In recent years, virtual interviews have become increasingly common due to the flexibility and convenience offered to both employers and job seekers. With this positive shift, however, comes the responsibility to ensure virtual interviews are accessible to all candidates, including those who are neurodivergent or have disabilities.
“While virtual interviews fill some gaps in accessibility, they leave a lot to be desired,” says Pooja Kothari, a diversity, equity, and inclusion trainer, facilitator, and consultant. Throughout the interview process, ableism—discrimination against people with physical or mental disabilities—can manifest in various ways and create significant barriers for candidates with disabilities.
Accessibility in virtual interviews isn’t just a matter of compliance, it’s a commitment to inclusivity and equal opportunity. By creating an environment where every candidate can fully engage, employers not only broaden their talent pool but also foster a culture of respect and equity. Learn the common accessibility barriers to avoid and best practices for improving application and interview processes for all.
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Identifying common accessibility barriers in virtual interviews
There are many benefits to virtual interviews. Candidates can call in from the comfort of their own home, something that’s especially beneficial for those with mobility challenges, anxiety, or sensory sensitivities. Virtual platforms can also enable the use of assistive technologies, such as screen readers, captioning, or sign language interpreters. Plus, virtual interviews reduce the need for travel, saving time and resources while also minimizing the stress that might come with navigating unfamiliar or inaccessible physical spaces.
Despite the myriad benefits, Kothari says remote interviews can sometimes present challenges because of the distance between speakers—physically and technologically. Virtual interviews can make it difficult for candidates with autism or other neurodevelopmental conditions to read nonverbal cues, which can affect their ability to effectively engage in the conversation.
“When you’re not in the same room as your interviewer, you can never be sure where someone’s attention is,” Kothari says. “Is the interviewer paying attention to what you’re saying, or their email? How can you tell if you have captured their attention? If you’re not someone who is super extroverted or emotive, a remote interviewer will not be able to read any other context clues virtually.”
Plus, for candidates with auditory processing difficulties, Kothari says it can be easy to mishear or misinterpret longer questions—even with automated captions on, because they’re never 100 percent accurate. There are often errors, especially in real-time, which can be problematic for candidates who rely on accurate transcription for communication. Research shows Zoom's automatic closed captioning is estimated to deliver around 80 percent accuracy, and live captions on Microsoft Teams meetings typically achieve 85 to 90 percent accuracy.
“When candidates have auditory processing difficulties, are hearing or visually impaired, or are used to different forms of communication (e.g. American Sign Language, assistive text-to-speech technologies, etc.), the limitations on conversation and connection between speakers are exacerbated,” she says.
Ableism often occurs due to a lack of awareness or understanding of accessibility. Many interview processes aren’t inherently designed with accessibility in mind, and some employers may not ask candidates ahead of time about specific accommodations they need, resulting in last-minute adjustments that may not fully meet candidates’ needs. Companies that fail to address ableism not only miss out on diverse perspectives and skills, but also risk perpetuating inequality within their organizations.
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Best practices for ensuring virtual interviews are accessible for all candidates
“By offering accessibility options, you are acting upon your inclusion goals,” Kothari says. “The candidate also isn’t put in the difficult situation of having to ask for certain accessibility features. Many people talk about inclusion and accommodations once the candidate is hired and working in the office, but inclusive accommodations should start from the beginning of the candidate’s engagement with the company.”
So, how can companies ensure that candidates with different learning styles and cognitive abilities are given an equal opportunity during interviews?
Run through an accessibility checklist beforehand
“The American Bar Association has a great Virtual Meetings Accessibility Checklist and best practices resource page about what hiring managers can do to ensure accessibility in all virtual meetings. I highly recommend checking it out,” says Kothari. “Baseline accessibility actions should include closed captions, screen reader compatibility, and the option for written communication via chat windows. Your organization should also offer all interviewees the option to have an ASL interpreter present at the interview.”
Be proactive and send interview questions beforehand
To support candidates with different learning styles and cognitive abilities, Kothari recommends sending interview questions up to a week in advance to allow neurodivergent and neurotypical candidates to read and comprehend the questions in their own time. “If your interview includes a practical exercise, ensure the instructions of the exercise and its goal are sent along with the questions. Don’t spontaneously announce a practical exercise mid-interview,” she says.
“Interview anxiety doesn’t necessarily represent the preparation and skills of the candidate, so giving candidates time to prep will result in interviewers getting a truer sense of their character,” she adds. “Similarly, ask candidates to send materials (resumes, recommendation letters, etc.) a few days to a week before the day of the interview so neither the candidate nor interviewer have to deal with sending files through the video call’s chat log or cluttered inboxes.”
Read more: Are Unpaid Take-Home Interview Assignments Ethical? We Asked 2 Experts.
Use clear communication and focus on candidates’ skills and abilities
Keep questions straightforward and avoid jargon or overly complex language. Design interview questions that assess the candidate’s unique skills and abilities rather than focusing on how they communicate or process information. You can use behavioral and situational questions to understand how candidates have applied their skills in different contexts. Make sure to allow candidates time to process and respond to questions, and be willing to repeat or rephrase as necessary.
“As the interviewer, never make assumptions about your interviewees' attention to the interview. Do not make assumptions based on body language or eye contact,” Kothari says. “There may be many reasons the interviewee is not looking directly at the camera. Base your assessment on the interview questions answered.”
What other steps can be taken to make the application process more inclusive?
Accessibility and inclusivity begin at the job description phase. When writing a job description or application, Kothari says to keep formatting simple with easy-to-read fonts, paragraph breaks, limited chunks of dense text, and clear messaging of the position’s responsibilities.
“It’s crucial to be organized as the hiring manager—all application and interview information and meeting details should be in one email,” she says. “Don’t send the interview questions without the virtual meeting link and password. Doing so keeps communication neat and prevents a cluttered inbox.”
Make sure your company’s careers page and application portal are fully accessible, complying with WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) standards, and compatible with screen readers and other assistive technologies. Offer clear instructions and FAQs to help candidates understand the application process, and consider providing contact information for assistance with accommodations or questions.
Always consider the implications of language in your job descriptions and applications and whether it promotes inclusivity for all candidates. “Use ability-inclusive language that focuses not on how the job should be done (e.g. standing, lifting, written skills, etc.), but rather on the goals of the position (e.g. staying at your position, moving inventory, effective communication skills, etc.,),” Kothari says. “The former forces a can versus cannot binary that dictates who can do what, while the latter attempts to make job applications more inclusive by allowing the candidate the ability to decide for themselves if they can fulfill the job position.”
Accessibility should then extend past the application and interview processes through to the hiring and onboarding stages. “It goes without saying, inclusivity on paper should translate into practice. If you replace ‘stand at position for 2+ hours’ with, ‘stay at position for 2+ hours,’ upon being hired, the candidate should have the option to sit, or otherwise not stand, at their position,” says Kothari.
By adopting these practices, companies can create an application process that is welcoming and accessible from start to end for all candidates, building a more diverse and inclusive workforce.
