If you are a person with an impairment, should you volunteer information about your impairment during an interview? When I worked at Disability Rights of Texas, we advised persons with disabilities to not discuss their impairment until necessary. An employer cannot lawfully ask about an impairment until a job offer has been made. And even in that situation, the employer should simply state these are the job functions, can you perform them?

Dr. Daniel Ryan, author of the Job Search Handbook for Persons with Disabilities, agrees. He says resumes are often used to screen pout people. So, it is better to provide information about an impairment later in the application process. The problem may come if you have a large gap in your resume, due to some disability. In that case, says Dr. Ryan, you should have a filler – something that explains the gap. Dr. Ryan advises to use the resume to open the door and use the interview process to tell who you are. See Military Times report.