Can mentioning Asperger's help me get a job?

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Grammar Geek
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28 Dec 2015, 11:42 pm

Well wouldn't they eventually figure out that there's something "off" about me? I'd rather tell them after I was hired than tell them after I was scolded for something.



pineapplehead
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29 Dec 2015, 12:32 am

Maybe they will, maybe they won't. Think about it like this, though: if disclosing before getting the job was any bit helpful, then why is our unemployment rate so astronomically high?



FizzyOrange
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29 Dec 2015, 12:55 am

First present all of your experience and any project you have worked on. Since you are so great, you can show better than tell. Then you can go on to give your story if you feel it's necessary. There isn't a point in telling others unless something comes up and it's beneficial to the situation. So, use your own discretion and disclose if you think it will help.

Be cautious of who you tell about your Asperger's. I disclosed my social anxiety to someone I worked with and she used it against me.

I don't think that it would be beneficial. I think you should let your work do that for you. You're highly skilled. I'm sure you will get it based on your own abilities. Still, you do have the right to inform the interviewer if you want to.



cberg
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29 Dec 2015, 2:58 am

cathylynn wrote:
tell them AFTER you get the job if you need accommodations.


SO wrong, don't EVER tell them & ask only for reasonable accomodations as PREDICATES to your being able to work. Since when are rich people in America to be trusted?


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29 Dec 2015, 3:39 am

cberg wrote:
cathylynn wrote:
tell them AFTER you get the job if you need accommodations.


SO wrong, don't EVER tell them & ask only for reasonable accomodations as PREDICATES to your being able to work. Since when are rich people in America to be trusted?


Make that any one in the world can be trusted, and I'll agree.



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29 Dec 2015, 6:46 am

Well without some people I trust my work as a free agent in the monolithic blob of mostly-nonsense that is technology would be completely impossible, though developing that trust is far from easy. Mostly I trust my friends although there certainly are some precious few throughout the electronics industry realms whom I'd trust with any challenge.


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29 Dec 2015, 8:47 am

Mentioning Asperger's would probably have the opposite effect. They usually wouldn't want to hire you as a result.



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29 Dec 2015, 3:25 pm

It's a risk. Sometimes disclosing after being hired turns out well and sometimes it doesn't. You're putting trust in the people you disclose to. I would say that disclosing is only a good idea if you are confident that you cannot pass or explain quirks in any other way OR if you strongly feel you need to further the cause of autism awareness. Like out and proud.

You can always ask for informal accommodations without disclosing anything personal. "The lights bother me, can we open the blinds instead?" "I need things to be explained bluntly, if you don't mind." "I didn't get the point of that meeting, could you explain the gist of it to me?" Those are ways that aspies and auties will ask for help without getting into any discussions of autism. No one thinks anything of it and will help you out. They will ask you for help with something else later. Maybe they don't understand a diagram, or would like you to please stop tapping your foot. Just simple kindness can work as well as accommodations.

As to the other point- is being autistic an advantage? Of course it is. Any person who is putting together a team wants a diverse team. You want mostly a certain kind of person, then a few outliers that are unique kinds of people. Different thinkers. Often these people will rise to be leaders and information specialists. But if the people who are hiring are not autism savvy, don't drop the A-bomb. Most people are not going to respond if you say, by the way, I'm on the spectrum, and then wink knowingly. There's no, like, card you can hand them to tell them what that means.



kraftiekortie
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29 Dec 2015, 4:30 pm

People, normally, possess a pretty miniscule amount of knowledge pertaining to the Autism Spectrum.



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31 Dec 2015, 6:06 pm

I have been disclosing I have a disability because I have a huge gap in my resume... How am I going to explain that otherwise?


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Magi
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01 Jan 2016, 9:45 am

Computer based companies will often seek out aspies. Even for careers such as software engineering and coding or technical engineering. Its pretty common to see a number of people with aspergers in any place where coding is going on. As it is to see people with PDD where art or music is being made or high functioning where science happens. We pretty much own the realms of creativity in the workforce. And yes you can get jobs without experience simply because you have aspergers if you want to learn programming which really you can learn in a week or two.

Also autism is a better explanation than none for being weird. I have told employers that I have it and most ask what it is after I tell them. I just explain that im not crazy or slow, just creative and I am still capable of my duty. I try to be positive and entertaining about it more than negative. It can also be good because companies sometimes like the idea of hiring somebody categorized as having a disability that is still actually able to perform tasks given.