New jobseekers' guide for lesbian and gay students

Gay rights organisation Stonewall has produced the first national recruitment guide for lesbian and gay jobseekers.

Starting out, aimed at the estimated 150,000 lesbian and gay students in the UK, was launched last month. It showcases 79 employers and gives practical advice on managing job interviews.

Stonewall said the guide was introduced following "tremendous interest" from students and careers services in Stonewall's "Diversity Champions" programme - a good-practice forum for workplace sexual orientation issues, where top employers work with Stonewall and each other to promote diversity in the workplace - and its 2005 Corporate Equality Index, which listed the top 100 employers for lesbian, gay and bisexual workers (see February's Labour Research).

"By appearing in the guide, companies are not just reaching out to gay and lesbian people, but are sending a message to others as well," said Stephen Frost, manager of Stonewall's workplace programmes.

Starting Out can be downloaded from www. stonewall.org.uk/students