I am working on the site 'jobs for autistics' can anyone suggest advice, and pitfalls for aspies and auties looking for work.

Hi Amy,

I don't know if this is what you're looking for, but I have found some great advice in the following books:

- "Developing Talents: Careers for Individuals with Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism" by Temple Grandin

- "Your Life is Not a Label: A guide to living fully with Autism and Asperger's Syndrome for parents, professionals and you!" by Jerry Newport

One thing I'm always guilty of is underselling my ability, as it seems so unnatural to walk into a job interview and have to justify why you're so good and what you can do for a company, and it's really difficult to do.

Even applying for jobs, it's possible to convince yourself that you're not good enough for a position even if you have some or most of the skills they are looking for. Definitely something to learn to recognise when you're doing it.

Ant

What do the questions asked at job interviews really mean?  Or what answers should I give so that I will be correct?  What is it ok to lie about in an interview (or not so much to lie as to omit information)?

Job interview translation into aspie.  

What can you do if you are overqualified and desperately in need of work/money?  

I find that most job ads will list too many qualifications.  Often someone will get the job that does not have all those qualifications listed.  I usually apply if I have some interest and experience in the work.  Try to use as many terms and work descriptions in your own letter and resume to match the ad as possible.  The people reading the letters and setting up the interview often do not know anything really about the job (in larger companies).  The more your letter matches the ad job description, the more likely you are to get an interview.  Often the person interviewing might be more technical unless it is an HR person.  If an HR person is interviewing first, I will not likely get the job since they are more prejudiced against people who have autism.  Usually the managers only care about whether you can do the job and they like you.

Actually I have not had much success in finding work.  

Maybe you could ask several HR people in some large companies how a person with autism could best interview and get a position in their company.  They might actually learn something from you, Amy.

Thanks for the suggestions so far, I don't think that I would be able to use passages from the books mentioned though, because of copyright issues.

I'd propose a checklist for preparing for an interview, for one, with things like dressing appropriately (much tougher for the females among us...how does one differentiate an acceptable purse, decide on things like makeup and hair, or choose appropriate colors?), rereading one's resume beforehand and bringing a copy along, rehearsing questions, etc.  I don't know about others, but having a list I can print out and refer back to helps me not only stay on top of what I need to get done, but provides some relief from the "what-if" anxiety of being unprepared.

It might also be helpful to poll people for the questions they have heard in interviews, answers that have been received favorably, and formulate a worksheet for preparing oneself in regards to one's own strengths and weaknesses.

There are a number of books that list specific activities (toe-tapping, lack of eye-contact, etc.) that interviewers and HR people find annoying.  Pulling bits and pieces of those lists and rewriting them shouldn't violate copyright, especially if you cite.  And having a list of other books isn't bad, either, because it's often difficult to track down adult Asperger's books at bookstores, and if one has the ISBN, title, and author available, it's possible to find them online more easily.

I know this is a bit more sketchy, but it might be worthwhile to compile a list of types of jobs or companies that have been found to be "Aspie-friendly".  Sometimes people feel stymied in a job search because they have a very limited idea of what's actually out there and aren't looking in the right areas.  

Hope some of that helps.

What has often been pointed out to me is what is called the "hidden job market".  That is positions that are not advertised in media and that is where people make use of friends, colleagues and relatives to find them work.  Some of the suggestions are to join professional organizations and go to cocktail parties, phone up collegues and go on "information interviews".  This is very difficult for a person with Asperger's to do.  There must be a way since this is the biggest job market and most people find jobs by this method.

Yes, there is a large hidden job market.  I found my current job after I overheard some people at a continuing education seminar talking about a new project that the company was starting.

I know.  I used to have so much trouble with this until I realized that it's a chance for me to talk about my greatest work-related achievements with enthusiasm.  As long as I keep the end result and the benefit to others in the conversation, I can go on about what I did and why I did it the way I did.  This gives me a chance to say things like, "I think in pictures" and "I can model mechanical systems in my head in 3D and watch them run."  Those skills are highly valued in technical positions, whether you're developing software or repairing machines.

