Murshed Chowdhury is the CEO of an IT staffing firm, which means that he can adjust his schedule as he sees fit; for example, taking a late lunch hour on Friday afternoons to attend a weekly prayer service.
It wasn’t always so easy. In a post on Lifehacker, Chowdhury recounts one incident that occurred before he was in charge. A manager told him that he wouldn’t have been hired if the manager had known about his special requirements in advance.
“Reflecting on this experience, there are countless other scenarios in which qualified candidates experience roadblocks or at least anxiety in their job search because of unique situations that might cause them to complete their duties outside the realm of a hiring manager’s expectation,” Chowdhury writes.
So what do you do if your beliefs require you to ask for special accommodation from an employer? He offers a few suggestions:
1. Don’t explain why you’d be a tough hire. Don’t lie, but don’t volunteer information that will distract the interviewer from your skills.
2. Stay optimistic. As Chowdhury writes, “never let your personal choices or physical characteristics prevent you from pursuing your professional dreams.”
3. Get the timing right. Orientation is a good time to ask for minor adjustments to your schedule, he suggests.
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