People with disabilities working in companies that support inclusive hiring practices can offer employers a wealth of advice based on their experiences. Listen to their stories of personal career experiences and discover best practices in recruiting and hiring people with disabilities. - BY Wilfred Smith

Like all people in the workforce, people with disabilities have different skills and are just as qualified as those without disabilities. However, they must get past the recruitment and interview stage to land employment. That process continues to be full of barriers, from biased decision-making to inaccessibility to necessary documents and interview space.

Organizations with inclusive hiring practices for people with disabilities are led by managers who recognize that this group can fill labor skills gaps, and it is not right to exclude them because of their disabilities. Just as importantly, people with disabilities are innovative and flexible because they have had to be, and they bring these qualities to the workplace. The best way to understand how they navigate the workplace and get tips based on their experiences for creating a supportive work environment is to listen to their stories and advice.

The Learning Process

Tim Goldstein was diagnosed with Asperger’s-style autism at age 54. Like many people with disabilities, he has had multiple careers and is also an entrepreneur. Goldstein became a Microsoft Certified System Engineer in the mid-90s. In the tech industry, he landed jobs but was let go a few times, and that was when he decided to become an independent IT consultant. Today, Goldstein is a Google technical trainer advancing the company’s neurodiversity efforts.

Goldstein and his prior manager, Patricia Li, shared how they learned to communicate with each other, providing interesting insights for organizational leaders. For example, Goldstein explained, “I asked lots of questions, especially about details. Detail-up is the way many of us who are autistic process information, not concept-down. Because Patricia didn’t yet understand the scope of what being autistic can be, my questions often came across as pushback. At the same time, I was struggling to understand what exactly was being asked of me because it was being presented from a higher level. Our relationship deteriorated, despite our best efforts. Even though we were being open and communicating in our individual ways, we were ineffective.”

After a few months, says Li, they hit a low point, forcing an honest conversation about his role. With a positive attitude on both sides, they worked out a system of communication that, through trust and honest intent, gave Li more understanding and Goldstein the opportunity to lean into his strengths, which included excellence at presenting, teaching, and mentoring. Goldstein’s advice for neurodiverse individuals is to be open about their neuro distinction because it helps managers. Jenny Lay-Flurrie is the Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft. She lost her hearing as an adult, driving her to make life easier for people with disabilities. Lay-Flurri leads the company’s effort to drive products, services, and websites aiming to revolutionize what’s possible for people with disabilities. She has achieved much, including founding the Disability Employee Resource Group, creating the Disability Answer Desk, participating in projects like the Autism Hiring Program and the Microsoft Ability Hackathon, and helping to start the Ability Summit.

Lay-Flurrie did an interview in which she spoke about her career journey, and her insights are invaluable. One is that she put up her own barriers by not self-identifying as deaf because it does not give people, including managers, opportunities to assist with overcoming the barriers. Talking about autism, she said the statistics show there is a simultaneous high employment rate and high underemployment rate for people with autism. There are millions doing jobs that are way below their qualifications. This prompted her to found the Autism Hiring Program because companies with a large employee group of people with disabilities will naturally create better products. “Diversity will breed into whatever role they are in,” she explained. “There is a high level of talent with STEM knowledge who should be at Microsoft.” So she looked at the blockers, and they were found in the interview process. “A person with autism with incredible talent will not be able to show it in a standard interview,” explained Lay-Flurrie.

Best Practices for Interviewing and Hiring People with Disabilities

Nicholas Lamar Wright is the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Human Development Institute at the University of Kentucky. He identifies as a multiracial man with a disability. Amanda Lannan is an assistant professor in the visually impaired teacher preparation program and the faculty director of the University's Plans to Achieve Transition program. She offers a real-world perspective as a blind individual, educator, and researcher. Wright and Lannan discussed six best practices for equitable hiring practices in any organization that wants to create an inclusive system for people with disabilities. First, ensure the application and interviewing procedures comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has online employer resources under the title “Disability Discrimination” to help ensure an inclusive hiring process. Second, it is important to ensure all application forms, employment offices, and interview locations are accessible to people with disabilities. For example, can people with auditory, visual, and cognitive diversity successfully access and use the website and online content? Also, applicants should choose how the interview will be held: in-person, via video, or online.

The third insight is to explain the recruitment and interview process in detail to all applicants so that those with disabilities can request reasonable accommodations. Fourth, the interview questions should focus on job qualifications, not disability. Can the person perform the tasks and meet job requirements? Related to four is the fifth piece of advice, which is to concentrate on the applicant’s skills, knowledge, experiences, abilities, and interests. The U.S. Department of Labor has a helpful article with advice for interviewing an applicant who happens to have a disability. The interviewer's perspective and the interviewing process should not be on the disability. The interview ensures the person has the qualifications and ability to do the job. It is okay to ask about an obvious disability or if the job candidate identifies as a person with a disability. However, the interviewer’s focus is still on the person’s ability and how they would perform the job. Wright and Lannan’s last suggestion is to continuously evaluate the search process for best practices, accessibility, and best practices.

Numerous resources focus on helping employers successfully recruit, hire, and retain people with disabilities who have the desired skills. For example, the Neurodiversity Career Connector has over 40 Roundtable employers searching for neurodiverse job candidates. Common neurodiversity includes people who are autistic or dyslexic or have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or Tourette Syndrome. There is the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy that provides the Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion and the Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion’s regional centers that match qualified job candidates with employers.

Changing Persistent Beliefs

It is time to change the narrative about people with disabilities. Unfortunately, there are persistent beliefs that they are not qualified, cannot perform their job duties, and require too expensive accommodations. Tim Goldstein, Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Nicholas Lamar Wright, and Amanda Lannan not only prove these beliefs wrong; they are exceptional employees who bring innovation and drive change in their respective organizations and society. People with disabilities are some of the most able, qualified, flexible, and resilient individuals with much to offer employers. They just need an equitable opportunity to prove it.