You have to realize that most applicants will only have most of the desired skills and nearly all will lack one or more.  By showing how your unique way of thinking (highly literal, detail-oriented, whatever you want to say) makes the relevant skills you DO posess far more valuable than the ones you don't have yet but are willing to learn, you place yourself above the others in the mind of the interviewer.

Interviewers remember three things: enthusiasm, lack of teamwork, and enthusiasm.  If they think you're a loner, that counts against you, but if they see that you can work with others that keeps you in the running.  Just remember to mention something you did with or for someone and what a difference it made, and do so with all the joy and excitement you genuinely feel for a job well done.  Well, without jumping up and down or raising your voice so it echoes throughout the building!  

Here's an example:
I once wrote a very simple program that made a one-page checklist with a bunch of stuff already filled in.  This codified for the first time a complex process the company had followed for decades.  Each department blamed the others for dropping the ball.  When my boss saw the checklist, he started a weekly 15-minute meeting with all the department people.  The combination saved the comapny a million dollars a year in lost orders, and I did my part in under an hour.  That shows that sometimes the biggest problems can be solved in simple ways.

That example shows I can "think outside the box," fix intractible problems that other people don't know exist, and do it in ways that not only fit into the existing system but don't cost a lot to implement.  Everyone remembers this one, and it's usually the one that gets me the job.

Anything you can do to get yourself stuck in their mind like that is a good thing.  If there are multiple interviews, then the goal of the first interview is simple: illustrate a unique quality you posess and be remembered.

By some estimates that's 80% of all jobs.  As a techie, I haunt some very specialized email groups and help people with problems.  I've built a reputation that way without having to leave my keyboard, and now people are starting to come to me.  Finding those kinds of groups can be very useful.

1. Always offer good news
2. Never offer bad news
3. If both apply to a particular question offer good news and let them dig.

That doesn't mean you don't give bad news in response to a direct question, but don't offer it if you don't have to.  If you have to say, "no, I've never done that," but can think of something similar, you can add "but I have done this and it's similar this way and I think I can pick up the other thing really quickly."

I can do that.

Interviewer: You're way overqualified.  Why do you want this job?
You: First, I like eating.  (smile or chuckle a tiny bit)  Second, <insert name of company> seems like a really cool company and I see an opportunity to get in here, move up as my abilities warrant, and stay here for a long time.
Interviewer (inevitable question): So where do you want to be in 1/2/5/10 years?
You need to be honest about this one without saying you want the job of the person hiring you or the person who'll be supervising you, or describing that job too closely.  People tend not to hire people who are after their jobs.

True.  That's why I like the "I like eating" response.  It shows a sense of humor, some practical responsibility and tells them that if you ever hit the lotto you'd probably quit.  Responsibility, but not so much abition that you're likely to be a political problem for them later.

I didn't either for a long time, then I started really focusing on just one or two things in my resume instead of listing everything I could do.  Just what they want, the rest is "a waste of their time."

That would be cool.

It is a good, funny answer, but surely an employer would not want to hire someone who is likely to want to quit?   It would mean they would have to go through the expense of finding and hiring a new employee.
So if I was you, I woudn't give an answer which would suggest in any way that you might quit in the near future.

Thank you.  Yeah, it doesn't always work, but anyone who can't accept that 99.5% of people would "call in rich" is likely to be a problem to work for.  Also everyone knows that the odds of hitting the lotto are lower than getting hit by lightning while aboard a submarine, so it doesn't really matter.

Then again if you're really desperate you can always replace it with something like "I got bored with chasing squirrels in the back yard."

Funnily enough, even if my family or I did ever become rich, I would still want to keep my job.  I think it's important to serve a purpose in life, if you have the ability to do so.  Even if it's just voluntary or part-time work.

That's fine, and I respect that.  I just have too much to do in this life to waste it making a living.