Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi All and Hello,
I've just joined the commnunity - I'm in my early 50's and was diganosed ASD 18 months ago after a period of particularly poor mental health led to burn out and me being out of work for a year.
I am now also awaiting dignosis for ADHD.
I have tried to return to full time work in my previous career managing Engineering Projects however it quickly became apparent to me that after all the years of struggling to get on first in school and then in the workplace I simply do not have the energy anymore to 'mask' my autism and try to 'keep up' in a neurotypical environment. I am currently working 2 days per week on a contract basis handing over my project and find that challenging to maintain.
I know that I need to find a different less demanding job that is more sustainable - as such it would seem logical to me to state that I am autistic on my CV to allow prospective employers to understand why I am changing career, make adjustments and set clear expectations as to what I struggle with as well as what I am good at, however all the advice on line seems to suggest that you shouldn't and I cant find a good example of how to introduce this on a CV.
So my question to the community is what are peoples thoughts - is it best to disclose on your CV or not?
Many Thanks
Jeremy
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.
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.