Published on 12, July, 2020
I thought others might be interested in sharing their experience of job interviews.
I am in the lucky position now of not having to work but I found it very hard in the past to get a job because I found the interviews so wholly traumatic.
In fact, the last years of my working life I worked for agencies because then I didn't need an interview.
Possibly the worst: I was being interviewed as a secretary for a Church of England Cathedral. I was asked 'what part do you believe that the Church of England plays in the lives of ordinary people today?'. My reply was that I feel it is irrelevant to the majority of people, who only really find it relevant at Easter, Christmas, Weddings and Funerals.
I knew immediately that although I spoke as I felt it was completely wrong and I should have lied. Their faces dropped and I think they would have liked me to leave the room immediately.
Now I understand why I spoke as I felt in the light of my autism diagnosis. I find saying what people expect/want me to say very difficult, despite many decades of 'masking'.
Job interviews (and jobs) are a huge test of a person's social skills and their ability to dissimulate, I think.
Does anyone else have a story to share?
I once mentioned Litter Death Squads in an interview! It was some dumb question about what you would do to make the world a better place. I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of potential responses, all of which I felt passionately about. I blurted out Litter Death Squads. It was like a working title for what I would then go on to explain. A bit like park wardens but with guns to shoot people that drop litter. It was my way of explaining of how strongly I felt about the issue. The interviewer just didnt get it, so I elaborated referencing Diana Dorrs from the worm that turned. Sometimes its good to ruin an interview early. The power dynamic shifts and you can have fun with the rest of the interview :)
I love that idea. Give me a gun and I will help :-)
LMAO at Litter Death Squads.