Applying for jobs

Applying for a job with a mental health problem need not always be a negative experience.

Having lived with mental illness, you may have developed skills which will be valuable in your work role, such as two people in office

  • Problem solving
  • Ability to work with and relate to different sorts of people
  • Tenacity
  • Diplomacy
  • Creativity

Make use of your experiences when writing your CV and in an interview. You do not have to refer to mental illness, just the skills that you have developed of a result of it.

Disclosing a past or present mental health problem

At some point during a recruitment process you may choose, or find it necessary, to disclose details about your mental health history. You should think about the reason for disclosing and weigh up the pros and cons. If you are seeking employment will disclosing help you obtain work? If you are in employment will disclosing mean work can be managed without undue stress?

Pros                                                                                  
• If you declare that you have a disability you may automatically be given an interview as many organisations are trying to increase the number of disabled people working for them.

• If you admit that you have a disability in that you have a mental illness you will be protected by the Equality Act 2010 (EqA) which means that it will be illegal for the prospective company to discriminate against you.

• Disclosing you have a disability means that the prospective company must make reasonable adjustments to enable you to do the job. This may mean additional supervision for someone with a mental health problem.

• Disclosing having a mental health problem allows you to control how this is presented to your employer. For instance, you may have particularly strong interpersonal skills or problem solving skills if you have had mental health difficulties and you could tell them in this way.

Man thinking,pensive, thoughtful,

Cons                                                                                 
• Admitting you have had or have a mental health problem can lead to unfair treatment when applying for a job. For instance, you may not be given an interview or may not be offered the job. While you are covered by the EqA, often it is hard to prove that this is because of your mental health problem rather than beacause you did not make the grade.

• You may be worried about the stigma associated with mental illness and how this might affect you in the workplace if your employers and/or colleagues know about your mental health difficulties.

If you choose to do so there are different ways of disclosing your mental illness to an employer. You may wish to tell them on the application form, or on a covering letter. Alternatively, you may wish to wait until the interview or until after you have been offered the job. Try to put your difficulties in a positive light as to what you have gained and remembering why you think you can do this job regardless of your mental health difficulties.

 

 

The Equality Act 2010

The Equality Act 2010 (EqA) has consolidated the existing legislation in relation to discrimination including the Disability Discrimination Act 1995; the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Race Relations Act 1976. It is designed to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all. The act states that a person has a disability if ‘they have a physical or mental impairment, and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to perform normal day-to-day activities’. People who have had a disability in the past that meets this definition are also protected by the Act.

young woman, back to camera, talking to a professional of some sort

The EqA has restricted the questions that a prospective employer can ask about health or disability in an application form, therefore you do not normally have to provide any information about your health on your initial application form. An employer may still ask these questions but they should only be asked for specific reasons e.g. to enable the employer to make reasonable adjustments in the interview or to establish that an applicant can carry out tasks necessary for the job.