To be or not to be honest?

Graduates with disabilities fear discrimination at job interviews, as Kate Crockett reports

To disclose or not to disclose: that is the question facing every disabled candidate tackling the graduate recruitment process. "I don't like to disclose my disability," says Paul, an economic history graduate from London School of Economics, who is partially sighted.

"I don't trust people, to be honest. I feel it tarnishes their views of me. I've seen it before outside the workplace so why should it be any different within the workplace?"

Paul's experience isn't unique. "The reasons people don't want to disclose are because they don't want to be discriminated against, they don't want to be different, or, quite often, because they feel it is nobody else's business," says Tab Ahmad, graduate development manager for national charity Employment Opportunities, which advises both candidates and employers, such as the Civil Service, MI5, Procter and Gamble, Barclays and HSBC, on disability and employment issues.

However, as Paul has found, it isn't always possible to avoid disclosing a disability on a carefully worded application form, without lying. This is because disclosure is also a big issue for recruiters. Employers ask 'the disability question' to make any necessary adjustments to the subsequent recruitment processes and, if the candidate is successful, in the workplace. They also monitor applications from disabled candidates, as they do from ethnic minorities, for equal opportunities reasons.

However, while respectable employers will use this information appropriately, applicants can never know for certain if disclosure will have a negative impact on their chances. "There is a need to develop more trust between applicants and recruiters so that people can declare disabilities and not expect that this will put them in the 'no' pile," explains Barbara Waters, chief executive of Skill, the national bureau for students with disabilities. "Recruiters need to show that they have taken on-board the 'ability is what counts' message."

And, this is where good-practice employers are focusing their energy - building a dialogue with candidates to address concerns and to demonstrate the practical steps they are taking to remove any existing physical or organisational barriers to work. Some organisations are doing so by achieving the 'two ticks' kite-mark, which indicates that they are positive about employing staff with disabilities, while others are involved in graduate-specific initiatives.

The Open University, Bupa, Ford, Corus, Kodak, B&Q and the Department for Educa tion and Skills are among the diverse range of partner organisations in the Fast-Track scheme, run by the charity Scope, which offers work placements to disabled graduates. Candidates are recruited by Scope to undertake two six-month paid placements in different organisations, gaining valuable work experience and training.

The placements do not guarantee a job on completion, but up to 70% of Fast-Track graduates gain full-time employment with a host employer.

Amelia Jarman, a 25-year-old chemistry graduate from Edinburgh university is currently on her first six-month Fast-Track placement at B&Q's headquarters in Southampton. Amelia, who has epilepsy and dyslexia, graduated in 2000 but since then had been working in a pub, having had only one other unsuitable job offer. "I was offered very few interviews and, when I was, the jobs didn't fully utilise my skills and knowledge," Amelia explains.

Now, she is using her subject expertise in B&Q's social responsibility department identifying chemicals in products and recommending how their environmental impact can be reduced. "Many companies are not confident about handling disability, and lack of experience has a lot to do with this," she continues. "I hope B&Q's involvement will encourage more companies to feel positive about employing disabled people."

B&Q's policy of embracing diversity, through initiatives such as Fast-Track scheme and targeting older workers, is a proven success and has strengthened the business case for diversity strategies. Gradually, an increasing number of organisations in sectors not traditionally considered diverse are recognising the benefits of recruiting from a wider talent pool.

The Capital Chances event, which is run by graduate-specialist publisher GTI, has, in the past, given the investment banking sector a chance to promote itself to female and ethnic minority applicants. This month, Capital Chances is targeting disabled students with a one-day event involving business games and simulations mirroring the work of corporate financiers, and providing the opportunity for candidates to find out more about employment opportunities at Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS.

"The reason they are doing this is because they realise that they haven't actually been getting to people that they might need and that the best person for the job isn't necessarily coming forward via the process they were using before," says Barbara Waters of Skill, which is supporting the event.

Stephanie Allwood, diversity recruiter at UBS, continues: "We see the Capital Chances event as very much a two-way communication vehicle, not only as an opportunity for the students to find out about banking, but also for us to find out what perceptions the students may have of our industry, work environment and selection process."

"It gives disabled students the chance to explore career opportunities and allows better understanding between investment banks and disabled graduates to make a better working environment for all," agrees Matthew Johnson, a senior associate in IT at Morgan Stanley, and graduate of Oxford Brookes.

Matthew, who is hearing impaired, advises potential candidates: "Investment banks tend to recruit people who work well in a team and have the ability to meet tight deadlines. To succeed you should be honest with yourself and that means being open about your disability with your colleagues. You must have a 'can do' attitude."

That 'can do' attitude is what all graduates strive to demonstrate to employers, but the challenge remains to convince employers that, for disabled recruits, 'can't do one thing' doesn't mean 'can't do anything'.

Keziah Halliday, a European studies finalist at University College London, says: "I think the main barrier to employing people with disabilities isn't prejudice - although there is still a lot of that around. It is actually ignorance and a lack of willing to make changes to make it possible to employ people with disabilities."

Keziah, who is 23 and has a congenital absence of the left hand and forearm, continues: "I don't really require any modifications or adaptations, so employing me is, to all intents and purposes, the same as employing an able-bodied person. Even so, I fall into the disabled category with all the highs and lows that that entails."

But, for Keziah now, it's a high - she's made it through the first stages of the Civil Service Fast Stream selection process and is pinning her hopes on success at its April selection board.