CV

Caretwo - the point about abstract/hypothetical questions is interesting. I have the opposite problem at interviews - mind goes blank when asked "give me a specific example of something you did in your last job" type questions, whereas I'm OK with "what would you do if?", as I'm quite practical. Main reason I ended up in IT was down to the interviews being more scenario-based than memory based. Hate "tell me about yourself" questions, as I end up waffling. 

Caretwo's approach looks really useful. Thanks for that, I hadn't thought of raising it like that.

once again thanks for al of your help thing is i'm not really that good at making video games as it is I have found one of my units at college hard which is all about programming and that was just using python, and with my job which i want there would be no need of a in depth understanding of aspergers, or at least I don't think so but with the way the world of work is my fear is that once people at wherever i end up working find out i could lose my job or people could pick on me. I know the law about disabilty discrimination but no doubht wherever I end up working will try to hide that reason and give another one.

You could try an approach of having two CVs, one that mentions autism and the other that doesn't. You have to keep meticuluous details of who has seen each CV. I'm job hunting at the moment and recently failed an interview with the feedback that I had failed to establish a rapport with the interviewers but I was technically very good. I felt that disclosing my condition may have helped. I have disclosed it to a few agents and have just been offered a telephone interview with a firm after being very open with the agent. He appreciated my openness and it gave him more opportunity to understand me better. I disclosed to another agent though and never heard another word so it depends on exactly who you speak to.

It also depends on how affected you are by your condition. Some people are very obviously affected and it may be better to disclose it as an explanation so that they don't get a shock when you turn up for interview. Some firms are very positive about employing people with disabilities and it may be worth seeking these out. For example, DAS Insurance have "Positive About Disabled People" as a mark of their positive approach.See the following link for more details...

www.gov.uk/.../looking-for-a-job

There is much more computer based and programming work outside the games industry than inside it. The competition for jobs in game design and development is ferocious and I would not pin my hopes on that for a career. An awful lot of teenage boys and girls see this as their dream job but very few will be living the dream.

Are you involved with any kind of forums relating to making video games? Or a video gaming forum where you might find others who want to make video games? While you might not be able to volunteer, you could make simple games which would be a start (I remember many moons ago making an extremely amateur game lol) or get involved with group projects perhaps, both of which you can use to a) show you are spending your own time on it b) raising your skills and introducing you to the programs out there c) gaining contacts and raising your profile.

I would say (in most cases) a definite no. You don't need to state Aspergers on your CV any more than you need to state whether you have any other personality trait, or whether you are left or right handed. It is not an illness, so you are fully entitled to put "in excellent health" if asked on an application form. 

If the job is one where you know they are looking for someone with an in depth knowledge of autism, then you could mention it in a covering letter or "further info" on the application form, but if you are just starting out in work, this probably does not apply. 

Good luck 

Ok thanks of that i now think I won't put my aspergers on my CV and sadly there is no voluntary work in my choson feild near me. Which is a shame becuase i could use all the help i can get with my dream job to be a video games designer  

No, I would not put the Asperger's on your CV personally. I didn't. I can understand if you want to be honest and open about your Asperger's though. Some application forms will ask about any disabilities/health requirements and it should be declared on there, otherwise I think that should wait for an interview though in order not to put people off before they've met you. What you could do is use whatever positives you feel Asperger's may bring you (if you have a deep understanding of a particular facit of your chosen job area or your concentration, commitment to hard work, etc) and work that into your CV. 

One of the popular questions in an interview is asking what you feel is your biggest weakness, perhaps you could say (if you felt it was true) that you felt your weakness was your Asperger's and why, HOWEVER you might go on to explain that you felt Asperger's has some positives (if that's true...) and what they are, and also what measures you might be taking to minimise the effects by, say, being involved with Autism groups (like this one) and I looked into customer care courses to add training how to deal with customers etc... They apparently prefer to hear an actual weakness followed by positive reactions rather than a stereotypical "weakness that isn't really a weakness" answer like "I'm too much of a perfectionist".

Another thing I'd advise from experience, if you are like me (I've only just got my first job at 26 because I've found it difficult to even THINK about getting a job!) but see if you can do any volunteering in your chosen job field, especially at a place that may later employ you. That way you can slowly get used to a) doing jobs in a workplace b) the skills required c) the people, who may later open doors for you and who you may grow to feel comfortable with before a job opening comes up. Even doing a couple of hours voluntary work every week or even fortnight may help. You can even put it on your CV to add practical work to whatever qualifications you have.

please ignore this one by accident I posted the same thing twice because of the internet connection I'm connected to at the moment that being the college internet which is kinda slow and has problems becuase of the large amount of students using it