CV Disclosure

Good grief.  What a tangled area.  In my experience, in the UK, there are three types of employers and your CV needs to reflect that, as does your covering letter and your performance (It is a performance) at interview. If you are going for a job that is done by neurotypical people usually and not one of the marginal ones autistic people tended to get stuck in like caretaker and sweeper and the such..

• THE DENIERS:
  Those who don't want you to include it, and in fact would see it as a big negative.  These are easy to spot as they have a copper plate or copied inclusion policy if they have one at all.  The staff photo looks like a cloning advert and in my personal experience are owned / run by the sort of bluff people who believe that 'anything's possible if you don't let it hold you back'.  Typically but not always small businesses.
• THE BULLSHITTERS
  These often have wonderful policies that you can read, experience in many different media, regular staff emails etc and the chief executive will proudly proclaim they have an inclusion day or some such thing, but at the lower level you will be working, you will be tolerated because its in Human Resources policies to do so, but any help will be reluctant and any advancement will be harder than for the Neurotypical.  You will be suspected as not 'being one of the team' or 'not getting what its about to work here'.  You will have the ear of the organisation, but not their pocket or their blessing.  Tends to be big institutions or companies who have to say such things to get their certification or work in a particular field, and employ such a large staff that Neurodiverse people are a big enough group whose issues therefore have to be addressed.
• THE CAUTIOUS
  These are proudly Neurodiverse inclusive.  They understand that there are benefits and problems of having Neurodiverse people but on the whole they think you are an asset.  Typically these are looking to some skill or insight you have that the NT aren't as good at.  Problem is this forces some companies to see you as some kind of 'rainman'.  A good example is programmers where there is such a shortage of highly skilled people at the more rarified level, you could turn up to work with only your underpants' on, bring your cat, and barbecue by your desk and they would roll their eyes but probably not mention it out loud!  These jobs are VERY VERY RARE.

So include your Neurodiversity if you wish, if it adds to your employability and gives you an edge, but i would suggest caution.  I have four times lost out to interview to someone Neurotypical and been told by HR afterwards that I was the best candidate but they wouldn't know what to do with me as I'm so creative, full of ideas etc., so they chose 'a safe pair of hands'.  They are always very apologetic with me and say i did an excellent interview but 'they wouldn't know what to do with me' and 'youll be bored here'.  Perhaps this is me applying below my skill level but as someone who finds gaining in work qualifications almost impossible (Ironic as some of my jobs are actually developing them) I find applying for jobs tough and if you put in a 'normal' CV, and get to interview, you've got a foot in the door and in my experience the job rarely reflects the job description and usually chairs will be shuffled if they can fit you in.  Play it safe... which is NOT what you should have to do.. But this is the world we presently live in..

Definitely agree with you. I actually applied for a job today and although I didn't disclose that I'm autistic on my CV, it is listed as one of my interests, and I disclosed it within the application form in context of the job - I told them how being autistic makes me well suited to the position! I'm not going to hide it if I get there anyway, and it'll give them some context if I seem a bit atypical in the interview, plus if that means they decide not to hire me (for a second time, I applied for this job last year but was quite unwell on the interview day!) then so be it, it's not the right place for me. 

I recently disclosed my autism in an application and it hasn't been a problem for me. I framed it as a strength, e g. "I am a resourceful person that loves to create. I am able to focus on details for prolonged periods" etc. I didn't include my autism in my CV, I disclosed it on the application form in the equality and diversity tick box section. It's entirely up to you what you disclose but another point of view is what are the consequences if you don't disclose? You have a diagnosis which gives you legal protection against discrimination. If you struggle with mental health in the future how would an employer feel that you hadn't disclosed and therefore they weren't able to make reasonable adjustments for you? I think it very much depends on the context. If I was doing a short term contract job to just earn a bit of money for a few months then I probably wouldn't bother. For a job that I'm passionate about I want to start off as I mean to continue and my autism is part of my identity that I no longer want to or have the energy to hide. I would also test how you feel about disclosing (don't know if you have disclosed already to anyone). It can feel vulnerable and weird, especially if you don't know what reaction you might get. I started with people I knew would be ok with it and even that took some time to feel ok about. It can feel destabilising. I think a lot of ignorant people associate autism with having a learning disability. I scripted a few responses to any negativity I may encounter which I've had to use a few times unfortunately, such as the secretary at the GP surgery talking slowly to me like I can't understand normal conversation, or being told I'm not autistic because of whatever. It helps me to have those responses ready because before I would have not known how to respond and internalised it and felt less than. Now I see it as a litmus test and my attitude is "Thank you for showing me what you are like. Now I know I  don't need you in my life and I won't waste my time or energy on you". In summary, I think context is everything. If it's important to you then I think it's best to be transparent from the beginning, but that doesn't necessarily mean putting it out there right from the start on your CV. I think if you get as far as an interview then that could be the time to see what their attitudes are about equality and disability and whether you feel it's right for you to disclose.  

NAS87081 said:

am currently applying for a much simpler much lower paid role, processing data - surely when they get my CV they're going to throw it out as I'm 'overqualified' unless I explain somehow?

Not if you point out in your application that you enjoy that sort of work (OK, that may be overstating it a bit) and you want to return to it.  If asked why, be partiallly honest and say you found the stresses of a management role were not rewarding for you and you found yourself much happier and more productive in the data entry role.

If pushed say you wouldn't rule out more senior roles in future but you would want a good mentor before you would consider it again.

All honest and likely to lower any red flags the situation has raised.

