Download the app
© 2026. The Purpl Co Limited. All rights reserved.
Download the app
© 2026. The Purpl Co Limited. All rights reserved.
2 min read
Written by
Jane Hutton, CEO/Founder of Evenbreak
Published on
July 4, 2024
I’ve always believed that most disabled people are premium candidates. Like everyone else, we have diverse skills, qualities, and talents. But in addition, we’ve developed other unique skills through living in a world not designed with our needs in mind. Here’s why that makes us not just good candidates, but premium ones.
For most of us, tasks that others take for granted require thoughtful planning. For instance, meeting someone in town might need to be planned with military precision, whereas most people just hop onto a bus or into a car and go. We need to consider several factors:
After planning the journey, we often need to consider additional factors:
This meticulous planning is daily life for many disabled people, and it helps us develop invaluable skills: project management, research, anticipation, organisation, and planning ahead. Skills that are incredibly useful in most roles with most employers.
Living in an inaccessible world means we often have to find creative ways to do things. Maybe we use assistive technology. For example, I find it difficult to sit for long periods, so I’ve figured out ways to use a computer while lying down or sitting awkwardly on a sofa. Some of us work from home rather than in an office. People who struggle with short-term memory might write, type, or record lists to ensure nothing gets forgotten.
These challenges make us more flexible, agile, and adaptable than many non-disabled people. Such skills have always been valuable in the workplace, and they are even more crucial today.
The world of work is changing, especially in the wake of the pandemic. Flexibility, creativity, and finding different ways to achieve results are becoming increasingly important.
As disabled people, we’ve been doing this forever, we are masters at finding new, different, and effective ways to get things done. When people said most work couldn’t be done from home, we were already doing it. When told there was only one way to complete a task, we had already found multiple successful approaches.
As you look for work in the post-Covid world, remember that your experience and skills make you a premium candidate. You have a lot to offer, even more so now when flexibility and innovation are in high demand.
For more tips and job opportunities from inclusive employers who value disabled candidates, explore the Evenbreak Job Board and the Career Hive.
Evenbreak is an award-winning not-for-profit specialist job board run by disabled people for disabled people
Top Tips for Finding Work as a Disabled Person
Understanding ESA & How to Apply
Disability Rights UK