Employer′s Perceptions of Nonverbal Communication in Job Interviews for Persons with Physical Disabilities

Abstract

Thirty-one employers viewed tapes of job interviews of six upper-level college students with physical disabilities. Three interviewees were judged by graduate student raters to have good nonverbal skills and the other three to have poor nonverbal skills. Transcripts of the interviews were read and rated by graduate students in psychology, and the results were used to adjust statistically for the content of the interviews. Persons with disabilities who exhibited good nonverbal communication were rated as significantly more employable and rated higher on personal qualities considered in employment interviews than persons who exhibited poor nonverbal communication. Implications for further research and designing interventions for improving nonverbal communicati on of the physically disabled are discussed.