Graduate Recruiter’s Breakfast Seminar 16 (BS’16)
Hosted by Allen and Overy
On Wednesday 28th April, members of the Graduate Recruiter’s Disability Café Club met at the offices of Allen & Overy LLP to participate in the second Breakfast Seminar of 2016.
The seminar was focused on Learning from the Experts - those individuals who have first-hand experience of disability. Delegates were given the unique opportunity to hear from students and recent graduates who spoke about their disability and how it affects them. Delegates were also able to benefit from asking questions to the students in a safe environment. The aim was for delegates to gain an insight into the experiences and concerns disabled candidates have and, in doing so, be better placed to engage with them, and to attract to them to their organisations. In addition, it built the confidence of delegates to engage in conversations relating to disability and equipped them to be better placed to provide support.
Helen Cooke, Director of My Plus Consulting, began by welcoming delegates to the seminar and setting the morning’s agenda. Delegates rotated between 6 tables, with each table having a ‘student expert’ who spoke about their disability, how it affects them, how they manage it, and the impact it has on their studies, extra-curricular activities and their time at university. They also spoke about their thoughts and concerns about applying for graduate jobs and entering employment.
In the final part of the seminar, Helen asked delegates to feed back what stood out from what they had heard and what they would take away with them. Delegates spoke of how students had highlighted the need for graduate recruiters to adopt a more personal approach when working with disabled candidates, such as phoning the candidate to discuss their requirements – remembering that the individual is the expert in their condition.
Thank you to Allen and Overy LLP for kindly hosting the 16th Breakfast seminar.
