Anyone who is an employer or works in recruitment?

[ElsewhereinSunshine]

If you were sent an email, CV or job application form from a person who haven’t left a phone number that they can be contacted on.
On the CV, job forms, etc. states that the person can only be contacted through email.

What do you think if there is no phone number? Why do employers/recruitments ignore emails if the person insists to be contacted through email only? Do you not think there may be a reason that a phone number may not be available?

We always use email to make initial contact with candidates, and then arrange a telephone interview. So at that point we'd need a phone number.

I guess if we had a really rushed role and were calling candidates for it, and we didn't have a number for you, you'd probably miss out by the time we had emailed and then contacted you.

This is professional services, internal recruitment, junior to very senior. 99% of people put a phone number on their application. Personally I always, absolutely, would put a number on and if it wasn't convenient to answer I simply would let it go to voicemail.

I suspect agencies will have more of a phone focus and you'd miss out on some roles tbh.

I'm deaf and never put a phone number on it (I can use a phone with special adaptations though)

It really pisses me off when they insist on a phone call though or reject me solely on the basis no phone number was provided!

It would depend on the situation. When I employed people I would usually contact them by email to arrange an interview but if time was short and I needed to arrange by phone and there was no number there I would move on to the next application. It was the type of job a deaf person couldn’t really do though )

I also used to keep a list of people for last minute cover & phone/text was fairly essential for them.

@pinkcardi Thats a shame that most employers/recruitment seem to prefer phone calls to have a quick conversation or to offer an interview, or just in a hurry these days. Lately I have seen skype interviews are very popular, I can see why (no need to travel, convenience for time and quick to choose candidates). This is a real problem for people who are deaf or have some sort of communication or speech issues, how are we meant apply for jobs without worrying about whether its a phone call or skype interview only or whether to disclose a disability/condition if not declared already on CV/job application.

@FFSeverynameisused Thank you for your comment! exact reason why I was posting my comment as I am deaf too, and have the same problems as you. I get a lot of interests regarding to my CV, then they insist they only want to talk to me on the phone despite several times stating to email only or face to face interviews.

@Comefromaway Thats good for interviews to be confirmed via email. Maybe employers/recruitment should consider why there is not a phone number and try to email several times before insisting a phone call only?

Do you use NGT lite? That could be a way around it - enabling you to speak to them without them knowing you are deaf (until you want to tell them)?

I have the app on my mobile, and also a roger pen device so I can use a phone but not perfectly.

Do you have a DP who's number you could provide maybe? I get my DM and my DH to do all the phone calls to doctors etc.

I interviewed someone who gave his mobile number and said text only (he was deaf).

I do think this was better than just not putting a phone number. I have gotten CV's from people who leave out lots of important info eg the only contact info they give is a postal address. Or no contact information at all. Or no name. There's no way to know if they can't speak on the phone or just hadn't the sense to give a phone number unless you say so

Tbh, I wouldn't have thought of deafness as a reason, and would wrongly have assumed some degree of preciousness on the part of the applicant. Thanks for posting this thread and educating me.

IME first contact is by email 90% of the time, but could you do something like set up a Google Voice phone number where employers could leave a voice message, which would then send you a written copy of the message? First round phone interviews are still very normal everywhere I have worked/hired/interviewed though and that might be tricky if you (very reasonably) don't want to reveal your disability at that stage.

@ElsewhereinSunshine All processes will unknowingly make things harder for some parts of the population. So you could argue that having a prearranged telephone interview (not just a quick chat for us) is better for candidates who have a physical disability who would struggle with getting into our office, or who feel they might be unfairly judged on their appearance.

We would, at peak, have 50+ telephone interviews a week in our small team, and it isn't possible for us to do these all face to face.

We have had candidates come back from a telephone interview request to explain that they would prefer a face to face and this is absolutely fine. We've also had candidates state this in application 'please be aware that I have a disability which requires X modification to be made' or on email 'I have a stutter which is much worse on the phone and much better face to face, can we change from a phone interview' and this is also absolutely fine.

As it stands, phone interviews are a hugely useful tool and work well for the vast majority of candidates. However we are certainly understanding of those that can't do them.

