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[dead_wood]

     I have a very visible disability.  I have Nystagmus, which causes my eyes to move rapidly and continually right and left.  This condition is not treatable and I cannot tell my eyes to do otherwise.  This makes it difficult to make good eye contact.  I have written evidence from others that this condition has kept me from teaching jobs because it creates the impression that I cannot deal with students effectively.  That's not the case, but I can't change people's impressions it seems.  I normally start interviews by speaking to this issue directly, but that has not helped me.  Is there some approach I can take that will ameliorate this issue, so that I can be judged on the basis of my background, teaching experience, and what I can offer to a school without misperceptions keeping me off the short list? 

[tandem]

I would imagine that your problem is getting from the initial conference interview to the campus interview.  Search committees do not know about your disability until they meet you, correct? 

I sympathize with your challenge, and I would imagine that your disability tends to throw off your initial interactions with people far more than your long-term interactions.  People who stick around for repeated interactions with you (as students, colleagues, friends, etc.) get used to it, and rather soon it is no big deal.  Is that right?

As someone without a disability who has spent some time noticing and trying to understand my own interactions with people with noticeable physical disabilities, here's my take on it.  As messed up as this is, I do best in adjusting to people with disabilities when they or someone close to them manages my initial negative reactions in a very straightforward, assertive, and comforting way.  I am uncomfortable managing my own reactions, and I hate feeling uncomfortable.  I'm sure, although I do not want this to be the case, that my hatred of feeling uncomfortable manifests as aversion and/or avoidance of the person with disabilities in some way.  At the same time, I know that if my reactions are managed by someone else through the initial period of discomfort, I feel happy that I am able to hear and interact with the person as a person and not as a set of disabilities that makes me uncomfortable.  I am so happy that I really want to get to know them, and I feel immense relief at being able to get over my horrible self and have normal human interactions with them.  I wish I could manage my own reactions to just interact with people with disabilities normally, but I honestly find it extremely difficult to do so without help from them or a model interaction to imitate.  This sucks sucks sucks, big time, and I don't blame anyone for not taking the time to coddle me through my discomfort, and it absolutely shouldn't be on you, but -- in a job interview situation, it obviously is. So I would suggest that you assertively, matter-of-factly, and with humor if possible, manage their discomfort.

In a conference interview, I think it is a good idea to address it up front, but I'd suggest the following.  To start, introduce yourself and let the SC know that you realize your untreatable eye movement disability can be disarming at first, and that you would like a minute to discuss it at the close of the interview. Smile while you say this, and if there is an awkward moment after you say so say something like "what questions do you have for me?"  Then let the interview proceed.  When they ask if you have any questions for them at the end, tell them you would like to speak to your eye movement disability and its potential to affect your teaching.  If you have evidence of your ability to deal with students effectively, I would suggest that you note matter-of-factly that it does not interfere with your ability to carry out normal teaching duties or to build rapport with students or colleagues, and that you would be happy to provide evidence of this in the form of evaluations from colleagues and students.  Smile, and tell them that if they spent any time with you, as unlikely as it may seem to them, you know from your experience that your eye movement would cease to seem strange.  Reassure them.  Then end the interview by reminding them why you and your research and teaching would be a fabulous match for their department, shake their hands, smile again, and wish them a good day.  If there is an awkward moment, smile and in an appropriate way tell them what to do or say next.  Joke if it comes natural to you.  If they are interacting with you normally, always be ready to jump in and engage fully in conversation.  The truth is if you can get one person in a conference interview to feel comfortable with you and can model what that looks like, everyone else will realize that they will feel comfortable too.

Good luck to you!

[snowbound]

I suggest that, after you secure the interview, you send a brief note to the interviewer explaining your disability and how you make sure that it doesn’t interfere with your teaching effectiveness.  I do think that, with preparation, the Search Committee members will consciously try not to unfairly discriminate. Suddenly being thrown into the awkward position of not knowing how to relate to someone whose eyes are going every which way could make SC members unfairly react against you (as tandem so honestly laid out).  If the first they hear of it is at the interview, I’m afraid that, no matter how well you handle it, their impression of the interview will center on that, and your brilliant analysis of underwater basketweaving and innovative use of scuba techniques in the classroom will be submerged (as it were).  If they have had a chance to get used to the idea, there will be no surprises and they will deliberately be putting their best least prejudiced selves forward, and maybe even congratulating themselves on the possible opportunity to become a more diverse department in terms of disability. 

At the end of the interview, or whenever seems appropriate, you could give them a copy of a letter from a faculty member who has observed your teaching addressing the issue of your disability and how you have effectively dealt with it in the classroom.

[artsy_122]

Hi!

