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Hiring Selection

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The interview plays a critical role in the hiring process, allowing agencies the opportunity to identify the individual who possesses the best mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities for the available position. Below is information to assist agencies in ensuring maximum benefit from an interview when the person being interviewed happens to have a disability.

  • Before the Interview

    Before conducting an interview, it is important to ensure that your agency's processes and practices provide for equal job opportunities for applicants with disabilities.

    Best Practices for Preparing for an Interview

    • Ensure that your agency's hiring and selection process complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits asking disability-related questions before a job offer is made.
    • Check that your agency's offices and interviewing locations are accessible to individuals with a variety of disabilities.
    • Be willing to make appropriate and reasonable accommodations to enable an applicant with a disability to participate in the interview, explaining ahead of time what is involved in the process. For example:
      • If an applicant who is blind states that he or she will need help completing forms, provide that assistance.
      • Provide an interpreter or CART (Captioning Assistance Real Time) as an accommodation or other assistance that is reasonable for an applicant who is deaf, if requested.
      • Provide details or specific instructions to applicants with cognitive disabilities, if this type of accommodation is required.
      • Reasonable accommodation costs are the responsibility of the agency (not the applicant).
    • Inform applicants ahead of time if they will be required to take a test to demonstrate their ability to perform actual or simulated tasks so that they can request a reasonable accommodation, such as a different format for a written test, if necessary.
      • Be sure to provide all applicants with information about how to request an accommodation, including the ADA Coordinator or designee's name and contact information.
      • Ideally, include this information in the interview request or confirmation email.

    Additional Resources

    Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs)
    Ten regional Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs) sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research provide ADA information, training, and technical assistance across the nation.

    Employer Assistance and Resource Network (EARN)
    EARN is a free, confidential service from the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) that connects employers seeking workers with qualified candidates with disabilities and offers technical assistance to employers on issues relating to hiring and employing individuals with disabilities.

    JAN is a free service of the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) and provides resources on reasonable accommodations and workplace strategies related to job applicants and employees with disabilities. Their website includes a number of resources that can answer employers' questions about how to ensure their hiring process is inclusive of people with disabilities.
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