I hate CV's

Thanks urspecial, for reminding me I was going to come back with more ideas.

Trouble is it is something I have puzzled over for ages. I have been trying to persuade the Adult Autism Strategy crowd (evidently in vain) of the urgent need to research which aspects of the employment environment are difficult for people on the spectrum, and how can they be resolved.

I did point them to "managing with Asperger Syndrome" by Malcolm Johnson (JKP 2005), with the caveat that the author didn't seem to have anything like as much trouble as I would expect, particularly as the job environment (sales teams) isn't a good one for people on the spectrum. Also it is hard reading, too autobiographical, indeed way too much about Malcolm Johnson. However I can identify with his experiences.

The problem is there aren't many books about the workplace. One other is Genevieve Edmonds and Luke Beardon "Asperger Syndrome & Employment: Adults Speak out about Asperger Syndrome" (JKP 2008).

Whereas, although I have some background, it is far harder for me to convince the decision makers, and I have to say this, because I admit to have been diagnosed, my credibility doesn't go up - it plummets downwards! They, the decision makers, regard anyone on the autistic spectrum as neorotic, bit soft in the head, having no opinions worth listening to.

I've been trying to dig up some job specifications and found one interesting website TotalJobs.com. This is a training and job finding organisation and it provides job role explanations to help applicants. One of these is "Team Leader".

OK so none of you want to be team leader. But, most companies look at someone they employ as a potential future team leader. This is because "doers" get out of touch and are easily replaced by younger, fresher (CHEAPER) team mates. Sadly there's no real career prospect if you don't lean to management, increasingly even in higher skilled sectors where you would think experienced doers would be valued. It is why in the UK we undermine our economic viability by having too many totally rubbish chiefs, and hardly any job experienced indians (metaphor). So the job spec you get will be looking at your management potential, even if the job you are applying for is "slave".

The phrases they use for team leaders are graphic enough: "supervising, guiding and motivating". Team leaders ensure the staff are happy so the business can run well. Teamwork is vital to the success of any business but unfortunately groups of people wont always work well together.  This is where team leaders step in, helping to keep everyone motivated.

Roles are likely to include deputising tasks and ensuring the people they allocate work to do it efficiently, so the outcomes merge effectively. They may be involved in promotional activities and will probably be moved round different teams, and even different sites. And they have to work well with higher management, with a lot of social based activity.

OK you wouldn't deliberately apply for "team leader". But the employer will look at your CV/application form thinking is this person useful to us in the long term? They often ask "where do you see yourself in five years time?". If you say invaluable grovelling filing clerk, these days they pay that job small money for young faces, as the computer provides the skill element. If you say "rubbing shoulders with the likes of Alan Sugar" you'll be in like a shot.

Have a think about the team leader skills: people management, deputising the right tasks to the right people, mixing with the bosses - to be a "people person". Its a prime social skills role. How many people with aspergers are going to feel comfortable doing it?

But the jobs that people with aspergers might try for - using specialist highly focussed skills, niche contributions - shorn of management prospects these are all short term jobs these days.

It is useless clever dicks in Government and Autism advisory bodies talking up a few flash computer programming jobs in scandinavian countries, in the majoriyty of cases in the UK there are no such jobs around. The UK workforce is streamed towards management. Jobs are for team leaders, even if the job itself is someone to clean the bosses' executive toilet!

Thanks urspecial, for reminding me I was going to come back with more ideas.

Trouble is it is something I have puzzled over for ages. I have been trying to persuade the Adult Autism Strategy crowd (evidently in vain) of the urgent need to research which aspects of the employment environment are difficult for people on the spectrum, and how can they be resolved.

I did point them to "managing with Asperger Syndrome" by Malcolm Johnson (JKP 2005), with the caveat that the author didn't seem to have anything like as much trouble as I would expect, particularly as the job environment (sales teams) isn't a good one for people on the spectrum. Also it is hard reading, too autobiographical, indeed way too much about Malcolm Johnson. However I can identify with his experiences.

The problem is there aren't many books about the workplace. One other is Genevieve Edmonds and Luke Beardon "Asperger Syndrome & Employment: Adults Speak out about Asperger Syndrome" (JKP 2008).

Whereas, although I have some background, it is far harder for me to convince the decision makers, and I have to say this, because I admit to have been diagnosed, my credibility doesn't go up - it plummets downwards! They, the decision makers, regard anyone on the autistic spectrum as neorotic, bit soft in the head, having no opinions worth listening to.

I've been trying to dig up some job specifications and found one interesting website TotalJobs.com. This is a training and job finding organisation and it provides job role explanations to help applicants. One of these is "Team Leader".

OK so none of you want to be team leader. But, most companies look at someone they employ as a potential future team leader. This is because "doers" get out of touch and are easily replaced by younger, fresher (CHEAPER) team mates. Sadly there's no real career prospect if you don't lean to management, increasingly even in higher skilled sectors where you would think experienced doers would be valued. It is why in the UK we undermine our economic viability by having too many totally rubbish chiefs, and hardly any job experienced indians (metaphor). So the job spec you get will be looking at your management potential, even if the job you are applying for is "slave".

The phrases they use for team leaders are graphic enough: "supervising, guiding and motivating". Team leaders ensure the staff are happy so the business can run well. Teamwork is vital to the success of any business but unfortunately groups of people wont always work well together.  This is where team leaders step in, helping to keep everyone motivated.

Roles are likely to include deputising tasks and ensuring the people they allocate work to do it efficiently, so the outcomes merge effectively. They may be involved in promotional activities and will probably be moved round different teams, and even different sites. And they have to work well with higher management, with a lot of social based activity.

OK you wouldn't deliberately apply for "team leader". But the employer will look at your CV/application form thinking is this person useful to us in the long term? They often ask "where do you see yourself in five years time?". If you say invaluable grovelling filing clerk, these days they pay that job small money for young faces, as the computer provides the skill element. If you say "rubbing shoulders with the likes of Alan Sugar" you'll be in like a shot.

Have a think about the team leader skills: people management, deputising the right tasks to the right people, mixing with the bosses - to be a "people person". Its a prime social skills role. How many people with aspergers are going to feel comfortable doing it?

But the jobs that people with aspergers might try for - using specialist highly focussed skills, niche contributions - shorn of management prospects these are all short term jobs these days.

It is useless clever dicks in Government and Autism advisory bodies talking up a few flash computer programming jobs in scandinavian countries, in the majoriyty of cases in the UK there are no such jobs around. The UK workforce is streamed towards management. Jobs are for team leaders, even if the job itself is someone to clean the bosses' executive toilet!