Organisations are reputed to be falling over themselves to attract the best and brightest. Or are they? Some Deaf graduates are reporting that rather than receiving the red carpet treatment, they are stumbling on stony paths ending in failed interviews. Surely from a HR or business perspective, this is a waste of talent and time?
This need not be the case as one Deaf graduate (Ms D)’s experience of being interviewed at Enterprise Oil was that the red carpet was rolled out for her just as it was for others, even though she was ultimately unsuccessful but was highly complimentary of the attitude and handling shown by Ian Chalmers, the Human Resources Advisor of Enterprise Oil.
So what exactly did Ian do? First, he accepted that email was the way to go – technology that is familiar to and used by Deaf people – to communicate with Ms D and to ensure that details were clear before the interview. Having things on screen helps Deaf people as this is tangible and it reduces anxiety levels. Ms D said: “We emailed each other a few times to clarify all the details.”
Although Ms D has a high level of lipreading skill and uses hearing aids, she preferred to use a sign language interpreter for the verbal test and for the face-to-face interview. Unfortunately in the UK, such professionals are scarce and need to be booked ahead in good time, which Ian offered to do. As a well-organised Deaf graduate, Ms D had already started the process so his offer was not taken up. Nonetheless, her view was that it was a welcome change from other organisations that had not even offered to share the burden. In addition, because finalising the interpreter was still in the offing, Ian also suggested that the interview be deferred for another week, or to hold onto the scheduled date if the interpreter was available to come at short notice. This flexibility was described by Ms D as unprecedented: “It was as if he really understood all the problems of scheduling interpreters.”
Ms D also asked for a separate room so she could concentrate on the verbal and numerical tests. Her previous experience of sitting in a room with other candidates had showed her that frequently because the interview organisers were unaware, they would often shout out the remaining time, so she was constantly having to look up and check what was happening. This she found very distracting and so having a separate room meant that the organiser would need to physically walk into the room – a very clear visual indication of something needing to be aware of on her part. Ms D could therefore relax and concentrate knowing that at the right time, someone would come in. This request was turned down by other companies but granted by Ian. As he says: “She is not cheating or anything by being separate, so there’s no reason why we should further disable her by adding to the stress.”
Extra time was offered to Ms D during the administration stage, something that was not offered, or if asked for, rejected by other companies. The offer was accepted by Ms D who explained: “When the tests are being administered, very often the organiser is reading out explanatory notes while people are reading them so that everyone is clear what is expected of them. In my case, I have to lipread, so if I’m watching the interpreter, I don’t get the chance to read the notes. That’s where the extra time comes in useful to enable me to have a chance to absorb what’s been said while I’m reading the notes. I also sometimes need to ask for clarification as working through an interpreter reduces the amount of information from the speaker.” A recent study of interpretation on television bears Ms D’s comment out – it has been estimated that Deaf people only get 30% of the information using an interpreter.
Ms D was also asked if she were agreeable to other candidates knowing that she was Deaf. She gave her consent as from her point of view, she felt it important to let other candidates know why there is an interpreter present. As she said: “I don’t feel I need to hide my deafness under a bushel, it’s a statement to others that I’m here and I’m going to have a go just like them. I don’t see it as a big issue.”
Finally, Ms D could not praise Ian enough for always being available to explain the structure of the day and for answering any queries. He explains: “Deaf people miss out on an enormous amount of information, everyday things we take for granted, if we miss something, we can quickly catch up by asking a question here and there. Deaf people don’t have that so they need someone they can rely on to ask what’s going on, and I fulfilled that role for her.”
Summing up, Ms D said: “Enterprise Oil really opened my eyes. Trying to manage interviews with other companies – I won’t name them – was so frustrating as it was like having two jobs on the go, one to manage the interview and one to manage the communication part of it. Full marks to Ian for really working on it so I was able to concentrate on the interview. This was the first time I really felt equal.”
Last word to Ian: “I think it’s vitally important to ensure that there’s a level playing field. I just don’t think it’s fair to roll out a red carpet for some graduates and not others when we’re interviewing. Enterprise Oil isn’t going to get anywhere if it cuts off some potentially very good employees who just happen to be Deaf.”
Mrs D subsequently applied for a post in a very large finance department which she successfully obtained.
Many thanks to Paul Redfern for this article written in 2005. Paul is currently working in Swaziland in 2010 on a deaf school development project.
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