Olivia Marsden: A deaf person’s experience of job hunting (BSL)

A letter by Kathleen Foster in The Guardian on 4th January 2023 highlights the issue of only 50% of disabled adults being in employment, and the lack of willingness by employers to put into practice those “reasonable adjustments” we are always being reassured will be forthcoming.

She makes the point that we as disabled people don’t shy away from working, but that it is made frequently impossible for us to do so, as the workplace is inaccessible.

My own experience as a deaf person with hearing aids, in job hunting after some time out to care for children, has not been overly positive.

Realising that my previous work experience in a variety of administrative roles in local government and charities was in need of updating, I undertook voluntary work, further studying and a number of casual jobs.

In short, I have kept myself busy, and I hope, made my CV look appealing in a crowded market where people jostle for jobs. I have always been upfront about my deafness on application forms, not just filling in the equal opportunities box, but mentioning the fact that I am deaf in my summary paragraph, taking care to stress that it hasn’t stopped me from achieving my goals (or words to that effect).

I feel that I have laid the groundwork for employers to then decide whether or not they want to interview me, again being careful to only apply for jobs where I definitely meet the person specification and criteria.

I have had lots of interviews, and while not denying that I am bringing more challenges to the table on account of being 49 and a single parent (although why should that matter? I’m hardly unique in that regard), I am constantly rejected.

The interviews themselves go positively: I am friendly, enthusiastic and whilst not having the perfect answer to all of their questions, I hope they can see enough potential to seriously consider me as an employee. All of the jobs I have interviewed for involve some phone use, to varying degrees.

Of course employers can’t ask directly whether I can manage on the phone – but even if they did, I would have to say, it depends on how clearly the caller is speaking, the amount of background noise, and so on.

If the issue of using the phone has come up, I tend to stress that I prefer to use email wherever possible (it creates a paper trail of accountability that phone calls don’t, which always makes employers go ah, yes, good point).

I downplay any difficulties and never say using the phone could be a problem, but I can see the fear in their eyes when they broach the subject in a broad way, such as asking me how I would demonstrate customer service when someone calls in, or how would I describe my manner when speaking to members of the public?

By the way, my speech sounds “normal” to use that dreaded term, and most people have no idea that I am deaf, as my hair covers my hearing aids, and I am told I speak well.

We move onto other questions, we finish the interview, and I am always courteous and polite. Then a day or so later, I get the inevitable email to say “Thank you for attending the interview, it was good to meet you. We are sorry to say…” and the usual meaningless and unhelpful “another candidate was a better fit” which covers all bases, conveniently.

Or, as I have my suspicions, that they’re afraid of employing a deaf person, no matter how decent their CV might be, because of…well, what? That the deaf person might sometimes mess up a phone call by not hearing correctly and taking down the wrong information? Fair enough, you might say. That the deaf person might sound “deaf” to the caller, or worse still, “stupid” and make the company look bad? Who knows what the rationale is. But whatever their reasons, we will obviously never know.

That doesn’t leave the deaf candidate any wiser, and doesn’t lead them any closer to a job. Could “reasonable adjustments” be made to ensure that the deaf employee doesn’t have to answer the phone unless in an absolute emergency, and that email, messaging or video calls will be the preferred form of contact for that particular person, in that part of the organisation? I’d like to think so, but I’ve yet to come across any employer who is willing to make those adjustments. 

Sometimes the discrimination shows itself even if they haven’t met me. I applied for a casual role at a garden centre, planting shrubs. I attached my CV, expressed my interest and filled in a few boxes. I was texted by the garden centre a few days later, saying thank you for your application for the planting role, and that given my CV, they thought I’d be a good fit for their customer services department instead, and would I call them to discuss further?

I texted back, explaining that I was deaf, but that I would certainly call them and would be happy to chat. I left a message the next morning, reiterating my thanks and looking forward to hearing back from them about the customer service role. Complete silence after that.

A week later, I received an email thanking me for my application to the garden centre for the planting role, but that they weren’t going to take it any further. No mention of any customer service job. Clearly they had not been expecting a candidate to announce that they were deaf, particularly for a customer service role, and I can imagine they decided they couldn’t respond. It made me feel frustrated and angry.

They liked the look of my CV enough to message me separately and ask me to call them to discuss a different role; but once they got wind of the fact that I was deaf, they were spooked. 

This is what we as deaf people are up against: fear, ignorance and a complete unwillingness to consider a large number of very able and willing people who, given the right opportunities, will more than deliver in any given job role. So they either respond with the usual bluster about having another candidate who more closely fits their requirements, or they say nothing at all, because they’re terrified of the repercussions.

What’s the answer? I don’t honestly know. In my two casual jobs, working in a school and in hospitality (which is especially challenging as a deaf person, but I muddle through) my colleagues mostly know I am deaf, if I have told them (or the more perceptive ones have figured it out) and they are all understanding and accommodating.

It doesn’t take much to just repeat things occasionally and to remember to face me when speaking to me. In turn, I will always help other people and go the extra mile, so as to prove my worth.  It’s time for employers to put aside their prejudices and stop assuming that deaf people can’t do jobs, just because they’re deaf. We’re as good as the next person, and that’s saying something.