I'd imagine that a simple explanation over email would work well in your case.

I will emphasise that I was interviewing people like singing teachers so the likelihood of a deaf applicant was minimal!

I would usually make clear that it's no good using the phone number during working hours as it won't be answered so email always best first so a call can be planned.

@CmdrCressidaDuck you are welcome. I am trying to raise more awareness about these issues because many people with a disability/condition want to apply for jobs but sometimes it is easy not to apply to avoid that type of situation.

@Comefromaway that is a very reasonable comment! I certainly would not be applying for a singing teacher job!

@FFSeverynameisused I haven't used that before as I am a little suspicious to do that as eventually they will know i am deaf so there is no point trying to hide it. I like the roger pen but I still unable to understand any type of phone calls despite even turning up the volume!

@pinkcardi That's good to know that some people can be upfront straight away about what reasonable adjustments they need. Next time when I apply for a job role, I will leave my phone number and a simple explanation that I am deaf. I won't be surprised if I do not have a reply at all as it seems to happen when I declare that I am deaf. As soon I do not declare my disability, I get offered interviews, then obviously at the interview, I say that I have an hearing impairment. I am not sure what is the best way to approach employers with a disability/condition?

I've never heard of Google voice, I will try to google that.

NGT lite is good because they don't tell the person you are deaf and you can speak with your own voice and get the text back. There can be a little bit of a delay though but they won't know why.

We say that we make reasonable adjustments and ask people to state if applying through the guaranteed interview scheme.

If I was conducting telephone interviews and someone had applied under GIS I would ask what adjustments could be made. A significant part of this job is answering the phone so I would need to understand how this would work on a day to day basis. Is there specific software we wuld need to buy? Do you have that on your home phone? Educate me please!

@FFSeverynameisused Thank you, I will give NGT lite a go and try it out. I also haven't used Google Voice.

@itsboiledeggsagain There are employers who have the disability tick, we know we can apply as there is also the guaranteed interview scheme, the reasonable adjustments can be made in the interview and workplace. I wouldn’t apply for a job role if it involves a huge amount of phone calls. I hope employers state this on their job advertising or job specs as I have applied to jobs then at the interview they say it would involve a lot of phone calls most of the day. There was no information about phone calls on the job ad. I would decline the job offer if I got one.

I know many deaf people use a phone amplifier or Text relay (I am not used to this one). Some people will have Access to Work,
in your work scenario, for example, someone could make phone calls for them, employers often think they need to pay for this, no they do not (not suitable if it a call center type job). Access to Work is a government fund/grant that is often given to people with a disability/condition to enable them to do their jobs. The government pays for this service. Any adaptable equipment’s can also be requested from Access to Work, for an example, phone amplifier, taxi fares for wheelchair users etc. Here is the link for more information: www.gov.uk/government/publications/access-to-work-factsheet/access-to-work-factsheet-for-customers

I have a line land text phone at home if I need to use it (I text out a message on the phone, it calls a center to connect to a person, then the call center phones the person I am calling to, they will speak out my message you, you reply your verbal communication, the call center will write that back to me in a text message form. This method can take a long time for a simple conversation so I rarely use it). I usually get a family member to make phone calls on my behalf, or I will make an face to face appointment where it allows me to do so.

@itsboiledeggsagain

It really depends on the level of deafness.

Someone who is a BSL user would probably use a video phone. This would involve them phoning a video interpreter, who would then phone the hearing person and sign back the call. It takes a bit longer but they can still do a call.

Not every deaf person has good english and BSL is NOT a translation of English - very important to remember when booking a sign language interpreter - written notes are not always a good alternative.

For deaf people who do have good English - a textphone is a good option where they can type their call, and again the operator will speak it to the hearing person and type back what the other person says.

Can be a bit annoying for the hearing person as the call always starts "this is a text relay call...." which makes them think its a scam call or something.

A deaf person with good English can use text message and email but obviously that does not involve voice.

A deaf person could use an amplified telephone or a Roger Pen.

The roger pen connects to a telephone and works as an amplifier. On it's own, it can be hand held for amplification in meetings or 121s.

