BUT TIME LIMITS AND POOR INTEGRATION WITH SPECIALIST SOFTWARE UNFAIRLY DISADVANTAGE DYSLEXIC CANDIDATES, APPLICANT CLAIMS
A dyslexic graduate has slammed online application systems as being unfair for those who share her difficulty with reading and writing.
In an article for the Guardian headlined Online job applications and dyslexia don’t mix, Claudette Jacobs claims that although the rise of online applications might be helpful to recruiters, the system can create huge barriers for people with dyslexia. The language processing disorder affects up to 10% of the population, including writer AA Gill, Jamie Oliver and Holly Willoughby.
Claudette says online application forms present all sorts of problems for people like her. The voice recognition programme she usually uses – called Dragon – is often incompatible with the technology behind the forms, and employers’ IT departments are unwilling or unable to help. Worse still, there is often a time limit on the forms, which close if you take too long to fill them out. Claudette’s slow reading speed means she is often locked out of her application.
It is much easier, she says, to adjust her CV and covering letter in her own time, but many employers say the will not accept these submissions and she must complete the form, like every other candidate. Copying and pasting from her own materials into the application form is difficult for her too. She says:
“One HR person said if I couldn’t complete an application form then I wasn’t competent to do the job. Some of my friends with dyslexia — as well as some without — have had to turn to other people to complete their application forms; some even pay for this service.”
It always makes Graduate Fog cross to hear when bright, hardworking candidates are struggling to get their careers started – and in this case it seems particularly unfair. Having battled to get their university degree, ambitious graduates who happen to be dyslexic should not be at a disadvantaged by the inflexibility of employers’ application systems. Many of these employers can well afford better systems that offer a level playing field for all applicants.
*DO YOU STRUGGLE WITH ONLINE APPLICATION FORMS?
If you’re dyslexic, what challenges do you face when job-hunting, and what could be done to improve the situation? If you’re not dyslexic, do you think allowances should be made for dyslexic people when competing for jobs? Or do you think it’s important that all applicants should have to go through exactly the same process when competing for a limited number of jobs?
It seems unwise to reveal disability in my opinion. Does it not just give them another reason to reject you? It shouldn’t be like that of course….
@Anon
i totally agree with you, i never revelaed me being dyslexic untill they told me i had the job in the current role that i am in
telling them you are dyslexic, will give them a reason behind closed doors to reject you
This is short-sighted of the employer….Forms should not be hard to complete – that is the point of a form!!! They should be developing forms that are compatible to voice recognition or should be easy-to-use for all users, otherwise not only will they be creating forms with poor usability and accessibility but they miss out on a huge pool of potential talent.
Employers are required to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 for disabled people, this includes dyslexia. There is also an anticipatory duty under the act. This means they should have thought about this beforehand. They are contravening the act. They are also missing out on great talent. 1 in 5 entrepreneu
I have dyspraxia, the situation is similar to a person failing the psychometric tests, and being told that I cannot do the tests. Dyspraxia is as common as dyslexia, but much poorer supported, with huge numbers being undiagnosed. Dyspraxia and dyslexia can coexist.
The disability has to be substantial, long lasting.
I’ve only ever disclosed my dyslexia on an application form ONCE, and it was the only time I didn’t get an interview!! I’ve found that in reality disabled workers like myself are expected to keep up with the non disabled staff. I’ve seen people fired or forced to leave due to their disabilities. It is wrong, I’m lucky because I can usually cover my dyslexia up, but there are others who cannot and they should have that same opportunities as everyone else
I’m terrible at timed tests because my reading speed is appalling but it’s never affected my ability to hold down jobs. I think many of these tests are little more than intellectual snobbery. It makes me laugh the number of patronising 11+ style swat IQ tests people are meant to sit for jobs which in many cases have salaries lower than that of a bus driver or a baggage handler at Heathrow. Filling these positions entirely with intelligent people surely isn’t such a good idea anyway as surely if they were that bright they’d migrate very soon to jobs with better pecuniary prospects. Personally I think graduate jobs are a chimera there are just jobs. Okay there are some jobs which are intensively quantative or require lots of speed reading that I couldn’t do but come on… Interesting the genesis of many of these tests Google “the cult of personality testing”. Someone really should tell these people that they’re not the CIA. I blame Mensa & Jimmy Savile.