The Dos & Don’ts of Interviewing Job Candidates with Autism
How Employers Can Accommodate Neurodivergent Job Applicants
By: Hannah Hottenstein
Contents:
Introduction: Finding Employment in a Pandemic is Rough
Traditional Interview Styles are Not Always a Good Fit for Autistics
How to Properly Accommodate Neurodivergent Job Candidates
Take Time to Assess Your Interview Process for Potential Snags
The Dos
The Don’ts
Good Job Matches are Possible with the Right Preparation & Mindset
Tell us about your best and worst job interview
Introduction: Finding Employment in a Pandemic is Rough
Large groups of U.S. workers are transitioning to remote jobs. Many workers are facing high rates of unemployment as a result, especially disabled and marginalized groups. For autistic adults already struggling to find work, the COVID-19 pandemic has only made this process even more difficult. Thankfully, for employers and autistic job seekers alike, there are actionable solutions to bridge this gap and find suitable job matches. There is a way to make a job interview for autistic adults more friendly.
Traditional Interview Styles are Not Always a Good Fit for Autistics
If you want more neurodivergent talent in your company, make sure you aren’t scaring off qualified candidates during your interview process. Job interviews are already inherently stressful and filled with unrealistic-expectations.
First impressions stick, and slip-ups can lead to not getting callbacks. For autistic job-seekers, these emotional and psychological pressures plus sensory or environmental stressors can mean interview failure even when they are perfectly qualified for the position.
How to Properly Accommodate Neurodivergent Job Candidates
Take stock of your interview process and environment before you interview an autistic candidate. If it will take place over phone or video call, consider these questions:
How is the sensory background environment for your call? Are there bright lights or high-pitched electronic noises?
What is the potential for environmental distractions during the call? Is there a potential for obtrusive background noises or movements?
Does your candidate have adequate instructions before their appointment? Do you have autistic-friendly interview questions ready to ask them? Have you supplied them with interview expectations or questions ahead of time?
If the interview will take place in person, consider these questions:
How is the sensory environment in the interview space? Are the lights or windows too bright? Is the room too cold or hot?
What is the potential for environmental distractions or stressors? How are the noise levels of the area? Are other people coming in and out of the space?
Does your candidate have adequate directions and instructions prior to their appointment? Do you have a relatively comfortable chair, writing surface, and autistic-friendly interview questions ready for them?
Take Time to Assess Your Interview Process for Potential Snags
The goal is to facilitate a mutually-informative, tailored interview process for both parties. Is this applicant a good fit for your job opening? They need to know if your workplace environment and job expectations match their needs, skills, and abilities.
To properly assess that match, there are a few things companies hiring autistic adults need to keep in mind. Whether those interviews take place over a video call or in-person, there are some crucial tips to keep in mind for how to accommodate neurodiverse candidates during that process adequately. Here are some dos and don’ts of interviewing autistics:
The Dos
Research autistic interview and workplace accommodations. Use those resources to plan ahead. If you want to hire neurodiverse employees, you need to know more about them first. (Check out the guide to hiring your first autistic employee and the autism-friendly employer meter.)
Allow your interviewee adequate time to respond to your interview questions. Many autistics would prefer if you supply interview questions ahead of time, if possible.
Encourage them to make themselves comfortable and speak up if they need anything. Many interviewers already do this, but it’s especially conducive to resolve any issues before you start the interview process. (This can look like offering a glass of water, pen & paper, a different chair, or making a temperature or location adjustment).
Offer alternative interview modes or venues. Depending on their needs, a phone, video, email, or in-person interview may be preferred. If you can, find out which they’re most comfortable with and set it up for the interview.
Observe their body language and nonverbals during the interview. This is important. When an interviewer made me uncomfortable but didn't notice and kept going, it made me want to leave the room or go nonverbal. Pay attention to your ND interviewee and adjust your behavior or line of questioning based on what you see. Many autistics fidget, stim, or show signs of anxiety/distress when asked or expected to do unintuitive things.
When in doubt, ask for clarification. Something like “We can skip that question if you like?” goes a long way for making an autistic feel less attacked and more open to more questions. Or something like, “When you say ‘I’m good at helping people,’ are you referring to displaying good customer service skills or something else?” to find clarification.
Supply a writing surface if they need it. The most frustrating interviews for me were those where I had to balance my notebook on my knee while trying to concentrate on what the interviewer was saying.
Encourage them to share exactly why they are interested in the position. If you get a practical "Because I need a job" response, follow up with "That makes sense! But do you also enjoy ( specific job skill requirement)?"
The Don'ts
Don’t ask for improvisation or demonstrations on the spot without allowing for preparation time. This is usually extremely distressing for autistic individuals. Unless the job requires improvisation, most would prefer being allowed to prepare.
Don’t interview in a noisy, overly bright, or environmentally uncomfortable place. My worst interviews were ones that didn’t pay attention to this. If the sun is in their eyes, the room is freezing, or people are constantly interrupting the interview, you won’t get an accurate picture of the autistic person or their highest level of abilities.
Don’t use vague, generalized questions. Be as specific as possible. Instead of, "Why don't you tell me about yourself?" try "What is your experience with [a specific program]?" or "How many years have you spent [doing this specific kind of job]?" or "Tell me about your favorite project and why you enjoyed it," etc.
Don’t force or expect eye contact. This is interacting with an autistic person 101. A lack of eye contact does not mean anything, and for many, it’s a way to concentrate better. Along these lines, seat everyone angled, if possible. The pressure of sitting directly in front of an interviewer can negatively skew the feedback you get from your autistic candidate.
Don’t discourage stimming (self-stimulatory behaviors) in any way. Interviews are stressful, so sometimes we need to stim during them. It does not mean we're unqualified, unable to handle stress, or lying. It just means we’re concentrating! Letting your autistic candidate know it’s okay to stim during the interview will instantly put you in their favor.
Don’t require them to do something (like demonstrating a job skill) while you continue to ask detailed questions. Multitasking complicated tasks with equal care and attention is difficult for anyone. It’s counterproductive to expect this of an autistic person. I had a floral designer interview where I was asked to create a floral arrangement. At the same time, the owner kept asking me about my background and skills. Frankly, I did not know what I said or what the floral arrangement looked like until it was over. Give your autistic candidate time to do either task, separately, for a more accurate assessment.
Good Job Matches are Possible with the Right Preparation & Mindset
Suppose an employer thinks these kinds of accommodations can't be that important. In that case, I'll share this: I once bombed an interview for a job that was in my special interest field (with over ten years of experience on my part) just because I had forgotten to bring chapstick that morning and couldn't focus because my lips were dry. After that, I made an interview preparation bag and stocked it with things like tissues, lotion, nail clippers, chapstick, and hand sanitizer so that would never happen again. Long story short, planning ahead for accommodating autistic candidates during interviews is quite essential.
Tell us about your best or worst job interview experience
Go ahead and tell us about your best or worst job interview. Did you disclose your autism or not? Got interview tips for autistic candidates, share everything in our autism and employment forum.