That's true, and I guess if you're clear that with some reasonable accomodations your autism wouldn't prevent you from doing the job then non-disclosure makes sense. 

I guess my particular issue here is slightly different in that I have identified that due to my autistic traits I am not suited to the roles at the senior level that I have been doing - they have required an increasingly intense effort on my part to do the 'people' bit and this in turn has led to mental health problems. It seems clear to me now that I shouldn't have done those jobs - even though people seemed to think I was very clever and successful because I was good at the technical bit. I dont think I could be reasonably accomodated to carry on working at that level.

I am currently applying for a much simpler much lower paid role, processing data - surely when they get my CV they're going to throw it out as I'm 'overqualified' unless I explain somehow?

I probably wouldn't add it to a CV , but I would personally disclose it in an interview. Ultimately, if that biases a company against hiring me then I don't think it's somewhere I'd want to be working anyway. 

Iain said:

battybats said:

I wouldn't put it on your CV- too many employers have a poor understanding of autism

I agree.

Employers see autism as a disability that makes it hard for us to work well with the rest of the NTs in the workforce so we are often silently discriminated against.

Yeah I agree with this too, I have always masked like the dickens in the interview then hit them with it after I have already got my foot in the door and the probation period has ended to maximise my legal pretections when I eventually let them know, like if I need to ask for adjustments etc.

NAS87081 said:

I would like to change to something less stressful and more creative - however this still leaves the question of how to word this on my CV

I recall reading that the majority of workers will change career 3 times in their lives, so what you are considering is nothing unusual.

You don't have to explain why you are changing during the written application, just the face to face interview, so think about why you really want to change and make sure you rehearse this (script) again and again to make sure if comes across as positive and not negative.

Don't say "my old career was too stressful and I was having breakdowns. I hated it and couldn't do it any more so I want to get out an do something like this as it looks easy".

Do say "I have long had a passion for being a gardener and took every opportunity to work on this when I had the chance. I have green fingers and a real affinity for potatoes so it feels right to me to want to work in an area that makes me feel so alive."

The practice will get you used to being positive and letting your enthusiasm come through which is a huge part in getting the role.

If you don't have a coach who can help you with this then drop me a line and we can arrange some skype / teams / zoom type sessions to get you in the zone when you are good and ready.

NAS87081 said:

If I did get a job with such an employer I would be setting myself up for a long battle to educate them and get the accomodations in needed

That's true. But A) the law would be on your side. and B) some one has to fight these battles or things will never get better. C) just because you declare your disability and get hired it doesn't mean you will easily get your accommodations. The person who hires you might be more open minded than your line manager, or they might just be scared of being accused of discrimination.

Thanks battybats - that seems to be the prevalling wisdom however I would challenge that as being ill thoughout and self defeating. Surely if an employer has a poor understanding of autism then I would be better off not working for them anyway? If I did get a job with such an employer I would be setting myself up for a long battle to educate them and get the accomodations in needed - (which would extend far beyond what the interview room was like) that would all very likely be stressful and accomodations would likely be a phyrric victory. 

Thanks Iain,

I think I need to pursue alternative career path as you suggest. I have tried to take a back seat in my current industry and found it very frustrating; I know too much, tend to be too helpful and find it difficult not to intervene when I see things going wrong,- there are just too many triggers for me.

I would like to change to something less stressful and more creative - however this still leaves the question of how to word this on my CV - surely anyone reading my CV and seeing a history of senior roles in major projects is going to wonder why I am applying for a gardening job unless I say something?

generally employers prefer that you do not declare any protective characteristics in your CV. Some employers will even ask you to remove details that could reveal your gender or date of birth from your CV such as the dates you started university for example or your full name. Reputable employers tend to have a box to tick on the application form to declare you have a disability and by all means tick this. What they generally do is separate out the application form so only HR sees it whereas the interviewers get to see your CV. If you declare a disability on the application form HR will normally contact you before the interview to see if you need reasonable adjustments.

that’s how it works in big organisations smaller employers I’ve no idea.

battybats said:

I wouldn't put it on your CV- too many employers have a poor understanding of autism

I agree.

Employers see autism as a disability that makes it hard for us to work well with the rest of the NTs in the workforce so we are often silently discriminated against.

Looking at it from an emplyers point of view, it would seem that you are possibly going to be less productive, need a lot more adaptations than the other staff and may not get with the social group you are working in - so I can see why they do this.

It varies from company to company though - researching will help a lot with the decision.

It sounds like you are particularly impacted by burnout so the flip side of this arguement could be that you may need to disclose your diagnosis in order for them to take into account your situation.

It could be that there are other roles in the project management side you can take on, have you considered this? This way your track record can work to your advantage.

I'm from a similar backgrund (I was in IT management and project management) and get it - I spent years hovering on the edge of a burnout towards the end.

My solution was to change careers to something I really enjoy doing - now I manage a property renovation company in Brazil that gets abandoned apartments back to as-new condition and supplies affordable housing this way.

I get to control the interactions with others to my capabilities at the time and can spend days working away on my own on some of the flats like a form of therapy.

Do you have any resonable alternative career paths open to you now that avoid the stuff that leads to burnout?

I wouldn't put it on your CV- too many employers have a poor understanding of autism and that could result in them unfairly rejecting your application. If you need accommodations at the interview stage you might want to bring it up then, but I would still be careful unless you know the company is good for autistic employees- until then, it would be best to discuss just the exact accommodations you need, e.g. interviewing in a room with plenty of natural light if typical office lighting is a sensory problem for you.