A Fresh Look at Accessibility and Online Job Applications March 6, 2015 - 8:00 am Joiwind Ronen, PEAT Josh Christianson, PEAT www.PEATworks.org
Agenda Welcome Introduction to PEAT Background on Online Job Seeking Review of Key Findings Lessons Learned Q & A www.PEATworks.org
What is PEAT? Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology Cooperative agreement funded by Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) Initiative to advance the employment and retention of people with disabilities through the development, adoption, and promotion of accessible technology www.peatworks.org
PEATworks.org www.PEATworks.org
Employer Resources Employer Action Steps An interactive resource on PEATworks.org developed to help organizations evaluate the current state of their accessible technology programs, and identify tools they can use to make organizational improvements www.PEATworks.org
Why Does Accessible Technology Matter? EMPLOYEE: The internet serves as a gateway to employment in today’s marketplace EMPLOYER: Opportunity to widen the talent pool PROVIDER: Demand for accessible products www.PEATworks.org
Online Job Seeking PEAT focused on the user experience during job seeking: Search Application Pre-employment Testing www.PEATworks.org
Online Job Seeking Activities Conducted two dozen interviews with employer, technology providers and advocacy organizations Reviewed leading practices and research in online job seeking www.PEATworks.org
Why Isn’t Job Seeking Accessible? Employer Perspectives Awareness & Perception → “I don’t have users with disabilities” Compliance v. Usability Mindset → “Legal compliance is adequate” Resource Constraints→ “The accessible solution is costly/ time- consuming/ does not exist” Complexity & Customization → “The product is already accessible out of the box” Inadequate Testing → “Developer/electronic testing will identify any and all accessibility issues” www.PEATworks.org
Overview of Activities Conducted online survey from 350+ users with disabilities www.PEATworks.org
Survey Findings: Job Search and Social Media Increasing use of social media during job search 50% of survey respondents used social media as part of their job search process 37% said they experienced accessibility or usability issues when using social media www.PEATworks.org
Survey Findings: Tablets and Mobile Devices Significant use of mobile devices and tablets to search for jobs 55% of respondents had searched for jobs using a mobile device and/or tablets 27% of respondents have applied for jobs using a mobile device and/or tablet www.PEATworks.org
Survey Findings: Job Application Experience Over 40% of respondents experienced difficulties or were unable to complete the application www.PEATworks.org
Survey Findings: Pre-Employment Testing Almost 70% of respondents were asked to complete pre-employment testing Almost 40% of those said they experienced difficulties or were unable to complete pre-employment testing www.PEATworks.org
Difficulties with Job Portals Navigation is complicated Applications time out before completion Resume uploading is inconsistent and hard to review final product Features and formatting present accessibility challenges Many features are not compatible with assistive technology www.PEATworks.org
What’s Next The survey is still open on PEATWorks.org Continuing to talk to employers, developers and users including HR and employer groups Creating an interactive tool to share leading accessibility practices related to the job seeking process www.PEATworks.org
What Do You Think? Did this resonate? What did we miss? What else should we be doing? Who else should we talk to? Other questions? www.PEATworks.org
info@PEATworks.org www.PEATworks.org