Evening up the odds on an even break

Finding a job is a challenge for everyone in this climate, and much more so for disabled job-seekers. Jane Hatton tells us about a new, not-for-profit specialist job board to help disabled candidates find work with inclusive employers who are actively looking to attract more disabled applicants

I developed Evenbreak (evenbreak.co.uk) following conversations with two groups of people. Disabled job-seekers were telling me that they struggled to find employers who were enlightened enough to look beyond their disabilities at what they had to offer. Meanwhile, genuinely inclusive employers (those who really understand the benefits of employing disabled people) were saying they struggled to attract disabled applicants through their usual recruitment media. It seemed these two groups needed help in finding each other!

Disabled job-seekers can be confident that employers who choose to advertise their vacancies on a site such as Evenbreak are more likely to take their applications seriously, focusing on their skills and talents rather than their disabilities. Inclusive employers can be confident that Evenbreak will help them attract additional disabled candidates. Employers who have advertised on the site so far include the BBC, Zurich Finance, Smiths Medical, RBS, Yorkshire Water and the Royal Shakespeare Company, as well as many smaller companies and charities.

Registering, uploading your CV and searching for jobs on Evenbreak are all free. It’s worth the few minutes it takes to register as some employers search the database for specific skills rather than advertising. A new feature which will be added soon is a regular e-bulletin to registered candidates, highlighting recent job adverts, and with links to other resources which may be useful.

When developing Evenbreak, my top priority was accessibility. No existing job sites met the accessibility standards we wanted, and so the site was built from scratch, tested by independent web accessibility experts throughout. However, the most important test, of course, was with real users of the site. People from a local centre for the blind with a range of sight impairments, including some who are completely blind and unable to use a mouse, reported that they were able to register, upload their CV and navigate around the site looking for jobs completely independently – and that this was the only job board they had found in the UK where this was the case.

Having employed disabled people within my own business I have seen first-hand the benefits they bring with them, and being disabled myself I know how important the world of work is for disabled people. My ambition is for Evenbreak to be the catalyst that allows genuinely inclusive employers to access talented disabled job-seekers.

Biography
Due to a spinal condition which leaves her unable to sit and with limited ability to walk or stand, Jane runs Evenbreak lying flat with a lap top suspended above her. Previously she ran a diversity training company, and was a finalist in the Stelios Disabled Entrepreneur Awards 2008.