We can offer information, advice and support to help you succeed in the workplace.

After speaking with one of our adult specialists, you may be offered career mentoring if your main concern regarding your disfigurement is about finding a job or moving forward with your career. This will enable you to:

• Identify your skills and talents
• Define the career or job you would like
• Look at any extra qualifications you might need to make this career or job a reality
• Review your CV
• Decide whether to disclose your disfigurement in your CV or an application form
• Prepare for the interview
• Prepare for the first day at work.

Here are some suggestions for the more common concerns that you share with us.

Disclosing your disfigurement or disability in your CV or application form

Some people prefer to include information about their disability or disfigurement in their CV or application form. Others prefer to wait until they are offered an interview. Whether you do so or not will depend on how confident you feel about presenting your disfigurement positively in writing or broaching the subject in the interview itself. It will also depend on what you know about your prospective employer’s stance on equal opportunities.

Before you make your decision, try to do research on the employer, ask for a copy of their equal opportunities policy, ask around locally about their reputation for inclusive recruitment. Go to the library and have a look at their annual report or get it from Companies House. Pose as a customer or client and see how you are treated.

If the employer displays a two tick symbol on the advert or application form, this means that they are positive about disability and will guarantee every person with a disability who has the minimum criteria for the job an interview.

Bringing up your disfigurement at interview

It can be difficult to introduce the subject of your appearance when you sense that the interviewer is doing everything he or she can to avoid the subject and yet the quicker you can get it out of the way, the better it will be for you both.

One of the best ways is to turn your disfigurement into an additional asset for the new job. Many people who have a visible difference acquire exceptional communications and social skills to handle the reactions they get from the general public and put people at ease.

You may have learnt techniques to reassure people in your presence. You will probably be assertive when the situation calls for it but be able to tune in to other people's feelings and concerns. You may have lots of different ways of dealing with questions about your appearance and know how to use humour as an ice-breaker.

You may have found through living with a disfigurement that you have needed to put in extra energy and effort to hold people's attention and get what you want from a situation. In the same way you will be used to not giving up when a situation goes wrong but trying again knowing that practice makes perfect.

These are skills and qualities that any employer would value. Before you are invited to an interview think up some examples that demonstrate your communications and social skills and use them to introduce your disfigurement in a positive light.

Preparing for your first day in a new job

Preparation for your first day should actually begin before your start date. Arrange a meeting with your line manager to sit down and discuss the induction process. Whilst you may not want to make waves and demands in a brand new job, think about how you want people to know about your disfigurement as your new colleagues, will, naturally, be curious.

One idea is to keep an eye out for the friendliest person and explain about your condition or disfigurement to them. Give them permission to explain the facts to other people about it so there aren’t any rumours or gossip.

It will also help if you have some brief factual explanations ready to answer any direct questions so that any curiosity is dealt with as quickly as possible so people can move on to focus on the quality of your work and you as an individual.

Your rights in the workplace

‘Severe’ disfigurement is covered under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

If you believe you have been unlawfully discriminated against, victimized or harassed as a result of your disfigurement please contact Changing Faces for further information and support.

Going back to work when your appearance has changed

It is likely that you will also have undergone significant emotional and psychological changes as a result of a change in your appearance. You may find it helpful to ask your employer to contact Changing Faces so that we can assist you both with informing and preparing your colleagues and negotiating a flexible approach to your hours and workload so that you can build up your physical and emotional stamina over time.

If you work in a customer-facing role, you may like to agree in advance what will happen if a customer is abusive about your appearance or refuses to be served by you until you feel confident to handle other people’s reactions assertively. You might agree that another member of staff will immediately step in and serve the customer but say to them, “We value all our customers and we expect our customers to offer the same courtesy to our staff members.”

If you would like to speak to Changing Faces about any concerns regarding work please contact 0845 4500 275 or email info@changingfaces.org.uk