A Practical Guide for Welcoming Every Kind of Talent
Recruitment is often described as “finding the right person for the job,”
but many hiring processes are actually designed to find one very specific kind of person:
someone who interviews smoothly, processes information quickly, communicates in a very particular way, and manages to appear confident under fluorescent interrogation lighting.
In other words… someone neurotypical, extroverted, and unflustered by trick questions such as:
“Tell me about a time you handled conflict,”
or the classic psychological booby trap,
“What’s your greatest weakness?”
The truth is, these processes unintentionally screen out a huge portion of brilliant candidates, including neurodivergent applicants, disabled applicants, and anyone whose talents shine outside the rigid template of traditional hiring.
So the real question isn’t “Where do we find great talent?”
It’s “How do we design hiring processes that don’t filter out great talent before we’ve even met them?”
Let’s break it down.
1. Start by removing the unnecessary barriers
Many job descriptions look like someone asked ChatGPT in 2008 to create a list of demands:
“Must be a strong multitasker”
“Excellent written and verbal communication skills”
“Thrives in fast-paced environments”
“Works under pressure without errors”
Sound familiar?
Half of these requirements aren’t essential. The other half are coded messages for:
“We haven’t really thought about this role and we want someone who can do everything forever.”
Inclusive hiring starts with a refresh:
✔ Identify the actual skills needed
Strip out vague, generic, or “nice-to-have” abilities.
✔ Separate essential from desirable
Be honest: does the job really require polished verbal presence?
Or fluent handwriting?
Or the ability to juggle 17 tasks at once?
✔ Highlight openness to adjustments
A simple line such as:
“Adjustments are available throughout the hiring process, just let us know what you need”
can turn a wall into a welcome mat.
2. Offer multiple ways to apply
Why do we expect every candidate to shine in the same format?
Neurodivergent applicants may struggle with:
- Timed online assessments
- Form-heavy application portals
- Complex instructions
- Screening calls that feel like pop quizzes
Inclusive hiring means offering CHOICES.
🎨 Let applicants express strengths in various ways:
- Video introductions
- Written responses
- Audio submissions
- Portfolio examples
- Skills-based tasks
When people can choose their method, you see their ability, not their anxiety.
3. Make interviews human, not hurdles
The traditional interview often rewards confidence over competence.
It favours polished small talk over deep skill.
It prioritises quick responses over thoughtful ones.
Inclusive interviews flip the script.
✔ Share interview questions in advance
This allows anxious or slow-processing candidates time to prepare, level the playing field, and actually show you their ability.
(And no, giving questions ahead of time is not “cheating.” Real jobs do not require mind-reading.)
✔ Allow note-taking and thinking time
Silence is not failure; it’s thoughtfulness.
✔ Be clear about expectations
Explain the structure, length, and type of interview ahead of time.
✔ Avoid competency riddles
Questions like “If you were an animal, which one would you be?” reveal absolutely nothing except how quickly someone can invent a random creature analogy.
✔ Offer alternatives where possible
Some candidates communicate far more effectively in writing than in spoken interviews.
That talent is still talent.
4. Train your hiring team, bias doesn’t vanish magically
Even the most well-meaning hiring managers carry unconscious preferences.
We tend to favour people who behave like us, speak like us, or think like us.
But sameness doesn’t build strong teams.
Training should include:
- Understanding invisible disabilities
- Recognising neurodivergent communication styles
- Avoiding assumptions based on eye contact, tone, or body language
- Knowing how adjustments support fairness
- Evaluating performance, not personality
A good interviewer is less gatekeeper, more translator:
someone who looks beyond style to see substance.
5. Introduce skills-based assessments
If you want to know whether someone can do the job, ask them to do the job.
Short, practical tasks can reduce bias dramatically:
- A sample email
- A creative brief
- A coding snippet
- A problem-solving scenario
Just make sure these assessments are:
✔ Clearly explained
✔ Untimed or generously timed
✔ Available in alternative formats
✔ Relevant to real work
✔ Not designed to surprise or trick
A neurodivergent candidate may struggle to decode vague instructions, but give them clarity, and they soar.
6. Build a culture that welcomes diversity from day one
Inclusive hiring is pointless if new employees walk into an environment not built for them.
Signal inclusivity by:
🌟 Explicitly stating your commitment to neurodiversity and disability inclusion
🌟 Listing available workplace adjustments
🌟 Ensuring onboarding isn’t a sensory overload
🌟 Matching new hires with supportive managers
🌟 Encouraging open conversations about needs
When candidates know they won’t be judged for asking for adaptations, they’re more likely to apply — and more likely to stay.
7. Ask for feedback and keep evolving
No hiring system is perfect.
Ask applicants about their experience, especially those who required adjustments.
Good questions include:
- “Was anything unclear?”
- “Did you feel able to show your strengths?”
- “Is there a step we could make more accessible?”
Small tweaks often create huge breakthroughs.
Inclusive Hiring Isn’t a Trend, It’s the Future
If workplaces want innovation, they must welcome different thinkers.
If they want creativity, they must welcome unconventional minds.
If they want resilience, insight, loyalty, and brilliance… well, they must open the door wider than it’s ever been opened before.
Inclusive hiring practices don’t just help neurodivergent or disabled candidates, they help everyone.
They create fairness, clarity, and humanity in a process that has become, frankly, unnecessarily stressful.
When you design hiring practices that allow every applicant to show their strengths, you stop asking,
“Where do we find great candidates?”
and start realising…
They were here all along. You just finally built a door they could walk through.
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