Employers who hire people with Asperger's

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bakattsura
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03 Sep 2011, 3:01 pm

The tech industry has long-since been forward-thinking enough to hire persons on the autism spectrum; Microsoft and Google have announced publicly that they supported persons with Asperger's.

Outside of that field, for those of us not so gifted in ones and zeroes, some retailers such as Walgreens and MarMaxx have started campaigns to take on more persons with diagnosed disabilities, including the autism spectrum.

I'd be very appreciative if you know of any other major employers who publicly support or actively hire persons on the autism spectrum.



demeus
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03 Sep 2011, 3:48 pm

I can say off the top of my head here in Minnesota that Best Buy and 3M are the large companies that not only state that they hire people with ASDs but have proven policies in place to ensure that it happens when appropriate.



johnsmcjohn
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03 Sep 2011, 4:45 pm

demeus wrote:
I can say off the top of my head here in Minnesota that Best Buy and 3M are the large companies that not only state that they hire people with ASDs but have proven policies in place to ensure that it happens when appropriate.


Do they need proof of diagnosis? Cause I don't have a formal diagnosis(yet) but I'd love to get a job with Best Buy. I'm in there all the time and I love tech gadgets.


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JoeR43
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04 Sep 2011, 1:34 pm

Of course Microsoft and google have been proactive in hiring off the autism spectrum: those with AS are the exact types they want. Often experts in a few functional areas, and many (myself included) take a lot of pride in ensuring we perform well in these areas. What sounds like a PR outreach is really just them glorifying the ground practices they'd partake in anyway.

There's too many defeatism in this board. The AS community have a lot of strengths, too, and companies look for people who can own functions like we can.



johnsmcjohn
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04 Sep 2011, 2:22 pm

JoeR43 wrote:
There's too many defeatism in this board. The AS community have a lot of strengths, too, and companies look for people who can own functions like we can.


As an aggregate, no. They don't. The overwhelming majority of jobs in America are geared toward customer interaction and the fact is you cannot write a javascript during that interview to impress the hiring manager. Most HR people don't get Aspies and quickly exclude us from any living wage job. I have dozens of interviews over the years to attest to this. I'll give you a particularly poignant example. A few months back there was a "hiring fair" for a local chain of coffee stores. I literally am a 5 minute walk from one of the busiest locations in town. I told them I would work any shift 24/7. I'd work holidays. I'd work in any location in town. This was on a Friday. The next Tuesday I get a voicemail(my phone never rang which is weird but whatever) saying they've filled all the spots. Now, I've been passed over for many jobs in my time but HOW THE f**k AM I NOT QUALIFIED TO SERVE COFFEE??? It's not like you need a PhD in fluid thermodynamics to understand "make coffee, take cup, fill cup, leave room for cream, try to smile." So I don't think this board is defeatist, I think it's realistic. Unless you're a highly skilled computer programmer, or a graduate degree holder, this economy wants very little to do with you. It's ok I guess. Someone has to make the frys after all.(presuming I can make it past the interview(which I haven't before btw.))


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xmh
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04 Sep 2011, 4:51 pm

It is probably service sector customer facing jobs that people with Aspergers are less suited for.

johnsmcjohn wrote:
"make coffee, take cup, fill cup, leave room for cream, try to smile."

you missed out the other stages: "greet customer, take order (and convert to products sold in your shop), upsell to larger size, suggestive sell food, take payment" which are more socially demanding.

In many respects the coffee is one of the less important parts of most coffee shops (just look at the quality of the coffee in Starbucks) and atmosphere is one of the key parts.

The serving staff (and shops) are often ranked on how much they manage to get customers to buy bigger sizes and impulse purchases such as food. If there is a mystery shopper scheme in the company the attitude of the serving staff (and whether or not they look happy) is one of the factors they look for.



JoeR43
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06 Sep 2011, 1:29 am

johnsmcjohn wrote:
JoeR43 wrote:
There's too many defeatism in this board. The AS community have a lot of strengths, too, and companies look for people who can own functions like we can.


