interviews

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Who else hates interviews? I'm sure this has been discussed here before, but I'm new. (and only VERY recently self-diagnosed with AS.)

I have a college degree and I want to get a job in a biotech laboratory. Last year I interviewed at a lab. It was three hours long and very difficult. They did 'behavioral interviewing' where they make you tell stories about your past experiences/job performance. I guess I bombed it, 'cause I didn't get offered a job. The thing is, I know I would have loved the job and I know I would be very good at it. I just don't get the point of the interview style. This kind of job doesn't involve any kind of customer service, who the hell cares that I have trouble with oral and nonverbal communication? The job is all recordkeeping, math, cleaning up the lab, stuff like that.

Are job interviews designed to specifically screen out those on the spectrum? I've often heard that for interviews, it's not about what you say, it's only about how you say it. This puts Aspies completely out.

Has anyone said right up front to a potential employer that they have AS? Would that be a good or bad thing to do?

Also really vague, open-ended questions just make me totally go blank. What do I say???

For instance:
What did you learn at your last job?
What is your strongest trait?
Name a task at a previous job that you didn't like doing and why.
Talk about a time you had a disagreement with a coworker.
Talk about a time you made a mistake at work.

I've been fired for telling bosses I found questions like that to be intrusive. It's like they actually believe they can just open up your head and take a look around, figure out exactly who you are and how to reprogram you. The insanity is, that none of this stuff has anything to do with qualification, competence,or job performance. It's all meant to gauge social skills.

Here are the correct answers:

What did you learn at last job? How to effectively manage time and get along with other PEOPLE.

Strongest trait? I'm a PEOPLE PERSON.

A task you didn't like? None, I love all aspects of my job, especially those that allow plenty of interaction with other PEOPLE.

A disagreement? Never had one, but if someone had a disagreement with me, I'd whip out my empathetic PEOPLE skills.

Mistake? Well, I always admit my mistakes immediately to my superiors, and apologize to any other PEOPLE it may have inconvenienced.

any answer NOT involving positive attitudes toward social interaction is a WRONG answer.

Unfortunately job interviews are not about skills, but mostly about forming a personal connection to the interviewer.

Those kinds of questions are the ones you have prepare for ahead of time. Know how you want to answer them ahead of time (writing it down is helpful) and prepare in front of a mirror to get practice.

Sure, that would work if you know the questions ahead of time. But that never happens.

First of all, be honest. Most HR managers have done hundreds of interviews and recognise a fake when they see him. That's not to say you can't put a "spin" on your answers. First, read the job advertisement carefully and think about what qualities the prospective employer requires. Then, try to show that you have these qualities in abundance, more so than the other candidates for the job. I don't find these questions vague at all. The last three are very concrete, and you should be able to answer the first two as well; surely you learned something at your last job, and consider yourself to have some positive trait (attention to detail is a fairly typical Aspie trait). And like qgambit says, these questions are asked at every interview, so compile a list of suitable answers to them and memorise them.

As for screening out those on the spectrum, an HR manager once told me in so many words, "In many jobs it's not all that important how good you are, but rather how well you can work with others. Because in a good team, your weaknesses will be compensated by someone else's strengths, and vice versa."

Well as I said, the questions asked are usually the same:

- Tell us a little about yourself.
- Why did you leave your last job?
- What are your plans for the future? (i.e. do you intend to stay or move on, are you career-driven)
- What are your strengths, your weaknesses? Illustrate them with examples from your past.
- What do you like doing, what do you not like doing?
- Which qualities do you expect from an employer? from your superior? from your co-workers?
- How do you deal with stress?
- Do you have any further questions? (ask some, or you will seem uninterested in the job)
- Tell us again, in your own words, why you think we should employ you.

There are more, but those are the most usual questions.

My job is in biology lab and I have to rely on employment through contacts who are familiar with my work as I am so rubbish in interviews. The last one was so bad the main interviewer ended up seething with anger, even though I have just rewritten the book in my specialism and apparently considered a world expert I didn't get the job because he said he couldn't communicate with me.

One thing that confused me was I got asked for an example of when I worked in a team and told about coordinating a project with several groups internationally over two years but he said that was not what he was asking ???

In biology related research then it is very much about team work and people skills now, the successful groups are those with the most collaborations to combine specialisms from different fields. I am quite good at forging collaborations, I think because I am detached from the politics and am used to seeking people out who will be 'useful' to me. Also because I then treat people fairly and don't play games trying to get the advantage.

My first job I got by contacting companies asking for 6 month placement to gain experience, this means they didn't have to make a commitment and most labs are really short handed. Then from seeing my work the contract got extended, I got experience and contacts to help with finding the next job.

Good luck

btw we are just taking on someone new who I suspect has AS. There is an odd work history, references say he is excellent at his job but not sociable and he has moved from place to place a lot. I think he will fit into our lab ok though.

