I studied Psychology, achieving a first and graduating in 2005. Struggling to find work, and in the hope it would help find employment, I studied for a masters, graduating in 2008. Ever since I have been applying for jobs. Whenever I've managed to get an interview, the interview has always gone poorly. I believe this is due largely to AS. Understandably, I never managed to get a job after an interview.
I did have one job, but there was no interview for this. Merely a case of checking you were a human being. It was factory work, involving pressing a mould onto icing on Christmas cakes. Quite some pressure was needed to do this properly, it involved thousands of cakes each day, leaving me physically aching - and I felt I was becoming the target of jibes from the line manager. Probably due to AS. I gave up after 2 weeks.
A few months ago I applied for a job at a Government department working as a statistician. I was rejected, mostly due to not showing good examples of my experience in teamwork or managing work load at interview. I wrote an email of complaint addressing it to the company's diversity officer - who had been mentioned in emails sent by them when inviting me for interview etc. The basic theme was that I felt they were not adhering to their obligations under the Equality Act (UK legislation) by making the recruitment process so rigid and inflexible, that a person with a disability such as mine might never get through, and that in fact I felt my disability might be an asset in this job. I also asked if it might be possible to have some work experience.
Then a short time later I received an email offering unpaid work experience for 4 weeks. I accepted and have been doing it for a few weeks now. I actually kind of enjoy it. I figure I enjoy it as much as I would ever enjoy any job. I feared the open plan office layout and interactions with other people, but those aspects don't seem overly bad. In fact, I kind of figure that had I been provided with my own isolated office, or a desk next to a window, I'd probably spend more time absorbed in myself/staring out the window. I guess in a way I've been shielded from the "office politics" though, as I'm only on a work experience placement.
I appear to have impressed them, and now they are discussing the possibility of a short term (few months) contract of paid employment. No firm offer as yet, but I'm hopeful. They said some of the people they get as employees are extremely poor at the job. This only seems to confirm my hypothesis that giving a good interview, does not necessarily mean you will be good at the job. That the NT skill of b*** s******g is far more important when it comes to getting a job.
It would be an unusual feeling working, and in a relatively skilled position, while I know I would never manage to get any kind of minimum wage job, because I can never appear "normal" in an interview situation. I know how hard it is out there to get any kind of job. Especially for Aspies who are often disadvantaged against other candidates in the interview situation.
I only wish that if I managed to get a job, and keep it long-term, that I could somehow help other Aspies who have had the same difficulties finding work I have over the last 7 years. I'd love to setup a business and automatically reject people without a disability - this would in fact be entirely legal under the legislation, as non-disabled people are not protected. Unfortunately I doubt it would ever happen.
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Your Aspie score: 131 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 61 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie
28 Jul 2012, 4:51 pm
