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Discussion on: When applying for a job, how would I make it clear that I can't do phone interviews due to speech problems?

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Jason C. McDonald • Edited

Bear in mind, U.S. Federal Law prohibits them from ruling you out as a candidate solely on this disability, via the Americans with Disabilities Act, as long as you are still capable of performing essential duties. (So, you couldn't take a job in phone tech support, because talking on the phone is an essential duty, and that's legal.) Talking on the phone is seldom, if ever, an essential duty for a programming job.

In the initial written communication, tell them what you told us: because of a speech disability (be sure to use that word, it flags HR to legal trouble if they chuck your resume on those grounds), you cannot do voice-only communication, but face-to-face communication IS still viable with reasonable accommodations.

If they turn that into a deal-breaker, that's a red flag that they are (a) not sensitive to disabilities, and (b) not afraid of running afoul of Federal law, and therefore you wouldn't want to work for them anyway.

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Ermal Shuli

Thanks

So I should say this in the cover letter right?

I'm in UK, but the same laws exist here as well

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codemouse92 profile image
Jason C. McDonald • Edited

Cover letter sounds like a good place to me, although someone with far more experience might want to weigh in. (I have the most experience from the hiring side, not the hiree side.)