I now tell people I have AS, but after I get offered the job and then give the chance to take the offer back.

I've been through dozens of interviews. Interviewers aren't very creative and they tend to ask the same questions.

I hate the "tell us a little about yourself" question. I go blank and just want to say "Whadya wanna know?" but unfortunately, that's not acceptable. At my last interview I envisioned myself as the perfect employee (lol, right) but it worked. As for some of the other questions, here are some suggestions.

- How do you deal with stress? I would tell them first I try to stay calm and focused and whatever it was that was stressing me I would work at resolving the issue. I also try do light exercises in my free time and do fun things occasionally, like go see a movie. (You see, they don't want to hire someone who's going to go berserk when the work load gets heavy.)
- Do you have any further questions? (ask some, or you will seem uninterested in the job) I like asking if the turn over rate is very high in their company. It may not always be an appropriate question but it's interesting to see the reaction if it is. It's especially amusing if you get the job and employees are dropping like flies.
- Tell us again, in your own words, why you think we should employ you.
This where it pays to know something about the company your applying at. And you kind of answered this in your own post, just need to tweak it a little. You said "I know I would have loved the job and I know I would be very good at it."
You could tell them you believe with the skills and training you've had you'd be a very good asset to the company and you also believe you would really enjoy doing the job. Then you can say you know the company has a good reputation (assuming it does) and would like the opportunity to help continue that trend and you believe you can do that.

Ok, well, hope this helps. Interviewing sucks and everybody knows it and I think even the employer knows it but it's the way it is in the work force now. I've seen some pretty worthless people get jobs but I think it's like someone here said, it's how you say it more that what you say. Not saying you're worthless or anything but you got to put your best BS suit on and believe you are the best person for that position, you don't want to be droopy, hah. Of course, you do need to keep it honest but you can stretch it a little. You might even try some practice interviews. Like apply at some burger joints or something just for the interview but don't tell the employer you're practicing. Just go with it and if they offer you the job, don't take it. Good Luck.

Except that tripping their "BS detector" can cost you.

What did you learn at last job? How to effectively manage time and get along with other PEOPLE.

No problem there. Saying you learned something is pretty straightforward.

Strongest trait? I'm a PEOPLE PERSON.

I usually answer that I'm detail oriented.

A task you didn't like? None, I love all aspects of my job, especially those that allow plenty of interaction with other PEOPLE.

This is an opportunity to weed out a job not suited for you and to illustrate you can complete things even if you don't like them. I mention a situation where I was expected to push something "out the door" without checking it. I don't like throwing things together if I'm not sure about the quality.


Strongest trait? I'm a PEOPLE PERSON.

I answer that I have a low tolerance for slipshod work and non-functional solutions.


A disagreement? Never had one, but if someone had a disagreement with me, I'd whip out my empathetic PEOPLE skills.

I was once told the reason a project was stuck because my work was defective. I asked for help from a technically adept colleague and my supervisor . With their assistance, I went through proper channels to show that the data, not my deliverable was defective.

Mistake? Well, I always admit my mistakes immediately to my superiors, and apologize to any other PEOPLE it may have inconvenienced.

I have a MILD form of autism that causes me to make mistakes with the order of conversations and get confused with rhetorical questions. This generally is accommodated by giving me instructions by email. After reading instructions three or four times, there's not a problem.

** Notice how I set up a disability situation and illustrate that I can do the job with a zero cost accommodation.

Nope; they're designed to screen out people, period. Employers are terrified that they'll choose the wrong person, and I wish I could say interviews were only hard for aspies, but they're something between challenging to impossible for just about everyone. Luckily, there are a ton of books about interviewing in general, what questions employers ask, etc. that you could check out...I try to go through interviews on my wits alone, but it hasn't really worked yet

There is coaching available, for a fee, of course. They will set you up with mock interviews, video tape you, coach you, the whole thing.

For those of us with less cash, I recommend finding a friend with a camera and borrowing another friend to do the interviewing. Have them ask you stuff, let 'em go bonky. If they don't have good questions, borrow a parent (not yours). Watch the tape, have them help you see stuff that you did silly or strange. Practice really improves things.

The goal is not just to get a job, but to get a job you can be comfortable in for a while.

Thanks everyone for chiming in! Good News... I just got a job and I start next week! It's not exactly what I wanted, but it's a start, and I'm just grateful to have any job! It's in a milk bottling plant and only $8/hour. With my college degree, I know my time is worth much more, but it's a recession, and we really need whatever money I can make. But my field (vet tech) is so competetive, and hard to break into without experience.

*vomits* ><
Bah...I suppose practice helps, but if that dun help, I might as well, drop out of school and try to be a "welfare baby" as a "job" cuz I'm pretty much screwed. -_-U