Recently, I applied for a job.
It was for a non-profit that specialized in providing job services for people with disabilities. So it makes sense that everything having to do with disability inclusion would be perfect, right?
Yeah, about that. My non-disabled husband informed me that he could have completed the application in 5-7 minutes. The application portal had no focus indicators, the questions were poorly worded, fields were mandatory and then they asked you to put n/a if it didn’t apply, and the error messaging was nothing more than generic “you have an error” garbage. So it took me 25 minutes to submit.
And then 35 minutes later, I got an auto rejection email, likely without a human ever having reviewed my application.
And this is happening literally every day. People with disabilities looking for jobs have to deal with:
1) Inaccessible job portals
2) Discriminatory job descriptions
3) Limited or no accommodations
during the application process. We stress out about whether or not to disclose the disability at all. And then if we are lucky enough to get a call, we get to deal with more accommodations headaches and unconscious interviewer bias. If, by some miracle, we get an offer, too often our salary is low-balled by recruiters who perceive the disability as a lever to press to offer lower pay.
It’s frustrating that accessibility and inclusivity still seem like afterthoughts in many hiring practices when they should be integral from the start. How we approach job hunting needs to shift to accommodate everyone, not just the majority.
Unfortunately, I expect to be repeating this post next year during NDEAM2025.
Alt: Looking for a job is exhausting. Looking for a job when you have a disability is ridiculously exhausting.