disabled." I only ask because if you feel you are disabled then you can mark yes, but if you don't think it impacts your ability to work professionally (as you stated above) then I might mark no.
Mark yes if you feel you have a disability, but overall it shouldn't affect your application.
Hispanic isn't a disability
If there's a disability for thinking ADHD qualifies as a disability, make sure to claim that one.
adhd isn't a disability, and your chances are slim because it's awfully hard to make up a low GPA this late in the game. couple options:
on top of that, narrow your search: IB, consulting, and PWM are completely different things. decide which direction you want to go. I'd venture a guess that IB is out of the question for you at this point, unless it's MM or boutique. consulting probably same thing, again unless it's a smaller firm. but in any event, hone your search. you sound like you have no idea what you want (that's ok) and that's probably because you haven't explored the industry yet. do some informational interviews, find out what the industry is all about, find out what parts pique your interest, and go from there.
the OP is a perfect example of what is wrong with the US
Typical millennial victim mentality here and this is why I regularly have trouble relating to some folks in my generation... neither being Hispanic nor having ADHD is a major setback/disability and you shouldn't expect to be treated better or differently because you have either of those.
Stop thinking about your race or your minor health concerns and how they can be used as some sort of advantage (or drawback) at getting an internship and start thinking about things that actually matter like networking, your knowledge of the industry, and interpersonal skills.
And I'm sorry to say but: "I could say my best skills is working with people. Influencing peoples decisions and just speaking to them about the small things. I also enjoy doing research on companies: stocks, information, just about everything." is not going to cut it in an interview when you're asked why someone should hire you, it's extremely generic, not hard to make up, and sounds cheesy. Rather than just telling people your strengths show them snag a solid internship from now instead of spending your entire summers rectifying mistakes you shouldn't have made in the first place... Freshman year is the easiest one you shouldn't have gotten a 2.X GPA you should recover your grades this is not something cool or special it's just something people do from the get go.
I'm not trying to be mean here but your mentality is not one that people will look for during recruiting... my best advice to you would be:
1) Never mention anything about being ADHD or Hispanic in a professional sense ever again -- it's unbecoming and looks like you have a victim mentality.
2) Stop talking about recovering your grades as if it's an accomplishment (it isn't) it's just something you should've been on top of from the beginning.
3) Start networking heavily -- if I could get into trading out of a non-target via networking you can get into your field of choice the same way -- you're also in NY I was in Houston...
4) Secure a relevant internship and use that to show what you're good at instead of making up arbitrary stories about how you're awesome at working with people but hate math but love analyzing companies and stocks.... come on dude really...? I'd just burst out laughing if you said something like this to me in an interview. Your strengths are shown by the projects you've worked on and the innovative accomplishments you acquired during your professional experience not by the same generic story that every kid who's a finance major in the United States can say...
5) Brush up on interview skills... I have a feeling from the way you've been writing that yours are likely poor at the moment. As such you need to do some mock interviews with people who work in the industry ASAP and get constructive criticism --never get offended at this -- and read up on the interview guides on the Mergers & Inquisitions website
This forum can be ruthless