Rick Romano has never really had a problem getting a job in customer service. Still, he has always wondered about the ones that got away.
The interviews seemed to go well. Yet, he said, he didn’t get a call back after potential employers discovered he had muscular dystrophy, which causes him to walk differently than most people.
On Wednesday, Romano and 150 other people with mental and physical disabilities got to meet potential employers without worrying if their would-be bosses would be put off by first appearances.
The recruiters at Schaumburg Township’s first annual job fair for disabled people already knew their crop of candidates got around in wheelchairs or had difficulty typing or working at fast paces.
“The great thing about this is they already know up front,” said Romano, 44, of Streamwood, as he filled out an application for a job in customer service at a furniture store.
Fifteen northwest suburban companies set up booths at the job fair, at the township building on Illinois Boulevard in Hoffman Estates.
Recruiters accepted resumes, distributed brochures and handed out applications for jobs that included everything from answering phones to bank telling, assembling mechanical parts and developing computer software.
The job seekers swarmed the booths, eager to meet potential employers who didn’t express surprise by the sight of a wheelchair or speech that came out a little slower than from other candidates.
They came seeking jobs closer to home, positions that challenged them intellectually and, in the words of one woman with a mental disability, “anything” that would allow her to save money for college.
Township officials said they had decided the time was right for the job fair.
Disabled workers are more likely to seek jobs because of recent legislation allowing them to keep Medicare and Medicaid benefits while they are employed, officials said. And in today’s tight labor market, employers are more willing than ever to hire people with disabilities.
“I have temp services calling me” all the time looking for qualified people, said Gerry Bartnicke, director of disabled services for the township. “We are finding that people are basically naming their prices for a position because employers are desperate for employees. It’s a good time to look for a job.”
Indeed, some recruiters acknowledged they set up at Wednesday’s fair because they have been unable to find qualified candidates.
Some said they were seeking a diversified workforce. Others said they would almost prefer hiring disabled workers, who typically are less likely to call in sick and often give more to their jobs than their able-bodied counterparts.
“They have a lot to offer a company, because they have a willingness to do their best,” said Mary Jane Scachitti, a job trainer for Sears, Roebuck and Co., which was looking for sales clerks and shelf stockers for its Schaumburg store.
“It takes a little more training and patience and time, but in the long run, it’s worth it for the company,” Scachitti said.
That’s exactly what Stephen Meyer of Hoffman Estates wants to hear.
As he stood at a booth waiting to talk to a recruiter for Apple Vacations in Elk Grove Village, he explained he once worked as a cartographer before cerebral palsy slowed him down.
Even though his body no longer is as fast as it used to be, his mind is quick. He said he wants to find something that challenges him intellectually, not some entry-level job like stocking shelves.
“My brain is brilliant, but I’m trapped,” said Meyer, 45.
Rosanna Bonner, 34, of Rolling Meadows had polio as an infant and now uses a wheelchair. She came to the township’s fair to look for a job closer to her home.
Bonner hoped to find something in management, but nothing tantalized her. Still, the event gave her a chance to meet potential employers just in case a job that did interest her opened up. It also gave her a chance to gauge how receptive companies would be to hiring someone with a disability.
“What I have to present is my experience,” said Bonner, a sales coordinator for a mortgage company in Vernon Hills. “I didn’t come this far not knowing anything. There is experience under this belt.”
