Survey!

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Hi guys, I'm taking an interview/survey based on job opportunities for Autistic Individuals:

1) On a scale of 1-10, how difficult is it for you to find potential job opportunities?
2) How helpful do you think it will be to have an online portfolio where you could use it to fill up your particulars and send it in for employment instead of sitting for interviews etc.?
3) How challenging is it for you to talk about your specific needs to a potential employer?
4) What do you wish to see in improving the access to job opportunities for AIs?
5) Do you think internship program with an attached company will help you in getting a job?
6) Share with us some personal experiences you have in getting jobs.

Thank you. Your answers will be really helpful for our research.

1) On a scale of 1-10, how difficult is it for you to find potential job opportunities?
Do you mean a job the AI might be able to get, or a job that suits them? I'd give a 1 to the first one and a 9 to the second one.
2) How helpful do you think it will be to have an online portfolio where you could use it to fill up your particulars and send it in for employment instead of sitting for interviews etc.?
Isn't that what a resume/CV is for? We already have that process. An interview is usually required after this anyway.
3) How challenging is it for you to talk about your specific needs to a potential employer?
Extremely, so I don't.
4) What do you wish to see in improving the access to job opportunities for AIs?
Less focus on being a "good fit with the company" from a social perspective, and more focus on the applicant having the right skillset to do the job well.
5) Do you think internship program with an attached company will help you in getting a job?
Not sure what you mean. I think internships are more an American thing so I'll need more info to answer this.

1) On a scale of 1-10, how difficult is it for you to find potential job opportunities?

I can sell myself to almost any employer, it's just a matter of maintaining the job (10 jobs in 2 years.) But my current position I've had for about 2 and a half years so that's good. However, I have never had one job that I can feel is suited to me.

2) How helpful do you think it will be to have an online portfolio where you could use it to fill up your particulars and send it in for employment instead of sitting for interviews etc.?

There are several online jobstuffs like that, they do not help, imo.

3) How challenging is it for you to talk about your specific needs to a potential employer?

Very. Just SO much. I don't want to be a burden, so I stick to a mask, a script, and curl up to cry when I get home. It's a process. Although I am able at least to ask for a task list. I require a written list of things to do for opening the store/closing it down.

4) What do you wish to see in improving the access to job opportunities for AIs?

I agree with yellowtamarin on this one. 100%

5) Do you think internship program with an attached company will help you in getting a job?

Yeah, probably. It'd help anyone. Apply for an internship with a job you like/is in your interests, and if you can do it well, get hired. I thought thats what internships were for.

6) Share with us some personal experiences you have in getting jobs.

I've been trained on interviews by my mom, so if I can get to that stage, I can usually get the job. I have been told (when I first started working) that my questions were asked at an improper time. That I didn't have a hard time doing work, but my insistance on eating alone at lunch, & not participating in optional group events was condidered odd. One employer told me she hired me because of all my questions on the application. Though I was let go because I couldn't make enough in sales per hour.

I don't know if that helped.

I will be talking about Software development.

1) It depends what you're talking about. 10 for how to easy to google them. 1 for networking.

2) I wish submitting a portfolio worked as a replacement for interviews. But they always have a "standard process" for everybody regardless - something like "1-2 phone screens one hour each, 2 interviews onsite, half a day each"

I did try it, and sent a few links along with a resume, including an online portfolio. It doesn't work, in sense the majority doesn't even click on my links (I tagged them, so I see). Most probably they don't like my [female] name, or just don't care about anything other then a few keywords (so if you provide them with NO keywords, they will not even notice you applied). Then I still get an interview, like in 90% of cases... after which I never hear back. It's a good predictor.

3) My specific need is to replace a phone screen with a coding assignment. They agree to provide an assignment for me. But then it either gets screwed up or they never contact me back with an assignment, since they don't have those assignments ready.

The thing is, managers/teams don't care about anything else but following the "standard process". You may only impress a business owner with your skills, and only if they hire himself/herself directly bypassing the team. I had it in the past.

I don't need any accommodations on the job itself. Interviewing based on talking is silly for jobs that don't require much talking.

4) Sounds like AI = Artificial Intelligence.

Stop discrimination of various kinds for starters. Right now the whole process looks more like a deliberate exclusion of anybody who "doesn't fit into our team".

5) probably, if it helps to bypass interviewing

6) As I said, it is a much much much better chance if a business owner can hire you directly. They mostly are interested in how much money you can make for the company, not how well you play politics. But watch out not to get the shaft (some like employing people for free or peanuts).

1) 7/10
2) No. On the contrary, I think that I would prefer to receive lots and lots of coaching (including mock interviews) in preparation for face-to-face interviews.
3) Yes. The employer might be freaked out. The employer is highly likely to hire somebody else who doesn't mention "specific needs" at all.
4) Um, more job shadowing sessions so that employers can understand that we aren't as bad as society assumes us to be. (E.g. Aspies are generally reluctant to take short-cuts because they want to produce work of high quality.
5) Yes.
6) I have a hard time getting jobs through word-of-mouth recommendations because I don't even have any friends. (Long story...) (Anyway, I'm still studying so I haven't secured my first permanent job yet.)