The Talent Was Never Hidden

I’ve never been particularly comfortable with it.

The reality is that disabled and neurodivergent talent isn’t hidden. It has never been hidden. The skills, qualifications, experience and potential are already there.

What’s often hidden are the barriers that prevent people from applying, progressing through recruitment processes, or demonstrating what they can do.

Over the years, I’ve spoken with many organisations that genuinely want to attract more disabled and neurodivergent talent. Their intentions are positive. They want to improve. They are committed to becoming more inclusive workplaces.

But there is a significant difference between wanting to be inclusive and embedding inclusion throughout the recruitment journey.

When we review recruitment processes, we frequently uncover barriers that organisations didn’t realise existed.

These can include:

• Application systems that do not work effectively with assistive technology.
• Job adverts that unintentionally discourage qualified candidates from applying.
• Interviews designed around a single communication style.
• Limited opportunities to discuss workplace adjustments during recruitment.
• Onboarding processes that work well for some employees but create challenges for others.

What’s important to understand is that these barriers rarely exist because someone intentionally created them. More often, they are simply processes that have evolved over time without being viewed through an accessibility lens.

Organisations often assume that if disabled candidates are not applying, the problem must be a lack of talent or a lack of awareness. In reality, the issue may be that talented candidates encounter unnecessary obstacles before they even have the opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities.

Recently, we delivered a webinar on Inclusive Recruitment and Accessing Disabled Talent, and one of the key messages that resonated with me was this:

Employers don’t always need to look in different places to find talent. Sometimes they simply need to remove the barriers preventing talented people from accessing opportunities that already exist.

This is exactly why we carry out Accessible Recruitment Audits.

Our approach goes far beyond compliance. We don’t believe in producing reports that are filed away and forgotten. Instead, we take a detailed look at the entire recruitment journey, including:

• Attraction and outreach activities
• Job descriptions and advertising
• Application processes and systems
• Interviews and assessments
• Onboarding practices
• Workplace adjustment processes
• Policies, communications and candidate experience

Because recruitment does not happen in isolation.

A candidate’s experience begins long before they submit an application and continues long after they accept an offer. Every interaction shapes their perception of your organisation and influences whether they feel able to perform at their best.

Sometimes organisations discover they are already doing far more than they realise. Other times, we identify barriers that have existed for years without anyone noticing. Either way, the process creates valuable conversations and practical opportunities for improvement.

So, here’s a question worth considering:

If you were applying for a role in your organisation tomorrow as a disabled candidate, how confident are you that your recruitment process would work for you?

If you’re not completely sure of the answer, it may be time to take a closer look.

If you’d like to discuss accessible recruitment, attracting disabled talent, or learn more about how our Accessible Recruitment Audit can help your organisation identify and remove barriers, we’d be delighted to talk.

📧 Contact the Microlink team at: microlinkteam@microlinkpc.com

Because the talent was never hidden. The opportunity is creating recruitment processes that allow it to be seen.