Stutter making it hard to find a job?

Bud B

The interviewer may think your mild stutter is a nervous response which may put you lower in the ranking of others being interviewed as they may seem more confidant. Anyone who stutters should tell the employer up front that he/she stutters. One of my uncles took a brochure that The Stuttering Foundation has with him to each of his interviews, told the interviewer that he was a stutterer and gave him the brochure. Uncle Ken said that he stuttered less when he did that plus it made the interviewer aware of his situation and usually brought on questions about stuttering and working with both coworkers and the public. Go to www.stutteringhelp.org and look under their brochures for the one for employers. You can download it from the site or order some from the Foundation that are printed on really nice slick paper.

Charlie Bucket

Yes. I also have a stutter, but I have to talk to people all the time on the phone, during meetings etc. I can keep it under control most of the time by speaking slowly, unfortunately during the interview phase, an employer can pass you over for any number of reasons and they don't have to tell you why. I've found that if I show people that it doesn't bother me, then it doesn't usually bother them. Just be yourself, stutter your way through whatever you're trying to say, and if people want to judge you that's their problem. Don't let it stand in the way of communicating ideas to people because obviously you're an intelligent person with a lot to say, and don't let it stand in your way of being successfull.

p.s. I've looked into speech therapy and there is currently no method to "correct" a stutter. All you can do is try different techniques to minimize it.

Misunderstood emo kid

It might be, or might be subconscious. Suppose the employer liked you and someone else to get the job. If he was not sure who to pick he might have just picked the other person because he sees them as having a better self-image. Stuttering makes people think you are not confident or nervous, and everyone prefers relaxed people to nervous people.

kja63

What types of jobs are you interviewing for? Remember that a company must project a professional image at all times. If you have difficulty being understood by others and are applying for sales or phone jobs, you may not be hired. And no, that's not descrimination.

But if you are applying for research work, or analysis work, etc... then you should be equally considered for employment.

Kitty, Kitty Cat

theres no way to prove it...even it is. And, yes, stuttering can hurt you with your career...it's not consider apt communication skills. My suggestion is taking some speech therapy classes. Here's another opinion most ppl have about stutters: They're not confident...they stutter b/c they are insecure or could be lying about something. This is what your interviewer is thinking while conducting an interview...go to speech class and have it corrected.

It will be very difficult to find a job that you are qualified for and will most likely have to take a lesser paying/profile job b/c of this character flaw. i know it sux but welcome to the real world kid.

Mr. God

No its not discrimination. Employers are allowed to turn down people for their disabilities if it affects their ability to do the work. If we didn't have this provision in civil rights laws, things like pools being forced to hire paraplegic lifeguards would happen. Unfortunately for you an argument could be made on almost any job where you have to speak that your disability could affect your work.
My advice: Go back to those factory's you did grunt work. Factory's have office jobs too.

Ding Dong

I have a mild/moderate stutter. I'm a 38 year old male graduate with a BA in Economics w/ a concentration in accounting from UCSB. I passed all four parts of the CPA exam in 2001 the first time around. Apparently not all stutterers are mentally retarted. My stutter prevented anyone from hiring me out of school in 2001 and so I took various driving jobs for the next 5 years. In August 2006, I was introduced to the Speecheasy. It improved my fluency tremendously the first several months and then the improvement gradually receded back to close to where I started. The improvement in fluency, even for that short period, was enough to land me a Staff Accountant position at a CPA firm in December 2007. I worked there for 23 months and was let go because business has declined. Now, business had indeed declined because of the tough economy and alot of our small business clients were experiencing extreme hardships, but who's to say they didn't fire me really because of my speech problems. It is ridiculous that I can make more as a pizza delivery person than as a staff accountant at $18/hour. Now, with the economy and my shitty speech, I can't even get an accounting clerk position. I've had 3 interviews in the last 3 months for this position (all temp work) and I couln't even land the position. Mr God's advice, go back to those factory's you did grunt work at - may be the best advice you could ever hear. If you are young, your best bet is finding a trade you like that doesn't involve much verbal communication and learn it better than anyone. Always Remember: A man with One Talent that he does better than anyone else will make far more money than a jack of all trades type of guy who is average at each skill. Had I to do over again, I would have put forth my efforts into a Trade and not necessarily a university.

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