Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi all,
My name is Perry and I have recently joined the NAS. I am 29 and was diagnosed with Asperger's in childhood.
I found it a nightmare finding work, and when I finally did it was a temp job at a major UK company. Once I was in, it was easy to show how good I am (and ASD people are) when actually given that opportunity, and I am still there nearly four years later, having also turned into a permanent member of staff two years ago. I believe that I have been successful in all of my roles and have even developed systems which have automated and improved systems within the team.
The problem is, I just cannot progress. I was under the mistaken belief that quietly doing a great job will prove to people that I am worthy of more responsibility and the chance to move into a more challenging and rewarding role, rather than being fed the scraps that nobody else can be bothered to do.
I have queried this with the management, who keep telling me about my "personal brand" (whilst also insisting that I am "very well-liked in the team"), but it has also been implied to me that I am beginning to be seen as a pain for making a noise about my concerns rather than just quietly "proving myself." With this in mind, I even disclosed my ASD status to my line managers, explaining that it is for this reason that "personal brand" is a difficult concept for me. Unfortunately, and perhaps predictably, it has had no effect. I have been looking to leave, applying for jobs elsewhere with no luck.
So how do I negotiate office politics? It really feels that the quality of work is less important than how you look and who you befriend, but there must be a way to successfully prove yourself in an office environment when you are on the autistic spectrum? Otherwise, it does feel that we are considerably disadvantaged here.
Any suggestions and ideas are welcome!
-Perry.
I'm afraid the story they tell you about 'personal brand' is just another way of telling you that it's not going to happen. The fact that they like somebody's personal brand means they prefer that guy to hang out with on important meetings to you. I went a couple of times to Rome for the job. They only took me if they needed to talk some serious accounting. The boss was into 'geocaching', so they went looking for hidden boxes about the city... I went to have a drink next to the Colosseum with another colleague... needless to say the guys who went along to look for hidden boxes were moving faster than I...
Evaluation processes are hyper-subjective. I knew to go from a level 15 to 16 the communication requirements were the same. The boss then told me my communication skills needed improving. I told him this: if they're good enough for a level 15, they're good enough for a level 16... no promotion... then they had a new job-definition called an 'expert' and I asked my boss if that would be something for me... he told me, he saw me more as a 'specialist' than an expert.
I did find another job, paid as a level 16 in the previous company. That was lucky. Don't give up too fast, the proces of interviews and negotiation can be very entertaining. If you see the fun of that you'll take it as a hobby.
One thing I'm rather happy with, I made my CV as a visio-diagram with swimming lanes. I put fitting company logo's on it. I wanted it to look like an illustration in a popular scientific magazine... colours, popping out... and all on 1 page... fun fact... the guy who hired me started by telling me he invited me 'despite' of my weird cv.