Coming from the perspective of a mother with disabilities who has been working since my first stationary catalogue in Grade 6, worked newspaper route in high school, and then got into retail jobs right from 16 onward. Since then, I have grown into many jobs and have attended many, many employment counsellor sessions, read up on all the best practices, and developed them further. I have been on hiring committees, been on evaluating committees, on-boarded & trained staff, and have even had to fire folks in my jobs. In addition to those experiences, I studied employment as a sociologist and then as a librarian in a management faculty during which time I was also a career information assistant. I am also certified in Mental Health First Aid and actively coach clients who are returning to work or struggling with work. Plus I have been actively seeking work for a number of years and am intimately familiar with the processes. So, now that I have introduced myself, let me get into the reason for my blog post today: trauma informed recruiting and hiring practices.
The world is reopening and pretty well everyone has been traumatized to some degree at this point, especially the neurodiverse and those with disabilities. Jobs have been lost, lives flipped around, and medical fear has run rampant. Most folks are on edge. So how does this translate to when a person goes to get a new job? How will they be received? Most employment counsellors will tell you to play the game and play along with them. I take great issue with this as it basically means you cannot be human and if you show any sign of mental struggle, you will be passed over for the person who masked it all. Personally, that is heartbreaking as I know some brilliant minds who have depression, anxiety and other neurodiversities. The hiring system is too ableist and the evidence of that will show in how often a job gets posted, how many candidates it takes to interview to fill a position, and how long the person stays if the "fit" was a lie.
Fit culture is highly ableist as it expects employees to fit a mold. Not frickin likely, folks. How about we embrace these neurodiversities. Each one has their advantages but the disadvantages are more well known and feared by employers. Take cPTSD for example - yea sure it means I got some triggers but my gosh, it also means that I remember events like they were yesterday. How about we talk about the superpowers? Someone who is more anxious may need more explanations and ask more questions - some employers will actually appreciate a person who asks a question rather than presses ahead without a peep for it to not be done right. Ask your questions.
Another issue with interviews is the time periods. If a person went through trauma in the years specified for the interview process, that will make it very difficult to communciate. Saying that you have to have experience in the last three years, or only talk about the last five, is horrifying. It also gives folks the impression that if you fall down for any period of time, there is no getting back up. In fact, you risk having to abandon your career for a new one (and then there's very little if not any supports, as you have already chosen and that was your one shot). It is terrifying. Personally, when asked to only relay the last five years, I say I can remember tasks at jobs ten years ago that feel like yesterday (yay cPTSD) and the last five years have not been great. This usually puts them off, but it is the truth. Limiting years of experience is also very ableist and soul crushing - also means they cannot pay you for your applicable experience as they won't know about it and its the resume that determines the pay scale, often times (I can blame academic and especially Canadian Federal job processes). This can be argued but... if you are on the quiet side like me and just feel super duper grateful to get any job at all, you are not going to want to rock the boat.
So, if you are still reading this, what you are reading has likely resonated and now you're wondering what in the world to do about it? Here are my takes:
Recruiters and Hiring Managers
Every recruiter needs to have trauma informed training to discern between a lack of skill and a lack of supports.
Every hiring manager needs to be aware of the reality of the last few years - especially with parents needing to be with their kids more often, with sicknesses, and with the world having been shut down for the last while. Talk with other recruiters and your HR team to discuss how to account for the new world order.
Allow a person to communicate their skills, regardless of timeframes.
Offer benefits, even limited, right from day one so the candidate can get supports right away rather than burning out around the three month mark, when they would be getting benefits. Six month wait for benefits is absolutely detrimental. Health supports in this case can absolutely be Too little, too late. If you have an equal opportunity program option, look into that to offset costs.
Job Seekers
Keep a constructive attitude during your interview - you do this by flipping your own scripts to show growth.
If you feel uncomfortable with a question as it focuses on a time of your life that was very difficult, explain that without getting into the details - "Yes, during that time there was a lot going on, but what I was able to do was...".
If the hiring committee absolutely insists on a specific time frame, call it out for being ableist, unrealistic and give a really good example from another time frame that you are comfortable talking about. If they give you a hard time about that, simply say that you rather give them a proper example that better highlight your skills. If they continue to bully, then they are probably not the employer for you and just gladly move on. Sad thing is, it could be a decent workplace but the recruiter is the gatekeeper.
Keep in mind that we are all human but you are the one setting the tone for how you will be treated and your expectations are important. Write down your questions to ask at the end of the interview, to ask upon a job offer and even questions to ask if you are not successful.
Finding gainful employment is not easy. Hiring managers and recruiters need to develop a softer side rather than this rigid "fit-culture" that does not account for various neurotypes. I ABA'd myself by taking all the courses and workshops possible right from high school onward to learn how to "fit into" the work world. I do not believe a person should burn out as I have, just to have a job, just to have benefits. So, I offer these suggestions to both sides of the table to facilitate more diverse hiring practices.
Hiring managers - you are welcome to hire me to discuss your hiring practices in the lens of disability, ,neurodiversity, and trauma: https://www.theunlibrarian.com/service-page/neurobridging-professionals-initial?referral=service_list_widget
Folks looking for work - you are welcome to hire me to talk about career options and more: https://www.theunlibrarian.com/resume-consult
For more information in general as to my disability advisory services: https://www.theunlibrarian.com/disability-advisory-services
Good luck in your job search and in your recruiting efforts, respectively!
The unLibrarian
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