Hiring Selection

Conducting an interview with an applicant with a disability is essentially the same as it is with any applicant. Below are some tips for interviewing an applicant with disabilities.

Best Practices for Interviewing an Applicant with a Disability

• Relax and make the applicant feel comfortable. If the applicant has a visible disability or reveals a disability during the interview, concentrate on the individual and their abilities, not the disability.
• Treat the individual with the same respect you would treat any applicant whose skills you are seeking. Likewise, hold individuals with disabilities to the same standards as all applicants.
• Ask only job-related questions that speak to the functions of the job for which the applicant is applying.
• Talk directly to the applicant, not the interpreter or aide.
• Account for delays with interpreters on the phone or speech to text relays for candidates who are deaf and hard of hearing.
  • Be aware that there may be a delay on the phone if an individual is using a relay service. Oftentimes, employers will hang up because they think the call may be a telemarketer or that the connection is bad.
• Recognize that there are often many ways to accomplish the same task.
• If you do have concerns about the individual may do an essential job function, then ask.
  • For example, if an individual in a wheel chair will have to conduct physical inspections of facilities that may not be accessible (navigate stairs where there are no elevators), it is okay to say that this job will require you to conduct physical inspections of facilities that may not be accessible. Can you perform the essential functions of this position with or without accommodation?
• Evaluate applicants based on the questions you ask and answers you receive to demonstrate the individual's job qualifications.
• Be aware of unconscious bias.

• Ask an applicant if he or she has a disability during a job interview.
• Try to imagine how you would perform a specific job if you had the applicant's disability.
• Ask questions about the existence or nature of a disability (i.e. Why exactly do you use a wheelchair? ).
• Assume that staff would need special training to learn how to work with individuals with disabilities.
• Assume that certain jobs are more suited to individuals with disabilities.
• Assume that an individual cannot or does not want a particular job because of apparent or non-apparent disabilities.
• Assume an applicant with a disability does not have the requisite education and training for a job.
• Hire an applicant with a disability who is not qualified to perform the essential functions of a job, even with a reasonable accommodation.
• Assume that a work environment will be unsafe if an employee has a disability.
• Make medical judgments.

Additional Resources

Don't Hang Up Campaign and Video
Washington Relay's Don't Hang Up campaign and video are helping to reduce the frequency of hang ups by people who are unfamiliar with relay. Visit their website for information on communication devices and services that may be used by individuals with disabilities throughout the hiring and selection process.

Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs)
Ten regional Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs) sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research provide ADA information, training, and technical assistance across the nation.

Employer Assistance and Resource Network (EARN)
EARN is a free, confidential service from the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) that connects employers seeking workers with qualified candidates with disabilities and offers technical assistance to employers on issues relating to hiring and employing individuals with disabilities.