First Time I Had To Be Worried About This

[welches_242]

I applied for my first job a couple of days ago. I sat with my mom and we came up with a resume and while we were brainstorming stuff I said as a joke “We should just add T1D (type 1 diabetes) to this. It is literally proves I have all the qualities they need.” My mom said “I would, but I’m worried you’ll be discriminated against.” I already knew this might become a problem but for some reason it hurt a lot. I’ve never been quiet about it either. When I first meet someone it would be one of the first ways I introduce myself because of how much it’s affected my life. It’s never stopped me from doing all the things I’ve done. But for once I can’t do that because I might not be chosen due to this specifically.

[Monsoon]

14 hours ago, welches_242 said:

I applied for my first job a couple of days ago. I sat with my mom and we came up with a resume and while we were brainstorming stuff I said as a joke “We should just add T1D (type 1 diabetes) to this. It is literally proves I have all the qualities they need.” My mom said “I would, but I’m worried you’ll be discriminated against.” I already knew this might become a problem but for some reason it hurt a lot. I’ve never been quiet about it either. When I first meet someone it would be one of the first ways I introduce myself because of how much it’s affected my life. It’s never stopped me from doing all the things I’ve done. But for once I can’t do that because I might not be chosen due to this specifically.

Hey there,

You're absolutely right about how T1D proves you have qualities as there is so much that comes with managing your health condition, and I think the employer would like to hear your reflections about your personal experience of diabetes and how you manage it. I'm wondering though, what makes you think you might not be chosen for this role because of this specifically? What is the job?

[welches_242]

I applied to be a page at a local library. Sometimes if I tell someone about my health condition they won't consider me because of the negatives. For instance if my blood sugar went low while I was working I would have to sit down and would be unable to do simple tasks for 20-30 minutes. Plus some people judge me for it, but that's never been a big issue for me but unfortunately ableism still exists out there. It was also my mom who mentioned it in the first place so she probably had other reasons in her head I hadn't thought of.

[Monsoon]

20 hours ago, welches_242 said:

I applied to be a page at a local library. Sometimes if I tell someone about my health condition they won't consider me because of the negatives. For instance if my blood sugar went low while I was working I would have to sit down and would be unable to do simple tasks for 20-30 minutes. Plus some people judge me for it, but that's never been a big issue for me but unfortunately ableism still exists out there. It was also my mom who mentioned it in the first place so she probably had other reasons in her head I hadn't thought of.

Hey there,

The reasons you have given could very well be how an employer might view the health condition, however, at the same time, you don't really know how they will feel about it, and you could spend a long time thinking about this when it comes to applying for a job, but the thing is, you might never know how they feel about it. Plus, it isn't something you really have a lot of control over even if they did feel negatively about it; what do you think? If a friend asked you about whether they should mention their health condition in a job application, what advice would you give them?