I’ve applied for a couple of hundred jobs on Indeed over the past few years. Sometimes I disclosed I have schizophrenia and sometimes I did not disclose. Most of the time, perhaps 70% I did not disclose. I got several interviews when I did not disclose. I have never got an interview when I did disclose. What’s your experience? What’s your advice?
5 Likes
Don’t. That is my experience.
I don’t work and I’m on social security but it’s like a lot of things. People have baggage and some of that you don’t tell. It’s like if you’ve been in prison. You don’t disclose that stuff when your competing with people who are either. A. Not disclosing or B. they don’t have your baggage.
Later if you have the job then it’s another story because there are some good anti discrimination policies out there you can take advantage of.
4 Likes
Thanks, good advice. Sometimes I feel like I want to disclose cuz I guess I want to be accepted for who I am but then again maybe it’s nobody’s business.
3 Likes
Yeah I’m hearing you and I’m pretty up front with most people but even then I’m like a fox! You have to be a bit cunning in your application of things.
Give yourself the best chance. Get the job. Worry about things afterwards. I’ve used the " I’ve a rare genetic disorder and need some time off" before. It’s not telling a lie. It’s just a more robust explanation which I agree. They don’t need to know!
3 Likes
I worked at a big box store. When I told my manager I needed less days due to depression I was cut down on work hours till I was eventually let go.
I don’t recommend disclosing anything. People without mi don’t understand.
7 Likes
You’re so right. Can’t believe your manager would do that. What an ahole. We have special Accomodation Laws for people with a disability here in Canada. Maybe you do too. Perhaps you have legal recourse.
Honestly it isn’t worth it to me. I was treated like an outcast after telling him. I wouldn’t feel comfortable going back.
its not anyone business. you dont have to disclose when you have ADHD, or MS, or diabetes or anything else. its the same with SZ. Some places value people with disabilities because in diversity is strength and some fools do not recognise that and will discriminate. The choice is yours.
2 Likes
You wouldn’t have to go back. Constructive dismissal. You’d just get a cheque for damages covering loss of income for n years. I think that’s how it would work. I’m not a lawyer but went to law school years ago.
@Unclehenry I too support what @rogueone suggested. Do not disclose that you have schizophrenia in your resume, cover letter or at an interview. I am also on Indeed Canada apply for jobs and its difficult as is trying to land an interview let alone the job itself. Disclosing you have schizophrenia just makes being employed even harder.
1 Like
Why would any schizophrenic need to disclose it? It would create only pity for us by the employer
2 Likes
@Om_Sadasiva The employer would not just pity us but there would be a stigma attached to the schizophrenic label. This is the world schizophrenics live in.
3 Likes
Thanks for that bit of info @rogueone.
It’s really none of their business. If it doesn’t preclude you from doing your job they don’t need to know
1 Like
I disclosed my illness to my employer but after three years of service.
If you get to a point where you prove your worth, they won’t be as bothered by it.
When applying I have also disclosed previously, and you hear nothing back. I would only recommend doing it if you really have too and only once you have built up respect where you work and feel comfortable with saying something.
I haven’t disclosed my illness to my employer, nor do I plan to. To them, I’m just some quiet, awkward loner who they work with. And I’m fine with that. I’d rather them think that, than know I have a mental illness.
2 Likes
I never disclose to my employer. I used to in the past, and I kept getting let go for “unrelated” reasons right after telling. I don’t even say I’ll need special accomodations until after I have the job. Once I’m hired, and trained, I present them with a doctor’s note outlining my accomodations and they have no choice but to comply. I wait until after training because
- they don’t want to fire you right after they’ve already spent the money to train you
- They’ve already had a chance to see I’m a good worker
- If they fire me right after I’ve passed training, I have evidence they’re discriminating against me and they know it
Employers are not your friend or your confidant. They’re your source of income. They don’t see you as a friend, or even as a person in some cases. To them, you are the sum of your productivity minus your liability. It’s important to remember this in all cases. You shouldn’t let your self-esteem depend on an employer accepting you for who you are, because that’s not the relationship they want to have with you, and it’s not the relationship they should have with you.
4 Likes
I only tell my friends and family
1 Like
I filled out disability info for two jobs I just accepted. Not specifically what it was but serious mental illness. The examples were sz, PTSD or bipolar. This was for government jobs. I get a 10 point preference for being a disabled vet so they already know I am disabled.
I wouldn’t disclose for a non government job but I use the 10 points.
1 Like
If I was back in the working world and hiring people I would not hire someone who disclosed sz… plain and simple. Think of it as a risk that person hiring you is taking on him/her self