Job interviews and AS: Disclose AS or not?

[Morgado]

Hi everyone.

 

I found out on Monday that I am being made redundant and have been busily applying for jobs. However, I have always found job interviews very difficult and usually fail them (hence why I have mainly worked as a temp - often they do not interview!). I find it really difficult to maintain eye contact, it takes me FOREVER to think of how to answer, and of course, the inevitable "what are your interests?" question usually leads to a massive monologue (though not as bad as it used to!).

 

The question I want to ask is whether or not I should disclose the fact that I have AS or not prior to being interviewed? I have read a lot about things but there is no conclusive answer that I can find. Both sides seem to have Benefits, such as:

 

Disclosing AS

 

Pros:

 

AS Traits likely to be accepted more. Advance warning can allow interviewer to prepare and to learn more about AS. Some AS traits may actually be desirable - such as logical thinking, adherance to structure and routine, good skills with computers, maths, etc. Aso, some companies guarantee interviews to people with disabilities due to diversity policies.

 

Cons:

 

Employers may be wary or consider the individual to be "less able", either turning down opportunity for interview or failing the candidate while using an unrelated excuse.

 

Not disclosing AS

 

Pros:

 

Less likely to encounter prejudice/ discrimination. Interviewer may be more likely to see a "person" instead of the condition during the interview.

 

Cons:

 

Aspie traits will not be recognised, leading to the interviewer considering the candidate to be "odd", rude or disinterested during the interview - leading to a failure.

 

 

What does everyone think? Really really need some guidance on this matter!

 

 

[TheNeil]

Hmm, tricky.

 

When I first found out that I was AS, I asked a recruitment agency (who I dealt with for years so I trusted them) what their opinion was. The were of the opinion that while legally you didn't have to disclose, it was very much up to the me whether I wanted to tell a prospective firm or not. In other words 'use my own judgement' (great advice...works so well for an Aspie).

 

Since then I've been through a couple of jobs and have tried both approaches. Disclosing has, I've found, tended to scare the hell out of some people as they have no idea what AS is, how it affects them etc. so far easier to hire someone else than have to deal with the 'hassle' of adapting (and don't go thinking that the anti-discrimination laws make a blind bit of difference - any firm can simply claim that they felt that another candidate was better qualified etc.).

 

However the place where I work now (and have been for over a year) seem to approached it differently. I'd decided not to mention AS (following bad experiences) but let slip that I'd written a book - "Oh, what was it about?". Damn, caught red-handed. Luckily they were 'forward looking' and looked beyond this, instead focusing on 'me' as a person, and the skills that I had. Even though they knew nothing about AS (oh how they've learned in the past year ) they were prepared to 'take a chance'.

 

This doesn't really answer the question of whether to disclose or not but my attitude would be that if a firm react badly if you disclose at interview, then the chances are that they won't get any better and them turning you down can be seen as 'lucky escape' (i.e. would you realy want to work for a firm that were that negative?).

 

If you do opt to disclose then try to downplay the 'problems' (e.g. lack of eye-contact) and emphasise the positives (e.g. focused, hard working, loyal). You don't need to go into great detail but just explain that you have 'difficulties' with certain things, but that you know what they are and that you've either come up with ways to get around them or that you're working on ways to get around them - this shows that you're keen to do the job and are refusing to let AS get in your way.

 

There's not even any real need to elaborate on what your 'difficulties' are - a genuine firm should ask you to expand on that (if not then you can be pretty sure that no matter what you said, they'd just see 'difficulty' and put a line through your name. Again, hardly a great and supportive place to work).

[zaman]

With job applications for equal opportunity employers there will be an equality monitoring form, on that will be a question like ' do you consider yourself to be disabled?' If you tick yes, they may ask if you would require any reasonable adjustments for interview. The interview panel shouldn't know what your disability is, unless you ask them to be told, but the HR dept should have ensured that the adjustments are met. For example I once interviewed a deaf person, and had to find a signer, and then had to move the table in the room around so that we were positioned better. As someone who has interviewed hundreds of people I would rather know up front so that I had a better idea of why the person is behaving and responding in certain ways.

 

Hope that helps

 

Z

[Morgado]

With job applications for equal opportunity employers there will be an equality monitoring form, on that will be a question like ' do you consider yourself to be disabled?' If you tick yes, they may ask if you would require any reasonable adjustments for interview. The interview panel shouldn't know what your disability is, unless you ask them to be told, but the HR dept should have ensured that the adjustments are met. For example I once interviewed a deaf person, and had to find a signer, and then had to move the table in the room around so that we were positioned better. As someone who has interviewed hundreds of people I would rather know up front so that I had a better idea of why the person is behaving and responding in certain ways.

 

Hope that helps

 

Z

 

Thanks Zaman - a lot of answers I have received from friends, msn contacts and comments on my blog have said I should disclose. I think I will write a brief accompanying letter, but try to frame it in such a way that I focus on the assets (logical thinking, good with routines and schedules, computers, etc) instead of highlighting the difficulties.