Job interviews

I have recently finished my Master's degree and have applied for several jobs which will advance my career. This morning I have received an invitation to interview for one of them, and it happens to be the one I want the most. It will be a panel interview, with four people on the panel. There will also be a written test, though there are no details about what this will involve.

The thing is, while I am very good at writing applications, I am terrible at interviews. As well as autism, I have bad anxiety and this is triggered by the interview process, which then exacerbates my difficulties associated with my autism. I find that my mind goes blank and I can't link what I have done in previous jobs to the questions I get asked. Therefore I never give enough information and I struggle to think of relevant examples.

I have asked for adjustments before, but these do not seem to help me much. Extra time does not help as it just prolongs difficult moments and does not help me to think more clearly as I just get more anxious about not being able to come up with an answer. I've found it helpful to receive prompts to give further information, but interviewers rarely do this. I am much better at expressing myself in writing in these situations but I don't think I can suggest a written interview as the job requires contact with people and they'll want to assess my communication. I actually am good with people, particularly the client group for this job, but this does not come across in interviews. If I could do a job trial then I'm positive they would hire me because I'm an excellent worker!

Sorry this is so long but I wanted to give as much detail as possible. Does anyone have any advice on adjustments I could ask for or things I can do to improve my interview skills? I am considering asking for a job trial instead but I doubt this will be allowed. I feel like I need an alternative way of being assessed for the job but I don't know what to ask for. All I know is that interviews are not the best way for me to convey my skills and experience. 

Parents
  • I think I have similar experiences as you. I am much better at written applications, but not so good with interviews. I think doing a lot of practice will help. They will typically ask you to talk about your previous work/academic experience that is relevant, and why you want the current job, so it may help to think about answers to possible questions that you think you might be asked (but in my experience, do not memorise your answers word by word, as it would make it hard to be flexible, but try to memorise the general structure, or bullet points to these questions). 

    Since you just recently finished your masters, you might be entitled to your university's careers service. There might be people there who could practice a mock interview with you.

    By the way, what kind of jobs are you looking for? 

  • Thank you for your reply. That is good advice. I had not thought about using the university careers service. I will try to get in touch with them. Hopefully they will be able to help me before the interview.

    I am applying for Assistant Psychologist roles, and this will be my second Assistant Psychologist interview. I think it is good that I am getting shortlisted, as there is a lot of competition for these roles, so that is a positive. I know this is not a typical area for people with autism to work in but I have worked really hard to improve my communication skills and to get more confident at interacting with others. I know I would be good at the role. It is frustrating that my suitability for the role will be judged in an unfair process.  

  • Wish you the all the best. 

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