Using ‘traditional, radical and different’ for advertising positions
In supporting people with disability to have choice and control in the recruitment of their staff, organisations not only need to learn what will be a good match between an individual and a staff member; they also need to find the right person who can do the job.
In many cases this will involve thinking differently about how and where to advertise to attract the right people.
Tips
Before advertising externally consider recruiting from within your existing talent pool – this way you can also provide professional development and career opportunities to your existing workforce.
If you are using one-page profiles with your staff, this is a good starting point in finding the right person. One-page profiles enable you to match the skills, experience and interests of your existing employees with the job roles you are recruiting for.
Consider changing how you write internal and external advertisements. Instead detailing the location and hours of work, talk about at the interests and skills required, as well as when and how often they will be needed.
Use an example one-page profile or the reverse one-page profile technique to provide a snapshot of who you are looking for:
- Be as specific as you can.
- What skills, attributes would the people you are looking for have?
- What would be important to the right person for the job?
- What support will the organisation provide to the right candidate?
In using this approach you are more likely to spark the interest of the right person.
The same applies when recruiting for volunteers. Being clear about the volunteer role and who you are looking for will assist you to narrow the focus from broadly looking for volunteers to specifically targeting particular groups or people.
When exploring who and what you are looking for, also consider where you might be able to find the right person. Using the same advertising approach for all your positions may not always provide the result you are aiming for.
If you are looking for particular skills or interests think about where you might find those people i.e. if you are looking for a volunteer with I.T skills consider approaching an organisation who specialises in this area and may be able to provide some pro-bono support or alternative what media (magazines, online social sites, etc.) these type of people may use.
Consider what type of communication would be the most appropriate – in terms of the words and language you use as well as the different media available. You may need to search for them rather than waiting for them to find you.
Additional resources:
- The Workforce Capability Framework
- The disability career planner and capability framework implementation guide
- Technique, tips and template – using one-page profiles in recruitment (for employers)
- Technique, tips and template – using one-page profiles in recruitment (for employees)
- Technique, tips and template – using reverse one-page profiles when advertising for positions
Definitions:
The term individual(s) refers to an individual with a disability and their family and/or circle of support.
The terms staff/employee(s) refer to paid or unpaid members of the workforce regardless of their employment relationship with their employer i.e. permanent, casual, full-time, volunteer, etc.
Intellectual property rights are jointly owned by National Disability Services Ltd, PeopleAdvantage Pty Ltd and Helen Sanderson Associates respectively. ©This publication is copyright. All rights reserved.
