Author - Helen Cooke, CEO & Founder, MyPlus
Helen Cooke, CEO of MyPlus shares her thoughts on the launch of the MyPlus Professionals Job Board.
I have always maintained that disabled job seekers don’t use disability specific job boards when searching for a job, not least that I wouldn’t if I was searching for a role now; I would use the same channels as any other person looking for a new role.
Our research, ‘Understanding how graduates search for jobs’ found that disabled graduates looked for jobs in the same way as their non-disabled counterparts. However, that same research also found that they would use diversity / disability job boards in their search for information about an employer’s approach to disability.
So why have MyPlus just launched a new job board for disabled professionals? Very simply: because the demand is there, and we have the capability to do so.
Firstly, demand is there from employers. One of the most frequently asked questions I am asked is how to attract disabled applicants to apply for their roles; employers want an efficient way to reach this growing talent pool. And secondly, demand is there from disabled job seekers. Through our Students’ Club website, our careers website for disabled students, we have helped 1000s of graduates to find their first job. Over the years, they have returned to us and asked us to help them to find their next role with disability friendly employers. To meet this demand from both employers and individuals, we wanted to find a solution hence the launch of the MyPlus Professionals job board.
Back in 2013 when we launched the MyPlus Students’ Club website it was never intended to be a job board. Rather, the aim was to provide really useful and practical careers advice and guidance to disabled students with the aim of building their confidence to apply for jobs and to realise their career potential. It made sense to allow the employers we worked with to have a profile on the website to market themselves as a disability confident employer and to show case their approach to disability, the support they provide, and how to access it. One of the most highly visited parts of the site are the stories and blogs, written by those who have first-hand experience of disability, sharing how they manage their disability in the workplace and the support they benefit from. These stories show what is possible.
And if we were going to allow our clients to market themselves as disability confident employers, it also made sense for them to be able to advertise their internship, placements and job opportunities for students, along with student marketing events. Hence our job board for Students was born.
However, like their non-disabled counterparts, disabled employees are ambitious; they want to progress their career and they look outside of their current employer to do this. As well as knowing they are moving to a role that will enable them to progress their career, they also want to know that their new employer will be disability friendly and will provide the support they need to perform in their role, and to realise their potential. Hence, they return to the Students’ Club website to check out the employers profiled on our website and their approach to disability.
With the launch of the MyPlus Professionals Job Board, they can also search for opportunities with these companies.
So, do I still maintain that disabled job seekers don’t use disability-specific job boards? Yes and no. I am under no illusion that all disabled job seekers will use the MyPlus Professionals Job board. Some will and some won’t. However, it’s there if they want to use it, and it makes it incredibly easy for them to check out the credentials of employers claiming to be disability confident.
It also makes it really easy for employers to market themselves as employers of choice and to advertise their opportunities to this growing talent pool and to leverage the unique skills they can, and do, bring to their organisation.