As an aggregate, no. They don't. The overwhelming majority of jobs in America are geared toward customer interaction and the fact is you cannot write a javascript during that interview to impress the hiring manager. Most HR people don't get Aspies and quickly exclude us from any living wage job. I have dozens of interviews over the years to attest to this. I'll give you a particularly poignant example. A few months back there was a "hiring fair" for a local chain of coffee stores. I literally am a 5 minute walk from one of the busiest locations in town. I told them I would work any shift 24/7. I'd work holidays. I'd work in any location in town. This was on a Friday. The next Tuesday I get a voicemail(my phone never rang which is weird but whatever) saying they've filled all the spots. Now, I've been passed over for many jobs in my time but HOW THE f**k AM I NOT QUALIFIED TO SERVE COFFEE??? It's not like you need a PhD in fluid thermodynamics to understand "make coffee, take cup, fill cup, leave room for cream, try to smile." So I don't think this board is defeatist, I think it's realistic. Unless you're a highly skilled computer programmer, or a graduate degree holder, this economy wants very little to do with you. It's ok I guess. Someone has to make the frys after all.(presuming I can make it past the interview(which I haven't before btw.))


And this is why I have trouble relating to other aspies; this vidtimization is nonsense.

Do people with more developed social skills have an edge in personal interaction? Yes. A person with AS is likely not a perfect candidate for a sales/customer service role.

However, I'm working in computers and econometrics. People all over my profession have the same problems: introversion and lack of people skills are among them. Any employer worth a damn sees the value you can bring.

In your case, you're frustrated due to not finding menial work. Guess what: youth unemployment is wicked high right now. The low end of the economic spectrum in general is having a tough time. These companies are receiving hundreds of applications for menial labor. It might not be you at all, just a rough time.

Or maybe it is you, and you can actually try to change. I know a lot about the PDD spectrum thanks to my mom's life, and I know for a fact that an AS-afflicted person can learn societal norms. If you can't put a smiley face on for a 15 min interview, how can an employer trust you to provide their customers with a good experience for an 8 hour shift?



hlerwill
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06 Sep 2011, 3:59 pm

I'm an IT manager. I'd say about half my staff are somewhere on the spectrum. That's not been deliberate on my part, rather the personality types that I know make good programmers or technicians are what I'm looking for. Specific skills can be taught; outside the box thinking cannot, I see that as a result of being wired differently.

I'd rather hire someone who can look at things differently than someone who has lots of certifications.



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06 Sep 2011, 4:40 pm

I am currently going to school to major in psychology and I wanted to find a place where I could get my foot in the door. I also currently hold a two year degree and wanted to know if counseling centers hire two year degree psych majors in enry level positions. If so, what places are Aspie friendly?



angiebanana
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20 Sep 2011, 4:59 pm

I'm not sure about a 2 year psych degree. But I've seen postings looking for 4 year degree holders to do ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis). Since they're hiring people to work with people with Autism & Asperger's, they might think that hiring someone who is on the spectrum as a benefit. ABA isn't always easy to do, and depending on the setting it's provided in, sensory issues might be hard to accommodate, but it's certainly worth looking into.



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20 Sep 2011, 8:28 pm

JoeR43 wrote:
johnsmcjohn wrote:
JoeR43 wrote:
There's too many defeatism in this board. The AS community have a lot of strengths, too, and companies look for people who can own functions like we can.


As an aggregate, no. They don't. The overwhelming majority of jobs in America are geared toward customer interaction and the fact is you cannot write a javascript during that interview to impress the hiring manager. Most HR people don't get Aspies and quickly exclude us from any living wage job. I have dozens of interviews over the years to attest to this. I'll give you a particularly poignant example. A few months back there was a "hiring fair" for a local chain of coffee stores. I literally am a 5 minute walk from one of the busiest locations in town. I told them I would work any shift 24/7. I'd work holidays. I'd work in any location in town. This was on a Friday. The next Tuesday I get a voicemail(my phone never rang which is weird but whatever) saying they've filled all the spots. Now, I've been passed over for many jobs in my time but HOW THE f**k AM I NOT QUALIFIED TO SERVE COFFEE??? It's not like you need a PhD in fluid thermodynamics to understand "make coffee, take cup, fill cup, leave room for cream, try to smile." So I don't think this board is defeatist, I think it's realistic. Unless you're a highly skilled computer programmer, or a graduate degree holder, this economy wants very little to do with you. It's ok I guess. Someone has to make the frys after all.(presuming I can make it past the interview(which I haven't before btw.))


