Autism and The Job Market

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I shouldn't worry about whether to disclose or not!
I mean, they'll know something is adrift pretty quick, say first millisecond of interview or even at the front door!

I know your advice article is all well and good, for anyone really.
But, problem is I'm not going to be able to follow it, am I!! !
I'd need a friend along with a cattle prod.
There are serious issues with employers.

Ok, my interview this week. One of many.

The interview question is;'would you be able to install new equipment?' This is for tech role, not CEO position.
My answer - (drawing an elaborate 3D mind-map in my head of all the possible pitfalls and essential details, plus researched this companies corporate hierarchy, facebook entries of all the personnel, internet 'buried' search results...) Eyeballing the one hapless interviewer on the panel with the audacity to ask questions.


'Of course, I'd provide a summary of the alternative options on individual models and recommendations on which was most suitable, considering budget and cost/benefits. In order that a decision could be reached on purchase by the appropriate person, taking follow-on responsibility myself to install and commission with relevance to the health and safety aspects and providing familiarisation and training to instructors and other staff on how to use the equipment. I have a good knowledge of the protocols between peripherals and PC's and would be able to trouble-shoot any problems.'
No kidding. I thought I did well!

Now, don't ask me to interpret the facial expressions in response to this answer.
The voice for the next question was distinctly quavering, I remember thinking he was shifting around, shaking and couldn't talk properly. Of course, I couldn't identify this at the time as perhaps, unease?
That my response to a simple 'yes/no' was actually quite confrontational and like a wiki entry, demanding of itself a response - along the lines of '...err, yes, I hope we would be able to adequately support you in that task..'

Another golden opportunity lost.

If there is a clinical or therapist who watches this blog thread?

The interviewer question 'would you be able to install new equipment?'

Taken literally, this seems to be about my responsibilities. 'Am I allowed to do this?'
So, my answer is based on an exploration of this hypothesis, using my limited knowledge of the corporations procedures and the job description. Shucks! Philosophy in a tech interview, this is tough, work the problem.
And why only 'new' equipment, is there a policy on not re-using....?

Now if the question had been 'here is thing A, can you connect it to thing B, Yes or No?'

Same with dating, which has the same potential intensity as a job interview. 'We could meet later'
(It's possible, given the statistical probabilities of encountering the same person by chance in even a small town, it could be quite a while though....you don't have to mentally think this, let alone verbalise, the message given out is going to be 'off', and the later date will be off too.) It's about subtle reciprocation of intent conveyed by body language, posture, tone of voice and eye-contact.
I am not happy living it this way, but it is very much a life alone and unemployed, or dead and helping pushing up the daisies.

I had a nice job once in a big corporate office HQ.
I got to push the mail trolley.

Now the thing is, some of us make ideal spies.
We see detail and remember, where others flirt and look for opportunities to exploit office politics.
I have always been a magnet for confidences. I mean, nothing can shock me, I've heard everything due to not showing any reaction. 'Unflappable'. I don't even realise the emotional crisis taking place before my eyes.
Soon, word gets around how 'sympathetic and unjudgemental' I am.

So that trolley-pushing job became mighty interesting.
The encrypted telex machine message room from HQ to field office (oil exploration and national politics) for example. Staff love-stories were a definite security leakage. During recrimination, why offer incriminating evidence about how someone else had escaped dismissal?
I knew the full back-story to the news headlines before the editors even had a hint.
Shame the CIA doesn't have a positive discrimination policy.
Who best to blend in to the background? A seeming idiot who stands out for being so, not a contrived shady grey shadow who invites attention.

However, I am very ethical and thoughtful. And would be honest about that.

I do not know how it is in America, but in Poland awfully hard to find a job, even healthy young people without health problems, unemployment in Poland is usually around 10%.

But now I've found the one non-governmental organization that helps people with disabilities find a job.
Keep your fingers crossed for me

In case it is of any help , as a case study!
The guy who got the job at a recent interview was NT down-the-line 100%.

So, from my observations (being so over-keen to take everything in!! !).

Names have been changed to preserve anonymity. A lot of posters on this forum post way too much detail, that could turn up in a specific search engine. You guys really must be more careful. I can easily track down individuals, or at least considerably reduce the field of possibles using combinations of search terms. Location, dates, key words or phrases etc.

This is how things panned out for the guy (male or female, not specific here)....

Whilst being given a site tour by the CEO, the mention was made that we would have to wait until maybe the next day because there was some delay in checking a reference...oopps, bet that's me..
The CEO then went through us candidates in their office, as a belated introduction, No1 name x 'hi', 'one of you has a lot of experience and done interesting stuff in ****?...'
The NT guy jumps in no hesitation 'that'll be me!'
Lying slicker. Told me not 5 minutes earlier had done a little eons ago.
CEO was quoting my resume and application!! !

Then later, guy has the family photos out in the restroom social interaction session.
The daughter, the wedding, the grandchild. (Look, what a nice friendly guy I am.NOT.)
What I saw was the tippy-toe walk, not Aspie, the Freudian slip, you know 'literally falling over themselves to please'.
And a corset on under the suit that was way too small, and way too formal, like a left-over (from a wedding?! !).
And a sort of butler/valet/double-glazing salesman slimyness.

So, they hired a blatant liar with dodgy references, who I later checked online (fraction second glimpse of name, indelibly noted). And hadn't done what guy claimed. Found his previous job, company, job description, mention of limited role in academic paper (shiny trouser-bum paper-pusher).

