Same Starting Line: Inside Our Newest Career Academy Cohort

One person in the room had just finished college. Another had a PhD and decades in their field and was learning the job search all over again after a new diagnosis. In our newest Starkloff Career Academy cohort, they started in the same place—learning how to answer the universal interview question: “Tell me about yourself.”

It’s often the first question in an interview, and one of the hardest to answer well.

For disabled job seekers, a lot rides on it. Only 28% of college-educated disabled adults have jobs, less than half the rate of nondisabled adults. Many walk into interviews where the employer has already made assumptions about disability. Talking about your strengths with confidence, on your own terms, can change how that conversation goes.

Jenna Schwartz, our Career Services Coordinator, alongside our Associate Director of Career Services, Natasha Baebler, rebuilt Career Academy around one idea: you have to know yourself before you can advocate for yourself. Week one covered strengths, preferences, and what each person wants from their work. That lesson kept coming back for all eight weeks.

“That’s the number one question people are going to ask: ‘Tell us about yourself,'” Jenna said. “How do you actually answer that question? How do you talk about yourself in a confident way? What are they really asking?”

The group still worked on resumes and cover letters. But most of the time went to the things you can’t Google: what interviewers expect, how to network without losing who you are, and how to ask for what you need.

“A good house has to be built on a good foundation,” Jenna told them.

Eight people from around St. Louis started the course. They split into two small groups that met on Zoom once a week, one on Thursday mornings and one on Friday afternoons. (The class times were set after the participants were finalized, based on the candidates’ schedules.) Cameras were optional. People could unmute or type in the chat, whichever felt comfortable. Jenna and Natasha led both groups.

The group shaped the class, too. For week seven, Jenna had planned a lesson on where to find job openings. After getting to know everyone, she changed course.

“They know how to fill out an application,” she said. “It’s ‘How do I keep going during this?’”

So the group spent that week on staying motivated through rejection, in a job market that’s hard for everyone right now.

Early sessions were mostly Jenna teaching. By the end, the group ran on what members shared with each other: what worked, what didn’t, and what to try next.

Career Academy is led by disabled professionals, and that shapes everything. Jenna draws on her own experience in every session.

“The curriculum is tailored to a disabled audience and taught by somebody with a disability,” she said. “It shows them that we can make it work. You can do it.”

She’s quick to add that she learns as much from the group as they learn from her. “Professionalism does not mean perfection,” she tells them.

Six people finished the course. Since then:

• One graduate is in the interview process and felt much more confident than previous interviews. They’re now practicing networking one-on-one with Jenna.
•  Another came in unhappy at work and unsure where to go next. Now she’s planning her own consulting business, helping students move from high school to college, and working one-on-one with Natasha.
• A graduate with a master’s degree in engineering focused on networking and interviewing, the step where he’d been getting stuck.

Two people who had to step away plan to rejoin in February.

Support doesn’t end at week eight.

“Career development is a lifelong process,” Jenna said. “Just because Career Academy is over doesn’t mean we’re kicking you out.”

Jenna is connecting graduates with the Starkloff Network, and our team is working on new ways for alumni to stay in touch with each other. Stay tuned!

Small groups. A schedule built around each person. Support that lasts past graduation.

This program exists because of you, our community committed to investing in disability inclusion. Your generosity lets us offer Career Academy at no cost to every candidate and stay with them for as long as they need us. Thank you.

Our next cohort starts in February. Know someone who’d be a good fit? Point them to our interest form.