Guest Post: Applying for Jobs and Attending Interviews as an Autistic Person

Photo by Mina Rad on Unsplash

This guest blog post is written by Chris (not his real name). We asked Chris to write a piece for the AG blog sharing his experience of applying for jobs and attending interviews as an autistic person. This post is a must-read for anyone who interviews prospective staff. Thank you to Chris for sharing his story. We hope you enjoy this post.

---

I am an autistic man in his mid-thirties. I worked the same job for over a decade before deciding to move on to something new. I have found job seeking to be very difficult. I felt that prospective employers were rejecting me for jobs that I was capable of, and I am sure that my autism is part of the reason for this. I wanted to write this post to share my experience and try to improve the recruitment process for autistic people.

I encountered multiple different interview techniques and styles, which is part of the problem; I tend to script my social encounters as much as possible ahead of time. This becomes more difficult when you’ve never met the person interviewing you and have no idea what to expect during the interview. The second someone fires a question at me I go blank. I’m not an unintelligent person, but in that setting, I feel like I can’t do anything, and I beat myself up mentally, which then hinders my ability to answer questions even further.

Things like roleplaying or having to speak to more than a couple of people at a time are also really difficult for me as an autistic person. On top of these issues with social communication, I have sensory difficulties, especially when I get too hot. Whilst attire is generally more relaxed these days, I think it is still expected that people dress smart for interviews but I find a suit to be incredibly uncomfortable.

I never know whether to inform the employer of my autism diagnosis ahead of time or not. Legally, it shouldn’t make any difference. As long as an employer doesn’t say, “You didn’t get the job because you’re autistic”, they aren’t breaching any laws. I’m sure that employers hear of autistic meltdowns/burnout and assume that autistic people will have high rates of sickness, so there probably is an element of ableism involved there. In two rounds of applying for jobs, I told all but one prospective employer of my diagnosis. Out of a total of 6 interviews where they knew I was autistic, I got one offer. In the one interview I did where I didn’t tell the interviewer about my diagnosis, I got offered the job. There is no way of knowing whether my diagnosis made a difference, but the figures don’t exactly instil confidence in telling employers about my diagnosis.

The worst interview I ever had was for a job quite some time ago. Thankfully, I have got better at communicating since then, but I struggled to answer any of the questions. I don’t recall thinking about my facial expression at all so I probably looked gormless, and when the interview was finished, I said, “I’ll see you soon” as I left the room, which must have come across as incredibly arrogant after such a terrible interview.

The two best interviews I’ve had were good for slightly different reasons. In one, they knew that I was autistic and gave me prompts when I couldn’t think of any questions to ask. In the other interview, the interviewer treated it like a conversation which is something I’ve had plenty of practice with. They still asked all the usual questions, but there were sentences leading up to those questions which allowed me time to think of what I was going to say ahead of the question being asked. One of the perks of scripting social interaction is that you become quite good at predicting what people will say!

I think that sometimes interviewers misunderstand my enthusiasm. My speech pattern can be quite flat and monotonous, and I think that this can sometimes be mistaken for a lack of enthusiasm.

I found that writing notes before the interview was helpful, I was told to do this by a professional who helps people to find jobs. I was told that you can even take the notes into the interview with you which was a revelation for me! However, I decided against doing this because I thought it would look odd if I had to check notes when they ask about me. But the process of writing down these answers to common interview questions made them stick in my mind more. Using this technique, I managed to finally secure myself a job.

It would also be useful if employers asked about any sensory issues ahead of the interview. Something as simple as a desktop fan would have made a big difference for me. It would also be good if they allowed for a more relaxed and comfortable attire.

The idea of doing a job interview via a messaging app or email is thrilling to me. I feel like I’d excel at that!

I’m hopeful that there will be positive changes in the future; it had been some time since I applied for jobs and I did find that interviewers were generally more relaxed than they used to be. There has also been an increased awareness of neurodivergent conditions generally, which I think will have a positive impact on the hiring process for autistic people in the future.

A study in February 2024 (the Buckland Review for the UK government) showed that only 30% of autistic people are employed. The study found that what kept a lot of autistic people out of work was the recruitment process itself.

Autistic people have a lot to offer the workplace. Our brains are wired differently and so we may come up with fresh, new ideas that would really benefit any workplace. Making interviews more inclusive and offering alternative interview methods (messaging etc.) will not only benefit autistic people, but introverted neurotypicals, too. Studies show that making workplaces more inclusive and accommodating for autistic people creates a better environment for everyone to work in.