So, there you are. How to get a job with all the RED FLAGS waiving.
Be Dishonest.
Sham Fawning yuckiness.
Exhibit all the mannerisms of a struck-off money-lender.
Oh yes, ok to say you took early retirement to avoid disciplinary action. Because why else would you be applying so soon again for another FULL TIME job doing the same thing!
But takes the biscuit for 'emotional intelligence'. We'll roll out the red carpet if that's your favorite color!

Just to clarify!
I don't mean I would ever want or need to look into the forum posters on here - I mean someone else recruiting could maybe accidentally find your post.
I know of recruiters who engage a 3rd. party for a background check.
They are thorough, whatever the level of role because of theft allegations for example. But could turn up other things to do with what we discuss here.
Part of that is obviously Facebook etc, but also they are not limited in the same way you or I would be with search engines like Google. They have more in-depth tools that can uncover 'buried' results.
I was shown a preview of a search on my name, by a relative in the business, it turned up stuff from student days that was of not much harm but indicated a slightly radical past. And I had no idea it had been scanned and archived on the internet.

Personally, not impressed by the article. Problems started with the recounting of that interview.

Which is to say the author came out as a casual and dismissive with zero barista experience. He also hit the interviewer with the tired cliched "I'm a quick learner" line that she probably heard a million times before. And all that BEFORE the autism revelation.



Okay, so the author switches between "I don't know" to "I believe I do know". Which is it?


So let me get this straight. The author hides his autism from the interviewer and hope the HR powers-that-be don't know how to google a candidate?


The author did not "show his true self" by admitting an autism diagnosis. If that was the case, all of us would be clones of each other at the neurological level.


I get it. You have to market your "best self" in a job interview. But throwing in sociological babble like this is pointless and clouds the message.



Not true. A right-of-center manager can manage out a gay subordinate after coming out just as easily as they could someone who admitted to being an aspie.



Also not true. If you're black or gay and you aren't getting along with the customers, you can be fired. If they couldn't be fired, then any black and/or gay person could be a jerk to the customers and drive the business into the ground.


The author is basically giving power over to neurotypicals as to whether or not he's going to "wear his autism badge proudly". That is not good for self-esteem. I wouldn't even call his position pragmatic.

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There are only a couple of interesting bits to like about this article. The realities of the ADA for autistics is one. The unemployment rate for 20-somethings on the spectrum is the other thing I liked. And that's about as far as it goes with respect to the nice things I can say.

Overall, this was not a good article. It was sloppily written, sent out a mistaken message about the realities of the "work force", and sends the wrong message on the issue of "autism pride". However, the article also clearly has noble intentions behind it and even taught me a few new things. I strongly encourage Quinn to continue writing articles as I am confident that they will get better over time. He has a lot of potential and it's my hope for him that he realizes it.

Professional needs to die. It seriously does. It helps absolutely no one, it's just an act that makes the working environment less pleasant for the people working there. I absolutely refuse to work for a corporation.

I've done enough of those jobs, I absolutely can't stand them.

I'm new to the forum and my post is very short. I used to do my works very slowly, but I hate to see a pitiful looks of my collegs . Therefore I was forced to find a non office occupation...

Welcome to our forum

I don't have to disclose anything. I'm sure they know something is different about me. After all, who else has a passion for a tennis player many people know little about, while the others are into the latest show on Netflix or some other pop culture icon? I like to be around people who are positive, and a lot of pop culture today is pretty negative.

Welcome to Wrong Planet gilbertomd

I've had my share of difficulties within the job market and work place as a whole, but I shall not mention all those unpleasantness at this juncture, rather I'll say that depending upon the occupational diversity in your area possibly affects your overall outcome, yet there are other factors to include;however, I don't feel like going into a lengthy conversation into such.

Last month, I went to my state Aquarium for a job interview. It turned out to be a group interview. We had to introduce ourselves throughout the room. The interview was kinda fun like a game I played when I was little.

Eventually, I was hired. When Employee orientation came, I found out there were different sections people applied to. I applied to the guest services section without knowing about other sections.

After orientation, I started to work. I ended up working at the Aquarium for two weeks. On my third day on the job, I had headaches and threw up in my boss's office. I was uncomfortable speaking to people who wanted answers right away. I should've taken a job where I could have a calm environment and have slow conversations with people.

Would I be considered a quitter after working there for two weeks?

This thread actually gives me a little discouraged feeling.

I wonder what will happen in the future when more jobs become more automated and if aspies/ASD will be left behind. Even though I'm economically libertarian, both sides give us sort of similar crap. It's just "You can't do it and you need the government's help" vs. "You are never working hard enough" even if that person actually might have a condition that makes things more difficult than the average person. I have some sympathy here for people saying that society should help increase people's desired outcomes.

I've gotten way better jobs without telling people that I have autism.
And no one found out anyway.
I personally feel that most blue collar jobs are better for autism people than office jobs.
And you don't have to feel embarrassed if you have a blue collar job.

So, I guess if you want a job, you don't tell people about your autism, and stop making any excuses related to autism.
You can still make certain excuses, but don't ever mention autism.
For example, you could say "I'm scared of loud noises like that, because I'm rather sensitive to noise." And not mention autism. Most people won't be able to link the 2 together.