Fed Up With Job Application Process

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I am fed up with the entire job application and interview process. I am a highly skilled (have a computer engineering degree), yet, I cannot find a position in my field (hardware design).

For the last two years, I have sent out innumerous resumes without a response (hardly unusual I know, however, still disheartening). Through these resumes, I have obtained a number of interviews. Most of them appear to go well. They usually state that they like me, call me back for additional interviews, quite often hint that they will give me employment. Yet, none actually follow through. I have had numerous firms say that the position is starting soon (say one month), then, they push it back again and again, and it never materializes. At this point, I am uncertain as to what to think. Do these people have a difficulty telling candidates that they will not recieve the job? Or, do they just enjoy yanking my strings, and watching me dance through the interview process? (I realize paraniod. However, I may be losing my perspective.)

This was all brought to a head by my most recent rejection. A firm in Victoria expressed interest in me. After phone interviews, the firm flew me out to Victoria for an in-person interview (They spent over $700. That has to mean that they are serious, right?). As far as I could tell, I did well. In fact, the engineer who was behind the decision to bring me to Victoria, and who did most of the interviewing, stated that he thought I did well in my interview. However, there was also an interview with the HR girl. She asked me a number of people based questions, which I answered. I thought I did well in this portion as well.

Today, I found out that the company has decided not to hire me. This is in direct conflict to every intuition that I held. From what I could tell, the engineers thought that I was suitable, and the HR girl (who knows nothing about the actual position, and has absolutely no technical skills) did not. She stated that I did not have good balance between soft skills and technical skills. This is after I already had two telephone interviews with her before I flew out. I did everything I could, but spell it out, to make it clear that my technical skills are far in excess of my soft skills. This is also for a position whereby I would be interacting solely with other technical people within the company.

This all does no bode well for me. In fact, I thought this was one of the best interviews that I had done. If I cannot a position at a firm like this (which appeared to be understanding) in an engineering role (a notable haven for aspies), what chance do I have within the workforce?

I apoligize for this. Merely needed a chance to rant.

The soft skills are very important. That is how you interact with other employees/ customers. There are many times when I (as a supervisor) would send a less experienced person with better people skills.
How well would you interact with your coworkers? That is HR's question. It is much easier to keep looking than it is to fire someone for social skills, but keeping 1 person with bad people skills can cost them numerous other employees.
Where I worked there was a clause that in the first 6 months we could let someone go just for "not being a good fit"... very vague. It saved our bacon alot!

If you vastly exceed in one area, but fail in the other...you failed.
If, in the HR interview, you displayed an attitude of not really needing the "soft skills" (even if you didn't verbalize it- HR consists of people readers.) it can cost you the job. Be willing to show HR that you understand the importance of those skills, recognize that you have "work to do" with your people skills, and convince them you are actively trying to improve.
If you can approach par or show a good attitude in the area, then your technical prowess could land you the job. If you believe that you don't need skills that your employer (as a whole) feels necessary, you don't fit the job.

Do some reading. There are books out there that can set guidelines, definitions, and appropriate protocols, for dealing with people professionally (key word), and set it into a nice, delineated, format that I found much easier to understand.

I think this is one reason that peple with AS need the same type of protection that many minorities and women(and those with visable disabilities)have now.It wont solve all the problems but I think it might change the current statistics on people with AS being often underpayed or under-employed based on their intelligence and skill set.


There are jobs that require very good people skills and good communication but there are many more that the same kind of "excuse" was used to not hire women and minorities...."Oh,working with "you kind of people" make others uncomfortable"...."Men dont like having a female boss,so we cant promote her to that position"

When the HR person uses their "skills" to decide if someone is a good fit...they are judgeing them on informaations about how certain NT's act and what that emplies about them....such as not making eye-contact or having a soft hand shake,emplying lakc of honesty,low self-esteem...soft hand shack implying lack of assertiveness,being "gay"....all this is ...Non-verbal communication and they dont knw how to read us....they know how to read NTs.So,this is the same kind of discrimination that I have seen in other groups of people denied access to better jobs.

Even if(and I have)learned many of these "tricks" to pass....I am never going t do it as well as an NT because it is not instinctual for me but cognitive....every cognitive function takes something away from another area of my presentation(like thoughfully answering the verbal questions)I cant juggle all these at one time and I think accomidations for people who have the skills,should be given a chance.

I have been watching this thread and wanted to comment but felt reluctant to because I feel your more of a professional person than myself. But I feel that I may be able to help you.

I think the problem is that the world is not just about how one fits into the job its about so much more. You seem to be looking at the issue as if its black and white maybe you have missed out some of the finer details. For most AS people we seem to think if we follow the instruction logically we cant fail but we do more than we know. Things happen at the interview that we are disabled from understanding, we don't smile much, we don't see or understand flirtation, we feel anxious around people especially when around the opposite sex etc. I personally am going through a phase of being short with people and without knowing it put up the so called wall that I cant see or understand of its existence.

It seems that the women was the brunt of your falling in the application of this job and to be honest you really need to walk away thinking why would I want to have worked alongside such a person who couldn't except you for what you are.

Do you know what it could have been and its so sad that I not even mention it, well ok I not be cruel but she mite have expected you to have shown her some old fashioned worship or in NT terms make out you fancied her, maybe she liked you and wanted to sleep with you so that you got the job its a sad fact of life now days.

Thats just one idea but to dwell on it wont do you any good so keep up the looking and stop worrying there is much more to life than work.

Seems to me that the whole purpose of the HR person is to eliminate aspies. (In your case there was no other reason for her to even be part of the interview process!)

I have the same problems with interviews - just can't even fake it because I am too nervous. In fact trying to fake it probably makes my body language even worse than usual.

I too have been in interviews which I thought went well, only to not get the job.

And as for the "don't fit" clause someone mentioned - things like this should be illegal!! !! ! It is discrimination pure and simple.

Part of having a job is that you get paid to work with people you wouldn't normally give the time of day to - deal with it!

After a while, the questions in interviews become very similar and revolve around the same themes (e.g. why do you want the job, what can you bring? etc).

The trick is to work out some scripts peppered with practical examples which you can learn thoroughly and from there, focus on improving your delivery. Every round of job hunting I've done (and I've done five now), I've always muffed the first interview because while the content was there, the delivery was halting and uncertain. By the second or third interview, I've been able to say my piece confidently and tended to land the job.

Don't be afraid to ask friends or family to sit down and let you practise with them either.

But there are times when you fall on the wrong side of the line (I too was flown up to Sydney for an interview, only to be rejected.)

QuantumCowboy,
I can empathize with what you went though. I feel HRs aren't very fond of me, either. I think's it because they have a lot of negative preconceived notions about people like us. In fact, a lot of NTs seem to think that people like us are snooty bastards who think they are better and more intelligent than anyone who is not math or technology oriented. My suggestion is to make an effort to show your "human" side the next time you interview with an HR. I am not saying you did not show your human side during the interview (obviously), but try to make an extra effort to let her know that you are not the evil geek she probably thinks you are. If she asks you something personal, talk about something that's not related to engineering: talk about art, psychology, some outdoor activity, etc. I'm not saying spend the interview talking about those things, of course, but if you could mention something along those lines just in passing, I think that would only help you change her perception of you for the better. That's how I handled my interview with the HR person who interviewed me for my current job.