Monday, April 28, 2008
Working in Government? Training Conference Coming Up
On May 1, 2008, the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Government (DHHIG) will host its Employment and Technology Forum at the U.S. Department of Transportation, West Building Atrium and Conference Center, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, in Washington, D.C. from 8:00 am to 4:45 pm.

The theme for the forum is “2008 DHHIG Employment and Technology Forum ---Building Bridges with Innovative Technology”

This forum will feature subject matter experts from the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) who will be providing presentations in the area of reasonable accommodations, career management, and technology advancements. Part of the program also features a special track series of presentations that are designed for managers/supervisors and other people with an interest in working effectively with current and future deaf and hard of hearing Federal and government employees. The forum is being expected to attract a large number of participants.

Christine Griffin, Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will provide the keynote address.

To view the agenda of the forum and register to attend, please visit DHHIG's website: www.dhhig.org.

The deadline to register is by April 30, 2008.

The Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Government, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization since 1998 serves as an advocacy group for several thousands of Deaf and Hard of Hearing federal employees throughout the country and overseas alike on employment issues. DHHIG is committed to improving the opportunities among the members by providing education, training, and resources that may not otherwise be available elsewhere.

DHHIG sponsors several programs and events such as highly-acclaimed National Training Conference which takes place every two years. The 2009 National Training Conference (NTC) will be held on May 5-7, 2009 at Gallaudet University's Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center, which is conveniently located several minutes away from the our nation's capital.

For more information or any further inquiries, please contact either Kirsten Poston at 1dayseminar@dhhig.org.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Ben Lachman-- Project Manager


When Ben Lachman graduated from California Polytechnic State University with his degree in English, he learned it was difficult to land a job with very little work history. With the assistance of a job counselor at the Anixter Center, Ben began working at the Commerce Clearing House testing web links. "It was a very basic job and not my ideal situation, but it jump-started my motivation-- which is a key thing for a deaf person in a business environment," said Ben.

Ben's next job adventure began as the Director of Marketing for a team of financial advisors at Northwestern Mutual. "It was my job to handle client issues and come up with ways to market the financial advisors. I did an excellent job of coming up with marketing strategies however, the customer service was very time consuming and repetitive and a lot of it was over the phone," Ben explained. As someone with a large amount of ambition, this customer service job was a fine stepping stone to the next level, as it taught Ben the intricacies of salesmanship and building relationships with clients.

Ben moved out west and began working for a small real estate development company but that company went belly up. The owner was arrested several times, and Ben ended up managing one of his restaurants for four months. It was a challenge to communicate with multiple vendors, but Ben was able to adapt to the situation by using his Sidekick phone or through the good old pen and paper from time to time.

Ben is back in Chicago and now works as a Project Manager for Builders of Chicago. He is currently studying for his Real Estate Licensing exam and has plans to become the premier realtor for the Deaf community in Chicago.

Ben has some advice for deaf and hard of hearing individuals who are starting out in careers: "Make a road map - there doesn't have to be a particular destination, but a road map with goals, both large and small, is a very valuable thing to have because it provides you with something to work towards and you wont feel lost and aimless if you have goals."

Ben can be reached at: ben.lachman@gmail.com
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