Share your thoughts on getting a job as an autistic adult

Some jobs I can do well in, but my biggest challenge is when I'm out of work.  Applying for jobs is very hard, it takes a long time because I will either not apply or I will fully invest my time in hoping to get the role and usually I don't get the job and having to accept that is very hard emotionally becasue it's like dealing with change.  You have to kind of forget about the previous role and focus on something new and that's just not what my brain is wired for, I'm not good at changing focus.  You're expected to be able to do this a lot and quickly if you want to get a job and I can't.  It makes applying to jobs at all feel very risky and a bit upsetting because I am already expecting to feel let down and my confidence becomes very low and I start functioning worse in all aspects of my life.  I find it very difficult to imagine myself in different jobs and to decide whether it is a good idea to apply or not, or what to prioritise.  I don't like lying and feel very uncomfortable applying to something if it is asking for a skill I know that I am below average in (like working with people - which most jobs want), especially becasue the idea of having to pretend or force myself to try and do the things that I struggle with because I'm autistic makes me feel sick and awful about myself.  It would make me very unwell if I had to do that, especially as a full time job.  It would be exhausting and I would feel bad about myself like if you constantly got someone who couldn't read well to read in front of a crowd and had getting fired and not being able to afford food depend on it.  I am quite blunt socially and struggle to share the same perspective as people who are doing the hiring.  I think they have a threshold you need to pass before they even consider whether you would do a good job or not and it's usually about whether they get on with you socially which is obviously a problem for a lot of autistic people in interviews where it can be very hard to focus on social skills and politeness if you're trying to remember what you want to tell them about why they should hire you.

People seem to judge you badly if you've been out of work for a long time even though that isn't relevant to the job.  Being out of work makes me more mentally unwell too as I barely have any money and that makes it even harder than usual to organise looking after myself.  I get depressed and feel like I'm not good enough and a burden on everyone who knows me.  I feel like not having a job makes me uninteresting and everything feels meaningless.

I'm trying to get PIP and hoping it will help me pay for the things I need to be okay day-to-day so I can get healthy again.  Then hopefully I will eventually get a job.  But I do need more help with applications and having a good plan so all the ups and downs aren't as hard to handle.  It would help to have a mentor to see regularly who understood me and autism and mental illness and could help me keep on track and not become too distressed or stuck.  The closest to that near me (that is free) would be short term counselling but that doesn't help becasue new people are hard to deal with and having to see someone for only a short amount of time doesn't help me becasue my problems won't go away and the stopping and starting transitions in my routine causes problems for me.  It's also not really their job to properly help you with tasks like that as they just listen and give advice really.

Most of all it's just hard to keep organised and keep track of everything.  I need help but don't know how to get it, my Mum used to look out for me but she died and I don't feel comfortable relying on others anymore because people can die.

I completely understand how you feel. This is exactly how I felt out of work to. It really knocks your confidence to get turned down by every job you apply for, but just know its not you. The system just doesn't cater to us with Autism and this is what Stack is all about. Our goal is to educate employers about the way we work and why it isn't a bad thing. Please don't hesitate to email me at hazel@stackrecruitment.org for any questions you have or if you just want to have a chat. 

Thank you very much for you story and have a lovely day. 

Hazel 

Stack

I completely understand how you feel. This is exactly how I felt out of work to. It really knocks your confidence to get turned down by every job you apply for, but just know its not you. The system just doesn't cater to us with Autism and this is what Stack is all about. Our goal is to educate employers about the way we work and why it isn't a bad thing. Please don't hesitate to email me at hazel@stackrecruitment.org for any questions you have or if you just want to have a chat. 

Thank you very much for you story and have a lovely day. 

Hazel 

Stack