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Interview questions

Elliot_Roy

I'm having real difficulty being successful at interviews. Unless the questions are specific I do not pick up on what details they are looking for in the question. It's really getting to me because I feel like I'm handicapped at interview and no adjustments are ever made in the interview process. Yes, I've asked for the questions before the interview, and I've asked for consideration to be made if the questions are vague (which they always are). And it's not like with practice I get better because each interview is different. I'm looking for support regarding this because I feel really handicapped in the interview process and it prevents my work opportunities even in jobs that I can do purely because of how the questions are worded and "scored". I feel like I'm constantly playing guesswork blind in interviews. Does anyone know of any support available for this or even better ways to ask for adjustments?

  • Hi and welcome to the community.

    You might some of these resources useful - they contain a wealth of helpful advice.

    Firstly, the NAS's Employment section, which includes:

    NAS - Support to get work experience and find a job 

    NAS - What are reasonable adjustments and when can they be requested? (I know you've tried asking for some already, but this might still be helpful)

    Secondly, Employment Autism (EA), a charity that aims to help autistic people into work. They have a lot of detailed advice and information on their website, which is dedicated to this subject area and includes, for example:

    Employment Autism - Understanding interviews and the selection process

    Employment Autism - Common interview questions - along with tips for answering them

  • Elliot_Roy said:
    Unless the questions are specific I do not pick up on what details they are looking for in the question. It's really getting to me because I feel like I'm handicapped at interview and no adjustments are ever made in the interview process.

    An important thing to realise here is that if you cannot learn and improve your ability to answer these questions then the employer is likely to think that you will likewise have difficulty learning new stuff for your job, so this on its own is likely to be a red flag in the interview process.

    You are capable of learning and change - after all you grew up learning and changing constantly while autistic so it can help to look back and realise you have the potential.

    Where you can get some help is through local autism charities, possibly the job centre and also on this forum where there are a few of us who have a lot of experience in the recruitment process who can offer specific help.

    Where I would recommend starting is to learn what the common interview questions are and what is really being looked for, then if you don't know how to respond then build a list of these and ask us - understanding the question is most of the battle oddly enough as once you know what is expected you largely need to draw on your experience or knowledge to articulate an answer.

    Articulation is a skill you can learn - there are courses online you can take and if you can find someone to simulate (eg role play) interviews with then you can practice until you feel you have got it right.

    Elliot_Roy said:
    I've asked for the questions before the interview, and I've asked for consideration to be made if the questions are vague (which they always are).

    The questions are also a test of your ability to clarify the question and to find out what is really being asked. For roles that are any kind of customer facing then this is important as many customers / clients / partners are vague and it will be your responsibility to make sure you know exactly what is required through clarifying the question or request.

    A classic example of this is for an IT support job where someone calls up and says "my 'pooter isn't working" and expects you to fix it based on this statement. You need to clarify the issue while not making the customer feel like an idiot (even when they seem to be) and then, finally, you can get on to the task of fixing it.

    So in summary, by asking for further adjustments you are actually harming your chances of being employed for the reasons I mentioned so if it is possible I would suggest learning how to understand the questions with help and develop your articulation skills - this will also help you do your job better at the end of the day.