Published on 12, July, 2020
I remember when I got my first job way back in 1988, I phoned the number on the card in the job centre and they asked if I can come in for a chat tommorow... nowdays applying for a job is like some enormous task, nearly every company has their own form to fill in often several pages long and have such demanding questions and want you to provide examples or scenarios of things that may or may not happen and yet after all that effort if they don't want to give an interview then you don't even get a reply, it's just so tedious, so impersonal and so invasive and gut wrenching to me.
Question: Give an example of when you have worked on a team project. What was the outcome and what was your role in the team?
Question: Give an example of your ability to work to deadlines and how you cope with work pressure.
Question: Why do you want this particular job/want to work here?
AGHHHHHH...
I know the feeling. I had an unsuccessful interview the other day. (I have a part-time job, but need more hours to survive.) I have a very high level of qualifications, have written for publication, can give lectures & c, but I struggle to get regular employment in fairly mundane admin work to keep myself fed and housed.
I also struggle with the job application forms several pages long. But I struggle much more with phones and informal chats.
Felt however it needed saying that the three questions you cited are pretty common these days.
It is all about team working these days, being a tem player, being . And that's tricky for anyone on the spectrum.
Working to deadlines and work pressure have become paramount, usually because team sizes are cut back
You should always research the employer. Look them up on the web, show you know about them and you really really really want to work for them. That will usually get you into the shortlist (if only cos they are wondering if you really are that creepy!)
Such is "inclusivity" - it might not feel like it, as it is not for our benefit but various legal compliances. They have to be able to demonstrate they have gone through procedures.
Also employers must meet constraints on immigration, insurance, tax compliance etc.
And you would want them to avoid "old school tie", freemasonry, church attended (in at least one UK aeronautics company it helps if you are Roman Catholic), uncle works here already etc., not like it actually makes any odds what measures they use to stop that.
Also the protection of employees is stronger, and employers need to ask more carefully to avoid being stuck with someone they cannot then get rid of. This may not be an issue for the majority of us, its the ones in managerial positions who have contracts providing for compensation if they have to be dismissed for incompetence. But the procedures affect everybody.
And then there's just plain bureacracy - justifying the growing intricacies of Human Resources departments, and the need to gather vast intractable statistics on recruitment and retention.
Which just makes it all the more puzzling as many jobs are overwhelmed with applicants, and lots of applications are quickly discarded in the quest for a short list.
So its a who cares about trees situation really.