Transmorgrifying yourself to fit in (interviewing)?

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I'm currently in between jobs and going through the interview song and dance routine. There seems to be some sort of expectation by recruiters and hiring managers that candidates (especially given the current job market) to "shape shift" or transmogrify yourself severely to fit in to their paradigm of an ideal candidate. In other words, be a sycophantic "yes man" during the interview process in order to get the job. I try to be appropriately agreeable but I do have strong convictions and opinions and not shy at expressing them. I feel like I'm being dishonest if I give a pat answer or a "weasel" answer to questions that I have strong opinions on. Yet I've been coached by recruiters to do exactly that: give some sort of hedge answer or non-committal answer in order not to offend the hiring committee. My aspie instinct overrides this -- I must represent myself as honestly as possible.

Is there an absolute need to transmogrify yourself to get the job? Can I get the job by maintaining my integrity and representing myself as honestly as possible?

Good question, the problem is that most people who are interviewing people have a "BS detector". If they hear what they know is a lie, bullshite or suspect to be the model answer which has been plucked from the yearbook then they will take a deep dislike to a person. I have interviewed people for jobs, on one occasion I spotted a person trying to give me the answers he thought I wanted him to give in what I thought was a dishonest way (I did not select him).

The way I test for bull shite is to test in my mind what the person has said ahainst those truths which I already know. Sometimes I will ask someone a question which I already know the answer to just to see how honest they are.

My advice is to find out as much as possible about the job and the company you are going to be interviewed at, if possible find out about who is likely to be interviewing you.

Also consider as many questions as possible which they might ask you, also if the ask you a question always think before you open your mouth. There is a grave danger that if you speak first in a panic that you will talk yourself out of the job. Also bear in mind that everything you do or say on the interview day at the company is part of the interview. A common method is to take the person to lunch to watch how they behave in a more relaxed setting. Do not 'pig out' by piling your plate high with expensive food and make sure you have good table manners. The chances are they do not want Mr Creosote.

On the interview day try not to be funny or make any wisecracks, also be honest if you do not know the answer to something. It might be a honesty test. I was once being interviewed and I was taken to a part of the building and introduced to a expert there. I was then asked by the expert "Have you heard of XYZ, it is a thing which does ABC DEFG". I then said "I have to confess that I have never heard of it, please could you tell me more about it". The person then answered "It has not been published yet, it is in a paper I am about to submit". Then they told me what the thing does. This was a good outcome for me, as it showed that I was honest and not a bullshitter.

One thing which I would strongly suggest that you do is to sanitise yourself, other than a close shave, clean clothing, polished shoes and smart clothing it is important to remove from your person anything contraversal. You do not know anything about the political, moral and other deeply held views which the interviewer might have. Also do not talk about any contraversal subject with anyone on the interview day unless they raise it, if they do raise the subject then try to be very careful.

I have heard of one person who went for an interview at a kitchen of an industrial site wearing a slogan teeshirt, the person failed to get the job becuase the slogan teeshirt had a slogan on it which was critical of that industry.

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Health is a state of physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity I am not a jigsaw, I am a free man !

Diagnosed under the DSM5 rules with autism spectrum disorder, under DSM4 psychologist said would have been AS (299.80) but I suspect that I am somewhere between 299.80 and 299.00 (Autism) under DSM4.

some of us, no matter how much we are coached ahead of time, simply cannot conceal for very long who we really are and what really motivates us.

As I read in Job Interviewing for Dummies....

The key to a job interview is to be prepared. Learn all you can about the employer, the job, the nature of the work environment, etc. The goal is to present qualities about yourself that mesh with the job so the interviewer thinks you're perfect for the job.

If you have the information, you might be able to pull this off. Even with NTs, most of them do next to no preparation for a job interview...then wonder why they are not selected. Even if you have the qualifications, having an inside track on what the employer is looking for helps a candidate make a better presentation.

My 2 cents on this strategy...it does work, but it works best if you're trying to go for a better job in a specific field where this level of investment into job hunting is worthwhile. I knew a guy who said you should FedEx your application and thank you notes to get noticed (something the US Army told him when he transitioned out). Problem is that it only is practical if you're applying for 2 or 3 jobs and already are working. When you're unemployed or barely getting by and apply for 20 jobs in a couple months, that adds up to a lot of shipping fees.

Likewise, you can't know everything about every job if you're looking for anything. What you need is a specific target or two to focus your resources on researching.

Here's the thing: there's nothing wrong with having strong opinions in a job interview, as long as they are relevant to your job or getting the job. "i strongly believe in punctuality" is better than randomly inserting rants about your strong beliefs about animal cruelty and your strict vegan diet.
Honestly, concentrate on your non-verbals. It's ridicul-o, but it works. Look at the eyes, one-two-three-four, look away, one-two-three. Body turned towards interviewer, head facing towards, chin-up, hand shake, good posture, still hands, et cetera.
Speak slowly and always take normal breaths. Memorize a few chit chatty lines to fill in the gaps when you're thinking what you actually want to say.
Don't talk about your personal life at all.

Treat the job interview as a stage and play a role. It is only for 2 hours at max. And get enough sleep before it.

Seriously, if it makes you uncomfortable to voice a certain opinion, think of playing a certain character....