I did eventually learn how to get hired!

Alphawolf · Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2008 12:23 pm Post subject:

I got hired despite the fact I never make eye contact and make a few interview mistakes. As an autistic I always say it is up to you to be a teacher. In the interview you only have one autism teaching requirement. In the job interview process you want to practice what I call Autism Prophylaxis. Your goal is to innoculate your target inverviewer or panel audience with autism knowledge. You must teach about autism in a nicely worded upbeat breif statement before laods of ignorant autism or disability stereotypes come trooping up to fill each inverveiwers intellectual vaccuum with lies. By teaching about autism first you pre-emptively fill the interviewers autism vaccuum with basic true autism facts that empower them and help your interview chances. Now you have defused the disability issue by opening the door to questions that make people comfortable at the prospect of engaging you as an autistic co-worker.

If my autistic traits were obvious as mine are I'd I lead off like a speaker at an Alcoholic's Annomonous Meeting. "Hello my name is Wolf, I am autistic. I share my autism diagnosis with you because, during the interview you might notice some of my unique autism inspired features. If needed please do not be afraid to ask about any of my autism inspired behaviors. Understand that I am very comfortable answering autism related questions if doing so empowers you to be more enlightened and at ease."

Then I would proceed with what makes me the perfect fit for the job and I would then focus on touting my vast and awesome abilities like any other job applicant. In giving that short three sentence interview preamble you have successfully innoculated the interview staff, HR people or others against their own ignorance. Now with all your autism issues out of the way you can focus on presenting your skills. After wowing them with your skills, your knowledge of the business, mission and history of your prospective employer, ask for only the most minimal disability related accomodations you absolutely require to function effectively in their workplace.

If the love light is still shining in the eyes of your interveiwers at this point in the process you will often know when they shift the topic to any autism related quirks they may have picked up on during the interview. Do not be surprised if this happens be ready for it in fact because its still part of the interview process. Often when the interview panel shifts discussions you have passed the job related core knowledge skills and abilities part of the process. Now the interview is focusing on your suitability and ability to present things in breif tactful insightful ways under some adverse conditions. Your autism makes a perfect subject because its something you know well having lived with it all your life. Now you are being tested to see if you are a good fit in their business culture.

The interviewer might ask a general well worded politically correct question about some obvious aspect of your autism related behaviors they noticed. If you have no autism elements to notice they might ask a question about autism based on something in their life experience to see how you handle it. Were you tactful, if the question was ignorant or wrong did you guide the person back to the correct answer in gentle non-threatening ways. If the interviewer insisted they were right about autism and you were wrong did you defuse the situation effectively without giving ground on your position. These are skills you will need if you will be dealing with almost any businesses as a professional. Even janitoral staff must know how to handle that sour dour faced Ms. So In So on floor 15 cube 210 who thinks all office cleaners are little people put here for her personal amusement.

On interview panels there is always a wisenhiemer who sits back and usually lights up only at the end of the process. They will comment on one of your autistic features in a way that seems very off the cuff, but trust me it was likely the most calculated and planned part of your interview. The person might even comment about one of your autism inspired features in a way that can be taken as insulting only in the most limited context as not to open themselves to legal problems. The purpose for this edge play is to see what your response will be. You have three options. 1. You can storm out of the interview in a grand emotional snitt never to return. 2. You can take the offending interviewer to task dressing him down rudely or ever so politely for being so insensitive and boorish or 3. THE RIGHT ANSWER IS:::: TA-DA: You can use the opportunity as a teaching tool, gently quickly but firmly walking the interviewer through his mistakes. I end teaching opportunities by inviting people woefully ignoant about autism to ask me if they have autism related questions so they never again risk looking foolish in front of people who do not know he is better than his crudely formed autism questions suggest.

After determining you have all the knowledge skills and abilities the job demands the next phase of the process begins. The second phase of the interview process is simple. In the interviews second phase it is the task of the interviewers to put unexpected interpersonal mines in your rigidly pre-defined or heavily scripted autistic intellectual path to see how you react to sudden change and unexpected challenges. Not to worry this unsettling process is done to Neurotypical job interviewee's as well but, it is part of their complex social processes I can't go into because, I don't live in their world. Your job on the interview is to effectively defuse or safely vent the autistic explosive force of each of the interpersonal mines they set using the best of your typical human world coping skills. Interviewers know how you defuse and vent challenges here previews the best coping skills you can offer in their dynamic workplace. You must realize that despite your best efforts you can never defuse every interpersonal mine that will challenge you in the typical human workplace. Autistics must also figure out they will safely vent the force some autistic explosions while at the worksite. Trust me autistic brothers and sisters despite the best laid plans an interpersonal mine will explode and if you autism self management systems are caught totally unprepared for that day you will likely be FIRED ON THE SPOT! Trust me this old gray wolf speaks from its own painful experiences note the "S" on experiences meaning yes its happened to me more than once in my career.

Again I hope all this helps.