3 tips from Rangam Consultants for employers who want to improve their DEI by hiring students and recent grads with neurodivergence and disabilities

College Recruiter recently asked career experts for their top three tips for employers who want to improve their diversity, equity, and inclusion by recruiting more college students and recent graduates who are neurodivergent or have physical disabilities. Below are tips from Nish Parikh of Rangam Consultants:

1. The most important piece of advice I can give to companies is to build a workplace with an empathetic setting and culture.  More and more companies are broadcasting diversity and a welcoming environment. In order for this to become a reality, empathy needs to be facilitated from the top down by encouraging behaviors and attitudes that reflect self-awareness, nonjudgmental positive regard for others, good listening skills and self-confidence.
2. It’s important that a workplace is accessible and accommodates how people with physical or developmental disabilities and neurodivergent people work. These accommodations can be small changes that require little or no investment but they still make a huge difference for employees with disabilities. For example, many of the neurodivergent talent that we work with perform better with limited distraction, so we advise clients to move individuals to a less busy or active area away from restrooms or printers so distractions don’t present them with a challenge. 
3. Employers should be flexible and make accommodations when interviewing candidates. Understanding an individual job seeker’s challenges before the interview process begins is important, or an employer risks missing out on hiring a highly qualified applicant due to a disconnect during the interview.

— Nish Parikh is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Rangam Consultants Inc. Rangam is a leader in the staffing industry. Its SourceAbled program is a proprietary workforce solution that goes beyond a traditional job placement program by matching Fortune 500-type companies with neurodivergent and disabled talent seeking to build and sustain successful and fulfilling careers.