I also have nystagmus -- and to be honest, I have never felt it to be a problem at interviews.  Of course when I am more tired- I am sure by the end of the interview day my eyes are moving a lot more than before.  But I am not sure I would feel comfortable bringing attention to it...  My left eye has also gotten lazy in the last few years and I am sure that looks just dandy as well.  (sarcasm)  But I just go in and do my best...  and I've gotten some things and not gotten others.  But it never even occurred to me to blame the movement of my eyes.  I am sure you are worrying more about it than the actual problem is. 

Hmmm...  thinking about it, I guess even though I've never opened with "Hi, I'm Jennifer...  don't mind my eyes they just do that."  But if I've talked with someone for a while, I have mentioned it.  But it is really case by case.   But I am also in an artistic field were my eye sight could have an impact on my job so I do not want to point out that I have a problem.

Have you tried contacts?  I thought for years and years that I could not wear them because of the movement.  (and I hate wearing glasses...)  But then a couple of years ago I had an optometrist (at Walmart of all places...  after going to specialists all over the country!)  Who said he had a room mate with the same problem.  The room mate found that the weight of contacts helped keep his eyes still and made his vision better than ever.  So that might be something to look into.  I've been wearing contacts now and my vision is better than ever and the wiggling is reduced.

It is neat to hear of another academic who also has nystagmus.  I know of almost nobody else with the condition.  Feel free to PM me if you want to talk more in depth!

[artsy_122]

On rereading...

I wonder if announcing it right at the beginning puts people more at edge than anything else?  Then you become the candidate with the eye problem instead of the person with the awesome research and teaching.

Maybe work with an interview coach or friends to come up with other ways to exude confidence and focus in spite of the eye wiggling.  I think that would help unconsciously cancel out any worries about your ability to control a classroom.

[owlatrice]

One faculty member I know is deaf.  Funny thing was that later on I was talking with someone involved in the hiring of this person who told me that this professor did not disclose hus disability in hus application and none of hus letters mentioned the fact hu was deaf.  I guess people were sort of shocked to find out that hu was deaf during hus oncampus interview.  Still hu was hired.
In your case your disability makes things even more difficult because it isn't immediately clear that you have a disability.  If someone's eyes were moving back and forth I wouldn't immediately recognize this as a medical problem and might incorrectly classify this as poor social skills.  Obviously it is illegal (but also difficult to prove) to receive discrimination for a disability that can easily be accomodated by your workplace. 
The best advice is to focus on building as strong of a CV as possible.  The better you look on paper will net you more interviews and increase the likelyhood someone will want to overlook or look past you disability.  I know it is not right, but the best case for your disability is that someone will not count it as a negative.  If you have a ton of positive things going for you as a candidate, then even if the search committee views your diability as a negative the pluses will outweigh this negative.  In the case of the deaf faculty member I know hu had amazing research and good publications so I think hu was a top candidate before hus interview.  Had hu been a B-list candidate I am not sure if hu would have gotten the job because of the deafness.
If you want to be inspiried my wife told me about this guy who went to school and majored in education.  But he also had terets and had a huge problem getting a job.  Eventually he has had great success and I think there is even a made for TV movie about this guy. 

[pinkmouse]

But he also had terets and had a huge problem getting a job. 

Did you mean Tourettes?

[dead_wood]

On rereading...

I wonder if announcing it right at the beginning puts people more at edge than anything else?  Then you become the candidate with the eye problem instead of the person with the awesome research and teaching.

Maybe work with an interview coach or friends to come up with other ways to exude confidence and focus in spite of the eye wiggling.  I think that would help unconsciously cancel out any worries about your ability to control a classroom.

I can only say that talking about the situation at the very start of the interview doesn't help .I have mail from a search committee chair telling me that he wanted to hire me but there were concerns from others that my eye condition would create problems for me interacting with students.  I don't know if it was appropriate to do, but I've asked a couple of other people who had invited me to conference interviews if my eyes were a fact in not getting an on-campus interview and they said "yes."  No, I've done nothing about that because I want to teach, not sue a school.  I can't imagine ever truly "winning" in that context in a meaningful way (I still won't have a teaching job there).  So since I know my problem is visible enough to be a problem, I need to do something explicit about it I think.
 

[dead_wood]

I would imagine that your problem is getting from the initial conference interview to the campus interview.  Search committees do not know about your disability until they meet you, correct? 

I sympathize with your challenge, and I would imagine that your disability tends to throw off your initial interactions with people far more than your long-term interactions.  People who stick around for repeated interactions with you (as students, colleagues, friends, etc.) get used to it, and rather soon it is no big deal.  Is that right?

