The recruitment stage of the employee life cycle includes the process and experience of how someone moves from applicant to employee. The following sections identify ways to make the recruitment phase more inclusive for all applicants.

The language, structure and content of job postings and advertisements significantly affect recruitment outcomes by influencing organizational attractiveness, perceptions and intentions to apply. These best practices not only support neurodivergent candidates by reducing barriers to understanding and applying but also widen the applicant pool, attracting a diverse range of talented individuals who feel confident that their strengths are valued and that accommodations will be made where needed. A neuroinclusive job description should:

• Focus only on the essential qualifications, skills and experience required for the position.
• Carefully consider any emphasis placed on social-emotional skill requirements (e.g. communication, time-management, collaboration and problem-solving skills) so it does not serve as a form of bias.
• Provide a clear and concise description of the physical and social environment for the job.
  • Example: “Work is performed in an open office environment from dedicated work cubicles and requires the ability to operate standard office software, systems and devices, including laptops and keyboards.”
• State any optional activities explicitly if they would be helpful to the application.
  • Example: “Including a portfolio with your resume is not required but may be beneficial.”
• Share details about day-to-day expectations such as dress code, working hours and work location (i.e., hybrid, on site or remote).
• Provide different and simple options to submit applications (e.g., by phone or video).
• Include a statement about the availability of accommodations.
  • Example: “Accommodations are available upon request to all candidates throughout the selection process, as well as on the job.” This lets candidates know that you are ready to help them succeed!
• Use clear, concise language that can be interpreted literally.
• Include inclusive hiring statements, if available.
• Highlight any inclusive benefits packages such as assessments, therapy and mental health support.

Neuroinclusive interview strategies:

Pre-Interview

• Train interviewers on equitable interview and selection practices. Consider the best way to determine the suitability of a candidate. Options include:
  
  
  • Skills assessments - leverage standardized tests to evaluate required skills.
  • Skills demonstrations, for example, asking a library position candidate to put books in order.
  • Traditional interview question and answer – consider sharing the questions with all candidates in advance and make sure your questions are clear!
• Share the ‘Who, What, Where, When, Why and How’ with all candidates in advance of an interview:
  
  
  • Who will be conducting the interview (i.e., their names and roles),
  • What type of interview to expect and the questions to be asked.
  • Where the interview will take place, including a brief description of the environment.
  • When the interview takes place (i.e., start and end time).
  • Why the position exists (what is the role of the position inside the organization?).
  • How the candidate should dress, as well as meet social and preparation expectations (e.g., please read the “About us” page on our website before arriving.).
•  Sample of an image or a guide that could be shared to provide clarity on what the dress code looks like at your organization

During the Interview

• Provide a quiet, distraction-free environment for the interview or host a virtual interview.
• Limit the number of interviewers.
• Recognize and accept individual differences in interaction style. For example, amount of eye contact, use of focus tools (i.e., fidget tools) or need to stim. *
• Appreciate unconventional responses to typical questions. For example, in response to “How did you prepare for this position?” “I did yoga, meditated or sat and reflected.” If asking about personal interests, be open to a variety of responses, for example sundials and anime as opposed to sports and fashion.
• Ask clearly worded questions to get the information you are seeking.
• Include question prompts that restructure open-ended questions to multiple-choice format.

*Stim: to self-stimulate. “Stimming” or self-stimulating is a purposeful type of self-soothing behavior. Self-soothing behaviours are used by many of us, they just may look different. For example, a neurotypical person may click their pen or bite their nails when feeling anxious. A neurodivergent person may use hand flapping, finger flicking or lining up objects to self-soothe.

Typical interview questions are often vague and can be difficult for literal thinkers. See some interview question examples below that have been updated for clarity:!

Typical Interview Questions:

Tell me about yourself.

Try This Instead: 
Tell me about your previous related work or volunteer experiences.

What are your strengths?

Try This Instead: 
Tell me one or two things you are good at that will help you in this job.

Tell me about a conflict with a colleague and how you resolved it?

Try This Instead: 
Describe how you resolved a difference of professional opinion to complete a task (or project).

What skills do you think you need improvement on?

Try This Instead: 
In your last job, when you were not very good at something, what did you do to improve your skills in that area?