Include the precluded

Greg Wyatt • Jul 17, 2023

If you're a UK employer who is genuinely keen on having an inclusive approach and a diverse team, keep in mind these common reasons for rejecting candidates:

Typo's on a CV may mean dyslexia (Grammarly helps).

A lack of eye contact may indicate autism.

Negative body language may mean someone's having an awful patch in their lives, or that their body language has a different set of rules to yours.

A bad interview may mean the interviewee didn't ask for a reasonable adjustment, nerves that don't reflect capability, or they just don't understand the rules of the game.

A different life view may indicate that your environment is overly homogenous.

A lack of degree may be because the opportunity didn't present itself, and not reflect their critical thinking, or ability to commit.

Many of these points can highlight problems in your process, not issues with your candidates.

Especially since those same reasons for ruling out candidates, can present other opportunities.

Diverse thinking and problem-solving.
Intuitive leaps.
Creativity.

Make a safe space for your candidates to ask for reasonable adjustments, and to divulge information they will likely have been discriminated for.

If they don't trust you to do so try not to hold it against them.

I've made mistakes in all those examples above, and many more, throughout my career - I'm learning to do better, and it allows access to a wider pool of great candidates.

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