Olivia Marsden: An update on my experience of job hunting (BSL)

Earlier this year I wrote an article for The Limping Chicken about my experiences of job hunting as a deaf person. After a fairly long period of time out of the workplace to raise children, I had begun the process of looking for more substantial work. I had been taken on in various casual roles, such as exam invigilating, hospitality and cleaning, as well as some rewarding voluntary work, but my efforts to secure a longer term post with more regular hours and pay, was proving to be extremely challenging. I submitted applications and was fortunate to get several interviews, but was always turned down or ‘pipped to the post’ as they say.

My days were spent browsing the Indeed jobs website, attending job search courses run by the local authority, looking on LinkedIn and contacting old colleagues in case they knew of anything coming up. Having always felt it was important to be upfront and honest, I made mention of my deafness at the first possible opportunity on application forms and in my covering letters.

Things had moved on since I last worked full time, I told myself, and surely employers would be much more willing to look twice at a disabled candidate. The Equality Act had come into force and now there was the ‘Disability Confident Employer’ scheme, with (yet another) logo appended to the foot of job adverts.

This always puzzled me: did it mean prospective employers felt confident enough to interview and even employ a disabled person? Did it mean that disabled people should feel confident in applying for that job? Did it mean that employers could demonstrate that they felt confident they had done “enough” to attract disabled employees, and to keep them? Okay, perhaps that last one was a bit far fetched … but the slightly cynical side of me felt that society was still afraid of taking on deaf or disabled employees, no matter what the rhetoric. I haven’t managed to dispel this feeling yet, but trying to be a glass half-full type of person, even as I hold the mouse down for an especially long time to scroll back through the age range brackets when completing a questionnaire, I feel it is important to look for the positives.

I had a number of interviews, for local authorities, an adult education college, an arts centre and a university – all institutions where you’d probably expect to find the Disability Confident Employer scheme – but I honestly can’t remember if they championed this scheme or not.

The interviews were variable: one place was difficult as the interviewers sat spaced out round a huge table, so that it was very hard to lipread, and the lighting was poor (why do meeting rooms need to have ambient lighting?! It’s not a party). Another place was far better as the interviewers took extra care to sit directly opposite me (I had mentioned that it was helpful for me to face the speaker), and they specifically asked if I could hear them, which was greatly appreciated.

Another interviewer at a different institution asked how I managed on the phone, and when I said that it could sometimes be a little challenging, replied that it was just as well that I didn’t work in a call centre! Bizarre.

My next interview was far more productive, on both sides. It was for a technician post in a local school, and the interviewers were professional, knowledgeable and understanding. For once, I was not disappointed to be turned down for the job. We mutually agreed that it wouldn’t have been practical for me to take on the role, as I was unlikely to hear clearly in a classroom environment, with the volume of noise from the students.

But I didn’t feel dismissed in any way, as I was given the opportunity to demonstrate how I might have met the criteria, but after exploring the practicalities, it became apparent that this role wasn’t suitable. I feel that this way of conducting interviews is appropriate and fair, as it gives the deaf candidate the chance to see whether the job is truly right for them. I am grateful that the school gave me due consideration.

Very shortly after this, I heard that there was a job opening very locally, for an administrator role at the parish council. This particular post ticked all the boxes for me: it was local, it had the option of hybrid working, it involved very similar projects to ones I had worked on previously in full time roles, and it was with a small, friendly team.

I submitted my cv but didn’t mention that I was deaf until they emailed me to invite me for an interview. I was slightly apprehensive about whether this would put them off, but on the contrary, they could not have been more welcoming and understanding. The interview went very well and to my complete delight and surprise, they said that it wouldn’t be necessary for me to even answer the phone at all, as they already employed a member of staff who dealt with all phone enquiries. Despite being a small organisation, they made every effort to accommodate me.

I started working as a part time administrator last summer, and I am enjoying it a great deal. They have been nothing but supportive. There are some small aspects of the job which I need support to do, such as taking minutes at meetings (not a very frequent occurrence) but I have made an application to Access to Work to take out a subscription to Otter.ai, so hopefully I can use this transcription software to accurately record the minutes of a meeting. But there are always people who are willing and able to help me out with checking the minutes, so for that I am very grateful. I could not be more pleased to have finally found an employer who can see past my deafness.

It’s very easy to give up and be completely disheartened – and if you asked me a year ago, I would have doubted whether I could ever move forward. In the end, it’s all down to the people in an organisation. No Disability Confident Employer logos or other initiatives, however well intentioned, are even necessary. If an employer actively wants to make the effort to employ a deaf person, they may well find their willingness is rewarded with a loyal and productive employee.

I suppose if I could change one thing, it would be to enable me to work in the office a little more – we currently lack desk space so we have to hot desk and mainly work from home. I rely completely on email and WhatsApp messaging to communicate with my colleagues, and I don’t really speak to them unless I see them in person. Isolation is a key factor for many people working from home, but deaf people working from home are especially prone to being left out of the loop.

However, we are currently in the process of bidding for a new building and increased office space, including the all-important kitchen so that we can make tea and coffee properly. And not forgetting a snack corner … where would we be without the obligatory office cake? Watch this space.