Published on 12, July, 2020
I recently got my dream job as a Python Developer and at first it was really great, but after a few weeks I had to declare I was on the autistic spectrum because my boss kept taking the mickey out of me infront of my colleagues at daily standup meetings when I asked questions where he thought the answers were "obvious". I had to take to take him aside and explain that I do need to ask questions and the answers aren't obvious to me, but he responded by giving me a really massive project to do that involved learning a great deal. I managed it, but it took me six weeks and during that time he had increased the level of ridicule so I was having regular anxiety attacks infront of everybody and making a lot of errors because I couldn't concentrate. Things came to a head when they brought the whole team on a work getaway to Menorca that I really didn't want to go on. I had meltdowns in the airport on the way there and on the way back and felt I was going to lose my job because of them. The week after we got back I managed to complete the task and was fired immediately. I had been expecting it but I was not expecting to be informed the same day and told to leave my keys to the building. I did not really understand what was going on and I felt really awfully let down after all those group exercises about how we were a family.
Now I don't know what to do and my anxiety is driving me crazy. I'm failing tech tests I should pass and employers aren't being accommodating about adjustments at interview - one in particular is demanding I make a video of myself explaining my work and this is not something where I feel I understand what I'm being tested on - I don't want to be a presenter, I want to be a coder.
I'm going crazy. If I don't get a job before Christmas I won't be able to feed myself or my cat - my cat is the reason I've stayed alive really and I don't want to live without her. I don't want to go on Universal Credit either because I'm sick of the jobcentre. They are not subtle about how much they hate people like me and I don't like being around people who despise people who need help.
It definitely sounds like you have very good skills! You've done really well landing a job as a Python Developer in the first place, and you were able to complete tasks given to you while you were there even under stressful conditions. It was unfortunate that you met a bad boss. Given your skills, could you apply to a similar Python Developer position with a different team, and hope you could get a better boss next time?
Thanks for your encouragement! Yeah that's what I shall do - I've been getting interviews consistently for about a month but my confidence has taken a severe knock tho
P.S., in your interviews, if there's the opportunity, try to tell them the positive aspects of yourself. You can say that you have had previous work experience as a Python Developer, so will be able to pick up the work quickly. You can also tell them about the project contents your previous boss gave you and how you were able to complete it on your own in good time, this can give them a concrete idea of your abilities.
NAS49818 said:I'm failing tech tests I should pass and employers aren't being accommodating about adjustments at interview - one in particular is demanding I make a video of myself explaining my work and this is not something where I feel I understand what I'm being tested on
Do you have to make the video on-site, or are you able to take time to do it at home before sending it in? Perhaps they they want to make sure you can write eligible code that others might need to read, and be able to explain it to others when developing code as a team? If you have time to do it at home, you can take your time to perfect the video. I had to give job talks recently and it's not something I am good at, but I spent several hours each day for two weeks practicing giving the talk. I'm a researcher not a presenter. But unfortunately it's something they do, they want you to present your work so they can evaluate.
You could also try several more places to interview. The type of interviews can be different from place to place. I've heard that solving coding problems is quite common when interviewing software engineers. Perhaps it will help you more if you were less anxious and more confident. Do you think doing some practice problems before the interview will help you warm-up?Have you considered disclosing your disability before the interview? I've actually not disclosed yet due to personal considerations, so I can't tell you what it will be like, but it's also something to consider. Some companies may be able to make the tests less stressful.
Good luck with your interviews! You are hard working and really talented, so I hope things will go much better this time. Artificial Intelligence is a really cool field to work in! Wish you all the best.