I would be unable to walk from one corner of Walmart to the other in less than one hour. I use a walker because walking is hard. ( as mentioned in original post )
I'm not familiar with Cerebral Palsy or your circumstances, so hopefully this isn't ignorant of me:
Assuming it doesn't affect your typing, develop a shtick in case your Cerebral Palsy comes up in an interview, maybe say something that people could consider humorous such as: "It doesn't affect my ability (analyze etc) and (type out reports etc). If Usain Bolt had to run a race using his fingers, he would have to get used to being in second place behind me (and smile showing it's okay to laugh)"
You mentioned you use a walker, would a wheelchair (just for in-person interviews) be doable? I think people are less likely to be negatively judged for using a wheelchair than a walker. Seeing a younger person in a wheelchair is far more common than seeing a younger person use a walker. Seeing something strange (uncommon) will be treated negatively subconsciously. If you can locomote faster in a wheelchair, than people will subconsciously equate that with your ability to work faster, especially if you can roll faster than other people can walk.
If you do the wheelchair thing, and you get a job working in-person, use the wheelchair for a week or two, but tell people a white-lie such as your doctor says you can transition to a walker in the next week or two, which will help strengthen your leg muscles. Always spin stuff positively. That way when your coworkers see you using a walker, they will be supportive and think positively to themselves rather than thinking how terrible that must be.
(Just be sure to have a complete backstory ready to go for things like when people ask, how long have you been in a wheelchair. Or maybe have a reason why the wheelchair was just temporary and you used a walker beforehand.)
Hmmm... Would that be considered a "hack" good enough for Y Combinator's application? It's been a few years since I looked at their application.
2. Any company that even asks about your disability during a job is a red flag. The company is unprofessional and doesn’t know how to interview.
3. You only have so much time to impress people during an interview. Don’t waste time talking about it. Besides no company with any interview training will talk about a disability during an interview.
You admitted that you don’t know anything about cerebral palsy. Just sit this one out.
I understand you have Cerebral Palsy, I would prefer OP's thoughts. Thank you for your feedback, I hope it helps OP.
OP, if you're not already, perhaps join some communities for people with Cerebral Palsy and ask them. As the comment I'm replying to makes obvious, we might be too out of touch to provide advice.
I suppose it also depends on your attitude. People can have different attitudes about the exact same affliction, and get experience different outcomes because of the difference in their attitudes.
> it's just super competitive so companies have so many options on who to hire
Yes, it is this and not likely related to your abilities or disabilities so much as the natural flow and quality of the interview.
Having interviewed a lot of people, some candidates really make an awesome impression and stand out. If we don't have one of those stand-out, hire-them-now candidates, we don't hire. So I would work on being the person they can't wait to send an offer to -- in addition to skillset, this most often comes down to charm, a sense of "getting it" or clicking with the overall role/company, reading the room, and excellent natural back-and-forth, which is super hard over video calls.
The key here is numbers. In a tough market, you probably need 10 interviews to get hired. Figure out what got you those first few interviews and lean in and make many more happen. You'll find the people you click with and your experience of going to multiple interviews will give you great practice in the meantime.
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