Reasonable adjustments
Feature
In terms of the interview process , having waited a long time to be given a date , they found that they had to do a ‘ last minute ’ 10-minute presentation , with less than a week ’ s notice , on a date that wasn ’ t really suitable .
They recall : ‘ The request for that kind of presentation really made me think about whether my dyslexia and reasonable adjustments had been understood ’.
Having raised their concerns over not having long enough to prepare , and with the support of the recruiting panel to accommodate their needs , in the end the interview date was kept open for them to do it at a time more suitable .
But they didn ’ t at this point mention their dyslexia , as they ‘ assumed it would have been picked up from the application ’.
As with every healthcare professional at the time , as a lead occupational therapist , their work commitments and demands added to their need for reasonable adjustments . And while they had become used to offering regular monthly training and continuing professional development virtually over Teams during the pandemic , the reality of a virtual platform for a job interview was a shock .
‘ When you ' re in that “ fight or flight ” state of an interview and you ' re frozen to the spot , you can ' t always enable your brain to function in a in a way that ' s going to be able to do the things that you need to do ,’ they explain .
‘ So , I was very nervous . I didn ' t think I ' d had enough time , so I didn ' t feel very confident about the presentation .’
As occupational therapists we ’ re there to support and enable people to do the things that they need and want to do . We also need to be sensitive to our colleagues in respect of that .”
Unfortunately , in that situation the tech got the better of them ; they couldn ' t get their Teams presentation up on screen . ‘ That threw me and I dried up . I couldn ’ t speak and just wanted to end the interview . I think it ’ s one of the worst experiences I ’ ve ever had .’
Despite trying to engage in the interview as best they could , they knew they hadn ’ t got the job , as they knew ‘ you couldn ’ t have somebody in that position not being able to confidently present ’.
The key to a more positive experience would have been reasonable adjustments , they ' re keen to stress .
80 %
of communication is often identified through non-verbal gestures or actions
April 2023 OTnews 53