Struggling to find employment

Hi Ruby are there any charities that can help you. Where I’m from there this amazing charity called ASDES which stands for autism spectrum disorder employment support. They have people who work as job coaches who help people on the spectrum find work and there are places around like a little cafe who have staff members work for them on the spectrum with help from the charity.

Hi Ruby,

We have information and advice on applying for a job, tips for interacting and coping at work, advice on dealing with bullying in the workplace and what the law says about your rights at work: https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/employment 

You can also find our free online ‘Finding Employment’ module on our website: https://www.autismonlinetraining.com/ 

This module is designed to help autistic job seekers entering the job market understand their strengths and what next steps they could take towards gaining meaningful employment or work. 

Evenbreak matches disabled job seekers with employers to build a diverse workforce. You can visit the Evenbreak website for listed job vacancies: https://www.evenbreak.co.uk/ 

The British Association of Supported Employment has a database of supported employment agencies, so you can search for one in your local area: https://www.base-uk.org/home 

Maximus offer a range of employability programmes throughout the UK, including, programmes for disabled people who are struggling to find work: https://www.maximusuk.co.uk/ 

The National Autistic Society employment and volunteering opportunities are updated frequently. We particularly welcome applications from autistic people. 

I hope this is helpful.

Kind Regards,

Rosie Mod

I totally understand Ruby, I have had over 40 jobs in the last 15 years. My most recent one ended with me having a shutdown and curling up on some steps in the high street after work 

Er, not that the young bit could apply to me these days! Unless it meant the team’s inauguration was recent! Which also doesn’t appeal much - give me my hard won and long established familiar set-up any day… the alternative would be, well, unthinkable. 

You’ve no idea how much your drawing helped me at just the moment I needed it! Thank you! I could feel a familiar spiral of obsessive thought take hold and I needed exactly your picture to make me step out of that and know myself again, the person who must never get pulled into majority ‘shoulds’ of my health will suffer. Bless you! 

In some ways it is. Here people are not so judgemental or at least where I’m living. They are more open to diversity. Many LGBT people from my country came here and are also happy. As I’m in a mood for drawing today I drew a picture about best employment for me. And maybe not only. Whenever I see the “young dynamic team” and smiling faces  I feel sick. 

I love the German way of life. Seems like it would be an easier place to live

Thank you Billy, this is exactly what I do. I rehearse the answers. But struggle when they ask the same question in a different way. I struggle to put two and two together at times. I've had approximately 20 jobs over a 14 year period, granted most were temp, so I know I did something right.. keeping those jobs was a problem for me too.

Hi Ruby. I struggle a lot with work but more with keeping a job than getting one. 
As far as interviews go, I will share a trick that tends to work for me. I always view a job interview as if I am an actor playing a role. I learn the answers they are expecting and then repeat them as if it is my script. It helps me cope with interviews. There are lots of websites where you can find model interview answers and stuff

I’m my country to get a job you don’t need necessarily skills and experience. Which I have. In my country employers look for 1) good looking young people 2) assertiveness and self confidence 3) of course team players. You have to be excited about working in the dynamic young team. I was always sick when I saw that, these perfectly smiling faces etc. I was told i have to go to see more people, meet people, I was pushed there and forced to lie on the interviews that I like it. But I’m a terrible liar I can’t actually lie, it’s visible on me immediately. So the only opportunities I had there was McDonald’s or cashier in supermarkets. I failed as a cashier and had panic attacks in that noisy hell (McDonald’s). I thought I was a total failure. Only here in Germany my boss seemed to not look for self confident model on high heels, but someone competent who will do the job. The mentality here is different. I’m happy because I have fixed working hours, I have fixed tasks and I work both - in the office and warehouse which is good for my health. I think I had both - luck and also a good idea, how to develop, study etc. 

I'm having to look into volunteering to get references and skills, myself. Hopefully get an Apprenticeship out of it. But it's all a very vague wade through murky waters, because I live in a pretty... technically suburban, but lower class(?) area. There are few opportunities for me.

I know exactly what you mean, I have spent most of my life on benefits and doing voluntary work, sometimes to a very high level like ecological surveying and helping write policy for the Green Party. I get lots of interviews but despite performing OK I think in the interviews, never get the jobs and can never find out why, except lack of experience which is inevitable since no one will give me a job. Lately I have had a lot of success going self employed however. I worked as a gardener and did really well, I met my customers one to one and I found that all my voluntary work had given me the social skills to cope with that - my main problem now is that I have been out of work so long that no employer will touch me (except as free labour). Being outside in nature worked well, with peace and quiet, space to move and the opportunity to pick my jobs and customers to suit - there is so much demand for gardeners that getting work is fairly easy.  I could choose my time to start and finish, take time off when I needed, got space to decompress while driving from job to job and the physical work and fresh air helped me sleep and did my nerves good. I am now studying MSc Ecology to be an eco-surveyor and there is some good work experience with different organisations to be had. Outdoor work or working in the safe and highly structured environment of my university seems to suit me well, especially as it's a small quiet campus.  High anxiety is my main challenge but I am doing my best with careful pre-planning of activities and also  taking nutritional supplements for the nervous system which are really helping. I think self employment may be the way to go, make your own job, make your own rules.  The conventional employment world is so inaccessible to us but that doesn't mean we can't succeed, really need to think outside the box a lot. It's a question of finding a really good fit for our talents and characteristics. It's far from easy but when you do succeed it's the best feeling in the world.  

I really dislike interviews too. The questions always seem to have double meanings and aren't very direct or specific. I'm now out of work after nearly 21 years due to them changing the job roles and I just can't cope with continual chatter which meant I no longer fit in. I read that employers are looking for what they call team players and people pleasers, rather than the list of skills that they advertise.

Thank you

The advice is useless. the only way to get employed on the spectrum when you can't learn to overcome interviews process is by requesting and being exploited for work experience so the company or manager can get to know you. even then their is very slim chance they'll offer you a chance at a job .

There is no technique or skills that can be learned when interviewing because there isn't a universal system. Autism has social and communication complexities and sometime potential employers interpret it as dishonest or fill that you as a candidate is off or something not quite right.    

I can say this because i have exhausted every employment support service in my local area. 

Hi. I too struggle with the new questions! 

I clinical code in General Practice, but better paid are the hospital jobs. The easier way to get in is as a Trainee Clincal Coder as they pay for the training courses. They don't come up that often.

Here is a link to one I found today:

https://www.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/C9223-24-1039?searchFormType=main&keyword=clinical%20coder%20trainee&language=en

Most of my experience also lies within the NHS, which of course has involved a lot of interactions with people, which can be overwhelming at times. I did look into clinical coding at one point briefly, is there a course that I could do for this? I also tend to memorise questions but struggle when a new question is asked.

Hello @Ruby 

Thank you for sharing this with the community. I'm sorry to hear that you're struggling with the interview process. You may find it useful to have a look at our information on seeking employment, which includes advice around disclosing autism to an employer and managing the interview process: https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/employment/seeking-work

I hope this helps,

Chloe Mod

That's the sort of work that I do now. I am a clinical coder in the NHS. Have you had any luck with the NHS or government bodies. Somewhere that is a big organisation, so in theory more 'disability aware'. 

My job coach talks about being more authentic to myself. But often in interviews, I just mask to the max. And I give them the answers to the questions that they are wanting to hear. 

I also have done so many interviews now, that I prepare for the frequently used questions by writing out a response and memorising it as much as I can. But I have had so many disasters.

I generally look for roles such as clerical work and data entry. But I just cannot get past the interview stages. It's so tough out there. My GP referred me to an employment specialist and this employment specialist works for a charity. They help me look for work.