My Life Without Hearing Blog 4- Moving onto the workplace

Moving onto the workplace

I left Doncaster College in June 1986. It was a really emotional time for me, as I had made friends from all over the country. Now we were heading back to our respective homes, and having to say goodbye to each other. It also meant saying goodbye to my first boyfriend. 

First job

I quickly started a new job near my home in Burton-on-Trent, just a week after leaving college. I was doing admin work; typing up letters. As my first language is British Sign Language, and not English, I would make many mistakes. Whenever I asked the woman in charge for help she was impatient with me, which made me feel even more nervous, so I made even more mistakes. At break times and lunch time I was very isolated as the other staff chatted among themselves and left me out. An old man who lived locally would come and meet me for lunch, so that I could go out and have someone to talk to. The staff asked if he was my grandfather, and thought it was strange that I was meeting with a man who was so much older than me. They didn’t understand that it was important for me to be in the company of other people who could use British Sign Language, so that I could communicate easily. I only stayed at that job for 6 weeks. We had a meeting with my boss, my mum, the DEA (Disability Employment Advisor) from the job centre and various other people to discuss my situation. However, no interpreter was provided, so they just talked about me, and I wasn’t able to participate at all. I was very sad, and my mum knew how I was feeling, so I had no choice but to leave the job. 

Webb Ivory

I was only out of work for two weeks before a lovely lady at the job centre found me temporary admin work at Webb Ivory. Again, no interpreter was provided, but I was now working with two lovely ladies named Sally and Pam. Sally had a deaf son and was able to use basic British Sign Language to communicate with me. I would go into to town with the other staff for lunch or coffee. I really enjoyed that job; dealing with complaints like items lost in the post or arriving damaged. I found it really interesting, and one of the perks was that I was able to get a staff discount on their Christmas products. I was supposed to be there from September to Christmas, but my contract was extended to April. I was really sad to leave. Sadly, the new DEA at the job centre wasn't as helpful as the previous one, and I was out of work for a long time. I applied for several jobs, but always failed because it was difficult to communicate, and no interpreter was provided for interviews. 

More communication barriers 

I eventually found a job in data inputting. No interpreter was provided, so my mum came with me to the interview, but she couldn't sign so she talked on my behalf, and showed the manager my qualifications. They knew each other as they went to school together and I had to wait, with no idea what was going on, while they caught up and talked about old times. Luckily, she must have convinced him of my skills, because I was offered the job. Again, I couldn’t communicate with the other staff, and one girl in particular would pick on me. We got into an argument because she accused me of messing up the filing system, when it wasn't me. Also, I was never invited to spend breaks or lunchtime with the other staff, so I would sit at my desk alone, eating my sandwiches and reading a magazine to pass the time. I was offered a permanent contract with a higher salary, which my mum encouraged me to accept, but after a few months I couldn't stand the environment there any longer, as the bullying was becoming worse and the job was very boring, so I decided to leave. After a few months I went back to Webb Ivory but sadly I was no longer working with Sally and Pam and the new people were not nice to me, even though one of them had a deaf brother. I left there after 6 months when my temporary contract finished.

A more deaf aware job

My next job was much more successful, and I stayed there for 6 years. I found this job thanks to the CSW who worked with me at an evening computing course at Burton College. She knew of a job available at Derbyshire Building Society in Duffield and had a contact there named Susan. She arranged for me to attend an interview, and even gave me a lift there. I was offered the job straight away. I didn't like the commute to Derby, but I liked the people that I worked with, and they provided interpreters for meetings so that I could participate. Also, another Deaf lady worked there, in a different department, so I now had someone I could chat to using British Sign Language at lunchtimes, and didn't have to spend them alone any more. 

Social Services 

The commute was especially difficult during the winter, and I was borrowing my mum's car every day as I didn't have one of my own, so I looked for a job closer to home. I was offered an admin role with Burton social services, on a 2 year work placement. I was under a lot of pressure there, as it always seemed as though I was given more than my fair share of the admin work, but it was during this time that I started to think about a career change, and becoming a British Sign Language tutor.

Please read my next blog to see how I started on my journey as a sign language tutor.