Last reviewed: 22 June 2022
- The recruitment process should be tailored to the role you’re recruiting for – don’t use the same process for every role.
- Make sure every stage serves to help you identify the right candidate – think about where you advertise, how you sift and shortlist, whether assessments are necessary, and how you interview.
- Plan ahead so you can provide adjustments and alternatives where possible.
What do I need to consider?
How you decide to recruit for a role will have an impact on who will apply, how their applications are progressed, and how their abilities will be assessed. You need to make sure that this doesn’t unnecessarily deter disabled applicants or make it harder for them to be successful.
You should think about:
How you advertise the role
Will the details be found in a downloadable file, such as a Word document or PDF? Or will they be listed in the text of a web page, either on your website or an external website? You must make sure that any document or web page is accessible. See our Inclusive Communication Toolkit for advice about how to do this.
Where you advertise the role
Some disabled people may be more or less likely to look for jobs in certain places. For example, people with dyslexia may be more likely to see it if it’s advertised on a more visual platform such as Instagram, rather than on a text-heavy website.
Andy Briggs, Phoenix Group CEO, spoke at our 2023 Annual Conference about organisations should think about advertising roles in ways that attract disabled applicants.
How applicants will be asked to submit their application
Will you use a standardised application form? It may be better to have a more tailored application form, as being asked to answer questions that aren’t obviously relevant to the job can deter some disabled applicants, for example if they have mental ill-health or autism.
Make sure that instructions on how to apply are clear and easy to understand. See the resource ‘Standardised application forms – Inclusive design and adjustments’ in this Toolkit for more information.
Assessments
Will you ask candidates to do tests or assessments? If so, make sure that this is only testing to evaluate their ability to perform the tasks they will actually do in the job.
Some tests, such as psychometric tests, can be appealing as they claim to give you insights into the applicant’s psychology, but these can often discriminate against certain disabled candidates. See the resource ‘Designing inclusive tests and assessments’ in this Toolkit for more information.
Interview
Consider where the interview will be held – is the location accessible to disabled visitors? For example, if there are no lifts, prepare a room on the ground floor that a disabled person who can’t use stairs could access.
Also think about what candidates will be asked and how long the interview will last. Candidates should only be asked questions that relate to their ability to do the job they are applying for. Unnecessary questions and excessively long interviews can be a barrier to some disabled candidates, such as neurodiverse people and people who might need a break to use the toilet or take medication.
Job trials
Would the role be better suited to a job trial than an interview? Interviews can be a good way of assessing simply how good someone is at interviews. For skills based jobs it might be better to let the person show you how they do the job rather than tell you about it. Work trials can be a reasonable adjustment particularly for people with learning disabilities and some neurodiverse conditions if they would be disadvantaged by traditional interview based processes.
Adjustments and alternatives
At each stage above, consider what barriers might be present that might make it harder for disabled people to apply or be successful. Think about adjustments you can make and ensure you are prepared to make them, either in advance or if asked by a disabled applicant or candidate.
For example, make job adverts screen-reader accessible and use Plain English.
Be prepared to allow disabled people to submit their application in an alternative way if possible. For example, if you use a standardised form, you could allow a disabled candidate to submit their application as a PowerPoint presentation or a Word document instead.
You could also provide alternatives to assessments, if this would allow them to demonstrate the same competencies you are testing for. For example, you could consider a job trial instead of asking them to complete tasks in an assessment environment. See above. Make it clear at every stage of the application process – from the job advert onwards – how applicants and candidates can request adjustments.
Read next
- Alternatives to tests and assessments
- Designing inclusive tests and assessments
- Standardised application forms – Inclusive design and adjustments
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