Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi. I’m new to this community but I was diagnosed with autism when I was still a child. It’s been a rough life so far, I’ve experienced what most do, loss, pain and mental struggles but somehow (no idea how) – I’ve gotten through everything that was thrown at me. At times it was dark, I couldn’t see a way forward and yet somehow I got through those terrible days. Finding strength from inside myself when I didn’t think it was possible.
Because I feel better I have been looking at working. I never finished school (too much noise and anxiety, result was a breakdown) and with no grades and qualifications or previous experience in the workplace I didn’t set my hopes too high in being successful in any work I applied for. Still I persevered because I want to make something of my life rather than sit at home all day every day being called lazy and pathetic.
I applied at morrisons last month and about a week later I got an email saying I was unsuccessful – sad but not unexpected. I’ve been rejected by so many people I’ve come to expect it now. It’s the norm. But I still looked and hoped something would turn up and then on Wednesday morning I had an email from mossisons saying I had passed their online questionnaire and they would look at my CV – my CV is bad, very little on it because I could only really say about myself, my skills and interests (no qualifications to add). It read bad and I was sure they would take a brief look and think it’s no good.
And then I had a phone call on Wednesday afternoon (an unknown number) I let it ring because talking on the phone with people I’m unfamiliar with makes me anxious. The call was from morrisons, the woman left a voice mail and said that she was looking at my CV and would be interested in talking to me about it so we could arrange an interview… So now I’ve got an interview on Monday morning. I’m so proud of myself for achieving this, despite having so much doubt and so much negativity from those around me.
I am anxious though. I’ve never been to an interview before and I worry going means I will screw it up. My family have said this to me, they don’t think I’ll be successful which hurts but I fear they are summarising correctly. But my brothers all worked for morrisons at one point and the pay was pretty good and the work benefits were always good. It could secure my future, offering independent living: something I do not have currently.
So really I am here to seek advice on how to get through this interview – and (most importantly) not screw it up! Any and all advice is welcome!
Congratulations, Poppet, and good luck for your interview on Monday. If you can find a willing volunteer, I suggest doing one or two practice interviews beforehand.
Ironically, in one of my previous jobs I did about 700 mock interviews with university students. The S-T-A-R method is really good for structuring an answer:
Situation - i.e. context
Task - what did you need to do/achieve?
Action - what *specifically' did *you* do to fulfil the task? (If it was a team effort, make sure to bring the focus back to you.)
Result - what was the outcome? (Preferably a positive one!)
In my experience, people are good at talking about a situation but not so good at getting to the end of the story and conveying the impact they had. That's what employers want to know: can you make a positive difference?
They also want to assess whether you'll 'fit in' with the rest of the team, which can be a challenge for autistic people. However, I think you can overcome nerves about this and any other aspect of the interview by reflecting on what you have already done and being prepared to tell stories that highlight your skills.
Despite your lack of work experience, you will have done many things that demonstrate skill, commitment, and resilience. Never say I 'only' did this or I 'just' did that - employers love enthusiasm in an interview.
If you have a job description, I also suggest looking at what the job requires and likely scenarios you would encounter, then thinking what you have done in the past that was similar and involved transferable skills.
TargetJobs is a good website for practice interview questions, and some university websites have a careers section with accessible resources.
Iain has raised some excellent points. You would be entitled to reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010, though perhaps something to raise after the interview.
Let us know if we can help further.