Top 10 Tips: Applicants With A Disability

Applicants with a disability should not necessarily feel disadvantaged when beginning the application process. Below are internshipHelp's top tips for applicants with a disability that are applying for an internship.

  1. Be honest and truthful from the beginning. When making your applications or writing your cover letters, try to let the employer know about your disability. It is nothing to be embarrassed or shy about and the employer is legally obliged under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) to not discriminate against disabled people. Try to work your disability into your application in a positive way. For example, ‘despite being visually impaired, I have created a number of paintings and won numerous awards in local art competitions’.
     
  2. Choose your internship carefully. Check the employer and position are what would be best for you. You must be realistic and objectively decide which internships you can competently and competitively apply for. For example, if you are confined to a wheelchair then it might not be wise to apply for an internship as a yoga instructor. For a list of specialist internships tailored to people with disabilities see the internships available on the useful links page.
     
  3. Make contact with the Human Resources or the Head of Recruitment before drafting your application. Whether by phone or email or in person, explain your disability and concerns and check that they have the facilities and can make the arrangements for your internship should they accept you. This does two things. First of all it shows the employer you are a serious and determined candidate and will be remembered when they read your application. Secondly, because the employer is obliged by law to do their best to accommodate disabled people, they will be forced to start planning how they would accommodate your disability before reading your application so that when they do view your application it is less of a surprise/worry/logistic difficulty.
     
  4. Read the employer website carefully and make sure you fully understand the application process before starting and make sure you will be able to complete all rounds of the selection process. If you need to then do not be afraid to ask the employer directly about what each round consists of. If there is something that your disability will prevent you from attempting e.g. an online test, then speak to the employer first and check that there are procedures for you to take a paper test instead. This will save you stress and time if you get through to that round of selection.
     
  5. In your application, as well as mentioning your disability, make the effort to explain how the disability will not hinder your performance and substantiate this with past examples of how you have coped with your disability. For example, if you have hearing problems then you might mention that you can lip-read and/or are proficient in sign language. You might give an example of a society or activity you have successfully pursued despite your disability.
     
  6. When explaining your disability in your application, go to the effort of yourself finding out what the employer would need to do/purchase/implement in order to facilitate your internship. For example, you might need special software that reads text on a screen or a left-handed mouse or a special chair. Whatever it is, do the hard work and research for the employer and detail everything that would need to be done. Again, this removes the uncertainty/worry/research for the employer and encourages them not to view you as a potential ‘headache’ or ‘problem’.
     
  7. If your disability is temporary, then explain what steps you are taking to remove your disability. For example, if you have recently had a throat injury that has affected your voice and speech then you might mention you are attending speech therapy classes at your local hospital. If your disability is long term then explain you are having professional advice and training to help you in day-to-day and career activities.
     
  8. If possible, ask Human Resources or the Head of Recruitment whether you can speak to current employees with disabilities. Although personal information such as a disability is confidential, they might be able to ask the employee to contact you directly. The advantage of this is twofold. Firstly, if the employer does not have any disabled employees then this will be highlighted and the employer will be slightly embarrassed if they are a large company and look to rectify this statistic e.g. by accepting an intern with a disability. Secondly, if you are able to speak to a disabled employee then you can freely and openly ask for advice on applying and interviews and how well they feel the employer has facilitated for their disability.
     
  9. Practice explaining your disability to people. Sometimes it can be quite difficult and emotional if in an interview you are put on the spot and questioned about your disability. You might even want to have a well rehearsed script for what to say if questioned about your disability. You must make sure you explain it concisely, confidently, and non-emotionally. You will demonstrate a very strong personality if you are able to talk about your disability in a very matter-of-fact manner and show that you have mentally/spiritually coped with your disability.
     
  10. As for anyone applying for an internship, make sure you check and re-check your application and even get somebody else to check your application. You should also try to use specialist advisors (see the useful links page) who know about applying with disabilities to check your application and advice you on anything you should add. There might even be somebody at your local job centre who can advice you.