These days, most job recruiting is done online. It is an easy and fast way for companies to gather the information they need to make hiring decisions. Sometimes, employers overlook a massive talent pool: people with disabilities. That’s why it is important to make sure that recruiting and hiring materials are accessible and usable for all candidates.
Design Tips
Usability and accessibility often go hand in hand. Any candidate benefits when hiring documents are structured consistently and are in a logical order.
If you are including multimedia in the advertisement or recruitment materials, closed captioning or a text version of the audio can help any candidate and is crucial for people with impaired hearing. Also, photos, charts, graphs, and images should be tagged with alt-text so everyone can “see” your message.
Website Usability
Whether or not you are advertising for a position, or just using a website to promote your company, you can reach a broader audience by ensuring accessibility.
There are many free tools online to check your website, so it is available to all. WAVE by WebAim provides both a URL checker on their website and a browser plug-in to help ensure usability. In addition, websites and forms should be tested using a screen reader for visually impaired job seekers.
Forms that Function
Oftentimes, employers require that candidates fill out an application form. It is important that the form has accurate instructions, that checkboxes, radio selectors, and buttons work correctly.
Applicants should be able to fill out the form using a keyboard only, and forms should be in logical order if a candidate tabs through it. This form validation option in is a great way to make sure everything works the way it should.
The Best Test
Usability testing is an important part of any website or online offering. As mentioned before, there are plenty of tools to check the accessibility mechanics of a site or page; however, having an inclusive design team or test user pool ensures that your application materials are real-world ready.