Could you accommodate a work trial? This would give you and the candidate you are thinking of hiring an opportunity to see how they do on the job. The candidate could also have the support of a job coach (via their college/training provider or Access to Work). A job coach would support them initially and then gradually move away as the candidate works more independently. A mentor or buddy in the workplace would then be able to support the candidate. This is also a great way to upskill your own staff and gives the candidate an opportunity to see if they like the environment and job.

A Supported Internship would be a great way to use a work trial and save your business recruitment and hiring costs as the education provider would match you to a suitable intern and as the workplace learning is part of their education course, you would not be required to pay the intern a wage. This is a great opportunity for you as an employer and provides the intern with the experience they need to succeed in the workplace. For more information see Supported internships

• Supported Internship Placement at Southern Tyre and Battery Service (Hampshire County Council)
• Children Services Supported Internship & Graduate Landscape Case Study 2022 (Graduate Landscapes)

Another option would be to offer a work assessment instead of a work interview. This is like a work trial but for a shorter period. The candidate might still bring along their job coach to offer support.

If you are not able to offer an alternative to an interview, there are things you can do to make the process more accessible, which in turn will give you more talent to choose from. We have highlighted some of the key considerations below but you can also access more information from the links at the end of this section.

We all know interviews can make people feel nervous and for some potential candidates this level of anxiety will be enough to put them off applying. One thing you can do to help applicants feel more comfortable is to send out the questions in advance. This will give them more time to prepare their answers and think of relevant examples. This will make the interview process fairer for young disabled people or young people who do not have English as their first language.

If it is not possible to send the questions in advance, perhaps you could send out information on the themes of the questions. Make sure these are actual requirements of the job and break them down to be specific. This way the candidate can consider relevant examples.

Consider the wording – make sure the language you use is inclusive and will help the applicant to answer the question. If you want examples of teamwork do not ask ‘are you good at teamwork?’ because some candidates will view this as a closed question and will say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Instead, you might want to ask, ‘can you give me examples of how you worked in a team?’ This will make it clear to the candidate what you want to know and help them to give you the correct information and examples. A good way to approach this is to think; what is the answer I want and what is the direct question I need to ask, to give me that answer?

Be concise, do not use jargon and only ask one question at a time. If it is a two-part question, make it two questions. Try not to use hypothetical questions such as ‘where do you see yourself in three years?’ or ‘if you were an animal what animal would you be?’ as some disabled young people, particularly if they are neurodiverse, may struggle to visualise this.

If you would like to know how the candidate would act in a situation, give clear, precise, and specific information. Rather than ask ‘If someone had an accident on site how would you act?’ which could cause them to think ‘what kind of an accident? do they require an ambulance or a plaster? where on site did it happen? who was around?, you might want to ask ‘Whilst working on site, someone fell off a ladder from the first floor and you were the only person around, what would you do?’ By providing a little more detail, you will enable them to understand the situation fully and answer the question.

To ensure your questions are inclusive and not gender biased, consider running them through the Gender bias decoder (Totaljobs) and Accessibility Checker (Microsoft).

Also be mindful of non-binary language.

Before the interview it is a good idea to ring the candidate to introduce yourself. This will reassure them as they will have heard your voice and know your name. If you haven’t sent out photos and information about the team and workplace prior to this, now is a good opportunity to do so.

Pre-recorded video interviews have great benefits for the candidate and the employer. All you do as the employer is identify the candidates you would like to interview and send them the questions in advance, along with specific instructions on how you would like the interview recorded. These may include how long you would like the recording to be, what format, inside/outside, any particular background, etc.

Benefits to the employer of using pre-recorded interviews include:

• saves time trying to arrange each interview
• you can interview more people
• in a normal interview you are restricted to how many people can be on the interview panel as too many can be intimidating to the candidate. However, if using pre-recorded video interviews, you can have as many people involved in reviewing as you like
• if the interviewee does not showcase the skills you are looking for you can move onto the next one without worrying about offending the applicant

Benefits to the candidate:

• candidates can review the questions in advance and prepare their answers and examples
• if the candidate is anxious, it will remove some of their anxiety as they will be able to re-record any answers they think they could have answered better
• it will remove any transport or financial barriers that might face the candidate in accessing the workplace for interview
• please note, you may need to consider making alternative provision/ reasonable adjustments for those candidates who are unable to record themselves e.g. some visually impaired candidates

Prior to the interview, consider the room you will be using:

• is it accessible to all?
• do you have good lighting?
• is it quiet? Be mindful of distractions outside the room
• will it require candidate to work through an active workplace?
• is it ground floor with a window where people might be walking past or in a busy office?

If there are lots of distractions people may find it hard to concentrate and appear distracted. Consider if there are any ways you can limit/ minimise potential distractions. For example, could you close a blind or choose a day when less people are in the office?

If possible, conduct interviews in a room that has curtains and a carpet as this provides better acoustics. This is particularly helpful to candidates who are hard of hearing but will also benefit everyone.

If you are interviewing on site such as in a portacabin, as well as the recommendations above, it is also important to ensure the room is clean and people do not need to enter or walk through it whilst the interview is happening.