1. Disability Etiquette in the Interview Process
Lila Kelly, Lila Kelly Associates, LLC and DiversityIntegration.com

2. Video introduction
This video, created by Lila Kelly, shows three people with different disabilities talking about their experiences and perspectives on job interviewing.
They are not actors, and they are not role playing. They are real people living with their disabilities every day of their lives. These three people were willing to share their stories with the hope that this will help others see beyond the differences to the real person before them.
These video clips shows people responding to the questions: “What are some common misunderstandings in the job interview process about people with disabilities?” and “What makes you comfortable and uncomfortable in job interviews?”

3. Discussion question: What are applicants’ perspective?

4. Questions You Can and Cannot Ask
Cannot Ask : Do you have any physical impairments or health related reasons which would prevent you from performing the job for which you are applying?
Can Ask: Can you perform these functions with or without a reasonable accommodation?
Cannot Ask: How many days were you absent from work because of illness last year?
Can Ask: How many days were you absent from your last job.

5. Questions continued
Cannot Ask: We need people to be on time. Do you own a car? OR… Are you now receiving or have you ever received worker’s compensation benefits?
Can Ask: The job’s hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, with overtime occasionally. Will you be able to fulfill this job requirement?
Cannot Ask: The job requires lifting up to 50 pounds, can your back handle this?
Can Ask: The job requires lifting up to 50 pounds, can you lift 50 pounds?

6. Action Steps to welcome applicants with a disability
See handout article “10 Tips for Interviewing people with disabilities.”
List accurate essential functions for job.
Don’t assume accommodations are to expensive.
Don’t project your fears and assumptions onto the applicant.
Focus on the applicant’s abilities to perform the job.
For an applicant who is blind:
Introduce people who meet the applicant by name.
Do not interact with a guide dog. Ask for permission.

7. Action steps continued
For applicants who are deaf:
Ask the applicant who he or she wants for an interpreter.
Do not set up the interpreter with a window behind them.
Talk to the applicant, not to the interpreter.
Have the interpreter sit next to the interviewer.
For applicants who use a wheelchair:
Do not push or touch the person’s wheelchair without permission.
Make sure that all ramps, pathways and wheelchair accessible doors in your building are unblocked and unlocked.

8. Discussion question: What action steps can interviewers take?

9. THE END

10. Bio
Lila Kelly, of Lila Kelly Associates, LLC and DiveristyIntegration.com, is a diversity and human resource consultant. She works with organizations to create a diverse applicant pool and inclusive hiring and retention practices to reflect the diverse communities they serve. She also offers blended training workshops, online trainings and books on diversity hiring and retention.

11. Video Transcript: Video
Diversity in the Employment Interview Process: Disability Perspectives. Copyrighted 2001 by Lila Kelly, Lila Kelly Associates & Diversityintegration.Com
This video shows job applicants sharing their stories and perspectives. These are their personal stories and do not necessarily reflect the experiences and perspectives of others. Everyone's story is important and valued ...including your own. For it is through listening to other people's stories and sharing our own that we will be transformed.

12. Video Transcript continued
Woman who is blind: ... somebody who meets me, for example, as a person who is blind, for the first time, will project on to me in that job setting or that job interview, how they think that they would feel or perform if they were in my position. And if they are a sighted individual, having never experienced blindness, then they really don't know how that's going to be. Because I come into it having been blind all of my life, having developed coping skills, and knowing how to make accommodations for my particular visual impairment or blindness.

13. Video Transcript continued
Woman who is deaf, but grew up hearing, and uses a wheelchair: I have had other interviews that the person really talked down to me. That they really thought that I had no education, and because there's a lot of myths out there that most deaf only read on a third grade level, that we are not smart enough to have jobs.
I think that's the worst one I have had to suffer with.

14. Video Transcript continued
Woman who is deaf, but grew up hearing, and uses a wheelchair: Sometimes, connected with my past work, why I've not been working for long periods of time. They seem to be concerned about that as a health problem. It's not. It's just finding a job. I think that is harder for me to explain to people about the discrimination that I confront than anything else.

15. Video Transcript continued
 Woman who uses a wheelchair: ...when you get there you look at the job description, the last page which lists all the abilities that you have to have said, 'type 85 words per minute,' this was for an administrative assistant position, 'lift 50 pounds, bend, crouch, stoop, excellent vision, excellent hearing, ability to walk, ability to run, ability to bend, crouch, stoop.' It was essentially saying, 'anybody with any kind of disability, at all, need not apply.'

16. Video Transcript continued
Woman who is blind: ... in some cases I've had people offer to help me fill out an application when they could see that wasn't something... it was a print application, and that wasn't something I was going to be able to do myself. That's really nice. Of course the person who has the disability has the responsibility to ask those questions, but it's also nice if somebody anticipates it. It just feels more welcoming.
One of my favorites is always when I'll ask if there are chairs in the reception area, and they'll say, "Yeah, they're over there." And I kind of will laugh and say, "Over there?" And then they kind of get it. But it takes a while.

17. Video Transcript continued
Woman who uses a wheelchair: When they're fumbling, you know, "Oh, oh... you know, oh, oh, um, you can sit over there." And also when during the interview, they never ask any questions about your disability. I mean, it's obvious, it should be obvious, to the interviewer that I have a disability, and I will need some accommodations, or I just need to check out that X, Y and Z are accessible. When they don't even bring it up, that makes me somewhat uncomfortable.

18. Resources
This material and more along with suggestions to create a more inclusive and welcoming recruitment and interviewing process are included in the book Integrate Diversity into the Recruiting, Interviewing and Hiring, by Lila Kelly.
Also see Lila’s new book, 10-Step Diversity Assessment and Action Plan Workbook: Assess Recruitment, Selection and Retention Practices and Develop a Strategic Organizational Diversity Action Plan.
Books and online trainings can be found at DiversityIntegration.com. Also see LilaKelly.com or call for more information.