And this is why I have trouble relating to other aspies; this vidtimization is nonsense.

Do people with more developed social skills have an edge in personal interaction? Yes. A person with AS is likely not a perfect candidate for a sales/customer service role.

However, I'm working in computers and econometrics. People all over my profession have the same problems: introversion and lack of people skills are among them. Any employer worth a damn sees the value you can bring.

In your case, you're frustrated due to not finding menial work. Guess what: youth unemployment is wicked high right now. The low end of the economic spectrum in general is having a tough time. These companies are receiving hundreds of applications for menial labor. It might not be you at all, just a rough time.

Or maybe it is you, and you can actually try to change. I know a lot about the PDD spectrum thanks to my mom's life, and I know for a fact that an AS-afflicted person can learn societal norms. If you can't put a smiley face on for a 15 min interview, how can an employer trust you to provide their customers with a good experience for an 8 hour shift?


I do not think everyone with AS can learn social norms or put that to use....of course I can't put on a freaking smily face for 15 minutes if I am not happy, unless I want to feel horrible afterwards for being such a fake. If you can cool, but there are some of use who can't.



the-comander
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24 Jul 2014, 6:30 pm

bakattsura wrote:
The tech industry has long-since been forward-thinking enough to hire persons on the autism spectrum; Microsoft and Google have announced publicly that they supported persons with Asperger's.

Outside of that field, for those of us not so gifted in ones and zeroes, some retailers such as Walgreens and MarMaxx have started campaigns to take on more persons with diagnosed disabilities, including the autism spectrum.

I'd be very appreciative if you know of any other major employers who publicly support or actively hire persons on the autism spectrum.

i imagine that if you don't tell them you have it they will probably hire you if you act totally normal usually and are productive. however id suggest not telling your implorer. its one of those things thats still kind of exceptible to be hateful or judgmental towards as long as your not doing it openly. the same way women get hired less and hispanic imagrents get more s**t and that if you asian people just assume your smart even if you can't do s**t. the truth is no one will ever openly say "yeah were not hiring you for a job at a law firm because your black and the other candidate is asian" but people still do it and a lot of times these types of attitudes are institutionalized. if you have the monotone voice or talk funny they might decide not to hire you because of that.



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24 Jul 2014, 7:13 pm

seems to be a common stereotype that people with AS are great at computers or music.

I haven't met many who are. I certainly am not good with computers and can't play any instruments.



opal
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25 Jul 2014, 2:16 am

[quote="JoeR43"]
Any employer worth a damn sees the value you can bring.

quote]

Therin lies the problem. Alot of employers, or more to the point interviewers, aren't worth a damn. They are often conducted by HR, who know nothing about the job or role, and the interview consists of the same stupid questions that also have nothing to do with the role. But they expect you to give a stock standard lie to their stock standard stupid question, and when you do, they tick the box, and pretend that you are the best candidate.



23andaspie
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25 Jul 2014, 6:19 am

Amazon, for technical positions at least. Though I don't believe they have ever stated that explicitly.


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Britta
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25 Jul 2014, 12:09 pm

I started a group on LinkedIn. A lot of jobs are found via networking. It would be great if people with autism who had good jobs advocated to their employers to hire other people with autism. My networking group on Linked In is called "Job Seekers with Autism."
Sadly, I think a lot of the job placement groups through various autism organizations are geared towards people who also have intellectual disabilities and not just social. Let's see what we can change through a group like this.