Thank you for returning to this blog post of Breaking the Stigma: College Life, Disability, and Mental Health. In this post, I will explore one of college's most stressful and commonly overlooked parts, job-searching and internships, and how this intersects with mental health and disability. No matter what type of college student they are, job-hunting can negatively impact their well-being. 

Why Do Students Go To College?

Most students pursue a higher education to secure a higher-paying job, hoping their future will be comfortable. The idealized outcome, however, does not perfectly represent the reality people face. Regardless of the rising cost of education, the job market remains highly competitive and discouraging for students. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS):

• Workers with “some college or an associate degree” had an unemployment rate of 4.8%, while those with a bachelor’s degree or higher had a lower rate of 2.4% (reference). 
• For comparison, individuals with a high school diploma faced 4.2% unemployment, and those without a diploma saw 5.2% (reference) 

These statistics demonstrate that attending college does not guarantee a job or success. Instead, students who are still in college face significantly more difficult job search obstacles than people with completed degrees. 

The Mental Stress of the Job Search

For students, internships and jobs overlap with academics. So with the addition of financial stress, fear of the unknown future, and rejections from job applications, college students can be the perfect candidates for burnout. 

• Burnout can occur when balancing school work and applying for jobs, leading to mental fatigue and sleep difficulties that eventually contribute to more severe anxiety and depression.
• Fear of Failure: Some students often compare themselves to other students who seem to be “succeeding more” and receiving acceptances for internships, resulting in severe anxiety and stress that they are behind in the workplace. 

Additional Barriers for College Students with Disabilities 

For people with disabilities, these challenges are intensified, and the process for obtaining jobs is even more difficult. 

Accessibility Gaps

Many colleges offer career fairs that allow networking, resume-building, and internship opportunities; however, they are not always designed for accessibility. One problem I have encountered was attending a networking event that does not offer real-time captioning, making it extremely difficult to hold conversations with attendees. This can create a barrier that excludes students with disabilities from participating in job opportunities and preparation. 

Discrimination and Bias

Discrimination can be intentional or not, but it continues to impact experiences of job searches, such as viewing accommodations as “inconvenient, as well as viewing the disability as a limitation rather than a different working style. These examples discourage students from applying to jobs that can be misunderstood or overlooked based on disabilities instead of qualifications. 

Pressure to Disclose

Some students with disabilities are afraid to disclose their disability for fear of being “incapable” for the job or even just plainly rejected. 

I experienced this similarly as a Sales Associate for Orangetheory, where the company changed its policy for employees to assign gym machines for the clients instead of clients writing it down themselves.  Things are very challenging for me in a loud environment, where music blasts in the background. This resulted in me mishearing a name and the client getting upset with me and saying, “If you cannot do this, why do you have this job?” This comment heavily discouraged me and made me question if my disability would negatively impact my future career. However, I learned that I need to advocate for myself instead of suffering in silence to succeed. 

So although this was not with the employer, this experience shows how having a disability can add pressure, anxiety, and stress on top of the everyday stress of job hunting and, for some students, this can cause them to exit from applying for jobs altogether.  

What Needs to Change

For students to succeed in the work field and maintain a strong emotional well-being, we need to create some systemic changes that do not overlook the unique challenges students with disabilities confront. 

• Inclusive Career Preparation: Career development programs must provide career development that is not only early and throughout but also inclusive for disability-related struggles, such as when to disclose a disability, internships that are accessible and supportive, and resume-building workshops that address the gaps or accommodations. 
• Stronger Collaboration: Disability services and career services need to create partnerships to ensure support for students with disabilities. Some examples can be shared, such as advising sessions or career fairs that include employers that have a good reputation for being inclusive of people with disabilities. 
• Mental Health Resources: College needs to address the stress of job-searching and post-grad uncertainty, where they can provide counseling and support groups that focus on career stress, sharing strategies to overcome feelings of failure or impostor syndrome. This allows the reduction of the stigma around disabilities and mental health and creates a safe space for college students. 

Conclusion

College students face tremendous challenges, and job-hunting is one of these hurdles, especially even deeper for those with mental health challenges or living with disability. If we acknowledge these difficulties, we can create a more supportive system that allows more people to be successful. 

My next post will dive deeply into Respectful Language in the Mental Health and Disability Field.