Tips on getting hired if you have a disability

Finding employment can sometimes be tough. It often involves sifting through messages of rejection and attending a few unsuccessful interviews before you finally get a call or email to say, ‘Welcome aboard’.

For people with disabilities, it can be harder still to find a job. Even though employers cannot legally discriminate against candidates with disabilities, the work could involve a degree of physical or psychological activity that is beyond the candidate’s capabilities. Don’t be disheartened though; many jobs are ideally suited to people with disabilities.

Desk jobs such as accounting, financial planning, consultancy and counselling require minimal physical exertion and can be performed from home, negating the need to travel to an office (which can sometimes be many storeys high – presenting challenges of its own).

When applying for job vacancies, people with disabilities are well advised to acknowledge their disability but to emphasise that it would not hold them back from doing the job to the required standard. This tells an employer that the candidate has a positive and proactive attitude that is well suited to a professional environment.

This infographic discusses how people with disabilities can approach the job-seeking process with confidence and prove to employers that they are capable of performing the tasks required of the position.

Burning Nights, a chronic pain charity, published an infograph with advice on securing employment for people with disabilities. Founder of Burning Nights Victoria Abbott-Fleming notes: “There are practical challenges which may need to be faced when candidates with disabilities attend an interview, but these can be overcome with some intelligent thinking. A candidate with a mindset of ‘Here’s how I’ll deal with this obstacle’ is far more likely to be hired than one who doesn’t believe the obstacle can be conquered.”

The full infograph can be viewed here.