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Employer Resources: Hiring & Interview Tips

Interviews:

  • When preparing to interview a person with a disability, you may need to adjust your usual arrangements. Do not assume you know what will be needed. Ask the individual.
  • Every candidate should be asked if they have any particular requirements in connection with the interview, if they are to do well.
  • Although you should be prepared to make accommodations, do not make assumptions about what a person can or cannot do. The person may have his or her own creative solutions to work-based challenges.
  • Focus on the main tasks and requirements of the job and the person’s skills
  • Restrict questions about the effect of the person’s disability to those that potentially affect their ability to do the job.
  • Do not ask, “What happened to you?”

Examples of accommodations for interviews include:

  • Changing the venue to a more accessible interview room for a wheelchair user.
  • Re-arranging the seating or lighting so that a deaf person can lip-read more easily.
  • Arranging for an appropriate person to help you communicate, such as a sign language interpreter.
  • Allowing the individual to bring an assistant or companion to the interview. They might not want them to come in, so a waiting place nearby may be needed.
  • Assistive technology—hardware or software that helps persons with disabilities use a computer or other devices.