A woman who says she has been rejected from more than 3,000 jobs believes she may have been turned down because she has a disability, claiming that some employers seemed 'interested' until they found out she is deaf.
Kellie Wilson, 33, has been busy applying for thousands of roles over the course of the past two-and-a-half years - including everything from cleaner and dishwasher through to bin collector and supermarket worker; anything that doesn't involve speaking on the phone.
However, despite job hunting since summer 2017, she's been unable to secure anything, which has left her confidence in tatters.
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Wilson, from Middleton Tyas in North Yorkshire, had previously done temporary work in the probation service at the Student Loans Company.
She said her disability was never a problem, and that colleagues had been able to make a few adaptations.
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Now she fears she has been rejected by prospective employers because of her disability, claiming some companies have shown interest but stopped responding after she told them she was unable to do an interview over the phone.
She told ITV News: "I've had a few times where I've sent my CV off and had an email back from the company and they would say they're really interested and they want to do a phone interview. I can't use the phone because it doesn't allow me to lipread.
"I offer them other ways of getting in touch - email, messenger, Skype - anything other than the phone. And suddenly they don't reply."
She added: "It's extremely frustrating because I know I can do the job, and they (were interested) before they found out I was deaf.
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"It's infuriating, it really damages your self esteem and your confidence. It hurts - I start thinking, 'Is it me, am I useless?'"
Wilson has also been diagnosed with depression and anxiety 'related to' her unemployment, and finds it difficult to get out of bed each morning - but knows she has to support her family.
"People are discriminating so much that I feel that I'm not worth it, in a way," she said.
"So that makes it harder to get up in the morning, but I do try, and it takes a lot of energy to do just that."
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Wilson is now also even more concerned that her ongoing search for employment will become increasingly difficult, with rising unemployment and a fall in the number of vacancies adding to the competition.
Featured Image Credit: ITV