AN IT worker is calling on employers to give her a chance after applying for 1,000 jobs in the past 18 months and being offered not one - she believes because she is deaf.
Kellie Wilson, 32, is now considering going through an operation she is scared to have and which may not work just to give herself a chance in life.
She has worked in the past in the court and prison services and in student loans but every application she has made since the summer of 2017 has failed.
Her last job was with a temporary contract for the court service.
Ms Wilson, from Middleton Tyas, near Richmond, North Yorkshire, is totally confident she can do the mostly administrative jobs she’s applied for, although she has also gone for pub, housekeeping and pot washing jobs.
She said: “The only thing I cannot do is hear. My mind is sharp and I can lip read really well.
“I am currently being assessed for a cochlea implant in the hopes of improving my situation.
“I feel as though I have to change who I am in the face of ignorance.
“I am contacted by companies saying they are happy with my CV and can I call them to chat or for a phone interview.
“I explain why I cannot and offer to chat via email or Skype or text relay and either don’t hear back or am told that they do not have the facilities to chat in my suggested methods.
“In interviews, if I struggle to understand what’s being said, I explain my disability. Then I get the reply ‘there’s a lot of phone work in this role’ or ‘we don’t think this role is the right fit for you’.
She added: “I can easily do the jobs I apply for and wouldn’t apply if I could not.
“I am just asking employers to give me a chance and treat me like other people.”
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