NGT lite is an app on the phone, but can also be downloaded to a PC, that gives several options as follows:

1, you speak, and recieve the other call as type
2 you type, and recieve the other call as type
3 you type, the other call is typed
4 you speak and they speak

Good for hearing impairments and also speech impairments.

There is so much software and equipment available.

The above options are either free, or available to purchase through Access to Work funding. the employer may have to contribute and how much depends on the employer's size - sometimes it is nothing. If the Access to Work application is made within the first 6 weeks of the person starting, the full cost is covered.

Access to Work can fund up to something like £55,000 of reasonable adjustments and the emphasis is on reasonable!

Access to Work will not pay for building modifications such as accessible toilets, installing a lift or a ramp.

Access to Work can pay for sign language intepreters and also notetakers (where the person doesn't use BSL)

Hope this helps.

Deaf people can do any job! I used to work in a nursery and got told recently deaf people can't hear cars coming so can't keep the kids safe on outings. errrr..... I have eyes???

oops number three is speak and type

@FFSeverynameisused Thank you for explaining the information further and giving examples

happy to help. no doubt someone will come along and try to challenge that deaf people can do any job - without any evidence to support that, or any experience of working with / living with deafness.

I just wish people would not make assumptions about deaf and disabled people before they've even met them!

I don't want to challenge you on the ANY job (and my own dh who is a music teacher has a condition that will mean he will eventually lose his hearing) and I have in the past employed a hard of hearing (but not profoundly deaf) drama teacher - but can a deaf teacher really teach singing, a musical instrument or anything where they have to be able to listen and comment on speech or music?

I'm profoundly deaf - not every profoundly deaf person is a BSL user, some still wear hearing aids or cochlear implants.

You are actually challenging me and you are making assumptions.

wasn't beethoven deaf?

And there was a deaf america's got talent contestant who played guitar?

There are lots of stories of deaf music teachers if you just google them.

Does the name Evelyn Glennie not ring any bells?

There are also stories of blind pilots.

It always comes down to understanding, adjustments and support in place.

If your DH Is no longer able to teach / play music then that is not because of his disability but because of attitudes and how he responds to those attitudes.

I once saw an app for deaf people that had something to do with music and colours - I'm no music expert, I know nothing personally about reading music but I think the app had something to do with matching sounds to colours and you plugged the ipad into the guitar or whatever instrument it was.

Long story short, there are lots of assistive technology and adjustments now.

Anything is possible if you just STOP making assumptions!

Yes, I know about Evelyn Glennie, but she is a performer, not a teacher. She is also a percussionist who is able to feel/hear vibrations.

For a vocal teacher I would be looking for someone who can listen to someone sing and be able to determine the following:

Whether their intonation (tuning) is correct and if not how to correct it.
Whether the voice quality they are producing is safe/appropriate for the style of the song and what to do to correct it. For example is there something in the sound of the voice that leads you to think the singer is constricting their false vocal folds or are they singing with too breathy a quality (you need acute hearing to be able to determine these minute differences). There is software called VoicePrint that prints patterns that are typical of various voice qualities, but it is a diagnostic tool that has limitations.

Whether harmonies are being performed correctly., is the singer a semi-tone or even less out?

Whether rhythms are being performed correctly

The overall interpretation, dynamics, subtetly of tone, phrasing etc.

A part of our recruitment process we ask if people need any adjustments and would be happy to make any reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process. If someone said they had problems speaking over the phone we would look to change the way we did things, maybe skip the phone interview and move straight to an in person one or something.

If someone refused a phone interview and wouldn't give me a reason then I would probably put their application at the bottom of the pile.

@Magenta82 Thank you for your comment. I can see that you mentioned reasonable adjustments which is good. In my experience a few employers haven't offered this first time round as they would email asking for a phone number, then I would explain that I have an hearing impairment and I would like a face to face interview, as soon I have mentioned this, I get either ignored or no response at all from the employer? There are jobs, for example, NHS jobs, school jobs, charity jobs that have an section on their application form for reasonable adjustments which I would declare straight away.

Can I ask you if it is common to see a lot of CV's with people stating their disability/condition on there, if not? How would you know unless you would email the person asking if they need reasonable adjustments? unless it is an actual application form with the section of reasonable adjustments already mentioned before sending it.