• If looking for work seems discouraging before you even begin, force your mood into a competitive, ambitious applicant! You have as much right to a job as anyone else so get that fighting attitude! You CAN do it and you'll feel so much better once you do!

• Make your qualifications as an applicant central to your interview and don't let your interviewer get sidetracked by a wheelchair or any other evidence of your disability. If you fulfill the job requirements and present a can-do attitude, your disability is irrelevant.

• If your disability is obvious, don't pretend it's not there — address it — only as it relates to the position your applying for. (Outside of the job's requirements, your disability is your own business.) Discuss how you will fulfill the responsibilities of the available position and if applicable, discuss what type of accommodations you would need (such as an adjustable chair, adapted telephone, guide dog, etc.)

• Tell your interviewer how you will get to work each day, what mode of transportation you will use, and any other pertinent information that will let him or her know you are ready and able to report for duty. Accentuate the positive — highlight your accomplishments (however modest) and your willingness to work. Make this about you, as a valuable human resource. Go get 'em!