Yes, in talking to people I know, it isn't a big deal or even relevant.  The issue then is what to do when that initial handshake that should be accompanied by looking an interviewer straight in the eye with a positive expression. If I can't do that, I'm assuming that my first impression is a negative one and since I can't make good eye contact during an interview, I presume that interviewers, probaby unconsciously, make assumptions about what this means.  "Why doesn't he look me in the eye?  What is going on with that guy? Is he trying to hide something from us?"  So the problem is how to avoid making a bad impression impression initially and prevent unconscious thoughts of interviewers that work against me.  I need a way to get interviewers to see me as they would any other candidate who is otherwise well-qualified but I don't know how to do this. 

[dead_wood]

I suggest that, after you secure the interview, you send a brief note to the interviewer explaining your disability and how you make sure that it doesn’t interfere with your teaching effectiveness.  I do think that, with preparation, the Search Committee members will consciously try not to unfairly discriminate. Suddenly being thrown into the awkward position of not knowing how to relate to someone whose eyes are going every which way could make SC members unfairly react against you (as tandem so honestly laid out).  If the first they hear of it is at the interview, I’m afraid that, no matter how well you handle it, their impression of the interview will center on that, and your brilliant analysis of underwater basketweaving and innovative use of scuba techniques in the classroom will be submerged (as it were).  If they have had a chance to get used to the idea, there will be no surprises and they will deliberately be putting their best least prejudiced selves forward, and maybe even congratulating themselves on the possible opportunity to become a more diverse department in terms of disability. 

I like this idea but I wonder if I'd be inviting having my interview invitation revoked.

[kedves]

The best way to deal with your interviewers might be for one of your letter-writers to mention in the letter. 

Have you looked around for advice from other people with the condition, for example wearing non-prescription eyeglasses to distract a bit from the eyes themselves?  I realize it should not be necessary and that one or more of your previous interviewers has violated the law, but I'm trying to be realistic.

[snowbound]

I need to do something explicit about it I think.

Right.  It sounds like the deaf situation is not really analagous--and maybe not the milder (perhaps) nystagmus situation.  Sounds like OP's condition is very visible--distractingly so for SC members.  And people are strange about eyes--windows to the soul and all that. American culture in particular puts great value on looking someone squarely in the eye.

OP, I cannot imagine any SC rescinding an interview invitation after its been made, simply on the basis of the candidate informing them ahead of time about having a disability.  They would be risking big trouble.  Far easier for them to just go through with the interview once it's scheduled, even if they have misgivings.

The best way to deal with your interviewers might be for one of your letter-writers to mention in the letter.

THis is a definite possibility, but it might result in no interview being offered--especially since at the application-reading stage the SC is desperately seeking reasons to pare down their giant stack to the dozen or so they'll interview at the convention.  Dealing with the disability after securing the interview sounds safer to me.  I do think a short letter from a faculty member address the condition with regard to teaching would be in order, but it needn't be combined with the regular letter, and can be given to the committee after the interview is arranged, or maybe at the interview.

[litotes]

You presumably have at least one letter in your dossier testifying to your teaching effectiveness, right?  Could the letter writer include at the very end, after s/he has written in detail in glowing terms about your pedagogy, a brief, unfussy note to the effect that the eye problem in no way undermined the effectiveness of your teaching?
Some schools (at least in MLA disciplines) ask for "evidence of teaching effectiveness" (either up front in the ad or in a later request for materials): be sure to have a really strong teaching portfolio to offer evidence to  counterbalance in advance any tendency among interviewers to leap to conclusions about what you're like in the classroom. 

[scampster]

I don't really have anything to add, but this was timely. I had never heard of nystagmus, but last week I met a grad student who displayed these eye behaviors and I knew it wasn't a social awkwardness thing as their eyes still did it when we were looking at a computer screen together. It took a few minutes to get used to, but it began to lose its distraction factor. But maybe their condition wasn't as bad as yours. We had a completely unrelated conversation about glasses/contacts and they said they wore contacts, so maybe that helps them too.

But anyway, good luck!

[angel]

It seems there is no perfect, magic solution here. If tandem were on the SC, she’d want you to address it at the start to put her and others at ease, but this might make artsy more uncomfortable and draw more attention than is needed. Snowbound would want to know in advance, and owlatrice would want it addressed so it didn’t appear to be a lack of social skills. Scampster would get used to it quickly with or without any explanation. Some would like to see a letter confirm that this has no bearing on teaching or relating to students and colleagues. Each of these strategies has merit, some may have potential drawbacks, and often SC members will react differently.

You cannot control the human variable and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Instead of trying to figure out what will appeal to others, I’d suggest focusing on you. The most important thing is to show your comfort and confidence in the classroom, in research, and relations with colleagues and students. Show that this is minor and need not affect your performance and interactions. Some do this successfully by addressing the issue, often with humor, and moving on. In others this can come across as defensive and off-putting. What sort of person are you? Do you have trusted friends and colleagues who will give honest feedback?