{"id":17857,"date":"2019-09-09T03:38:20","date_gmt":"2019-09-09T03:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=17857"},"modified":"2019-09-10T12:40:05","modified_gmt":"2019-09-10T12:40:05","slug":"how-to-conduct-job-interviews-with-candidates-who-have-autism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/how-to-conduct-job-interviews-with-candidates-who-have-autism\/","title":{"rendered":"How to conduct job interviews with candidates who have autism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Katherine Breward<\/a>, University of Winnipeg<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The unemployment and underemployment of capable workers with autism is a well-documented phenomenon, as a British study showed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Employers are gradually getting better at recognizing the value<\/a> of including neurodiverse people in their organizations, and information about accommodation strategies<\/a> is starting to become more readily available.<\/p>\n

That said, these accommodations aren\u2019t helpful to workers if they are unable to land a job in the first place. Recruitment and selection practices can inadvertently negatively impact candidates with autism.<\/p>\n

The job interview<\/a> in particular can be problematic since people with autism often struggle to understand unstated communication and social norms. Their difficulties in these areas can result in poor ratings during interviews, even when the candidate would be an excellent fit for the job, which puts both the candidate and employer at a disadvantage.<\/p>\n

Some simple tactics can help lessen the likelihood of this happening.<\/p>\n

Interview setting<\/h2>\n

People with autism often have sensory processing<\/a> issues as well as difficulties understanding body language, facial expressions, vocal tone and social norms.<\/p>\n

Panel interviews in which multiple people interview the candidate at once magnify these issues since the candidate has to focus on several people\u2019s non-verbal and verbal communication at once. This is both challenging and exhausting for many with autism, resulting in underperformance.<\/p>\n

Employers often prefer panel interviews over individual interviews, however, because they have been proven to minimize non-conscious biases in hiring. But organizations can achieve the same goal with sequential interviews.<\/p>\n

During sequential interviews, candidates see multiple interviewers, but not all at the same time. Candidates with autism can be more fairly assessed using this method, although caution needs to be taken not to schedule too many interviews too closely together. Having interviews on separate days would be ideal when practical.<\/p>\n

The location of the interview can also be important. Employers should select quiet spaces without visual distractions, heavy scents or florescent lighting. Avoid interviews conducted over meals since managing the unspoken etiquette of dining can be a substantial distraction for those with autism.<\/p>\n

Question types<\/h2>\n

The nature of the questions asked in interviews can also systematically disadvantage candidates with autism. Avoid vague questions or trendy pop-psychology questions that have no discernable connection to job tasks and responsibilities.<\/p>\n

For example, questions like: \u201cIf you could be any animal, what animal would you be and why?\u201d are simply bewildering for people with autism (and many others). Also avoid testing skills obliquely.<\/p>\n

Some employers use questions like: \u201cHow many red jelly beans are in this jar?\u201d and expect a candidate to demonstrate their numerical reasoning and estimation skills. A person with autism may take this question very literally, however, and believe that the only way to answer is to actually count the beans.<\/p>\n

Instead, test relevant job skills directly using objective, scientifically validated tests<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Ask clear, objective questions.<\/span>
\nShutterstock<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s also important to avoid overly socially biased (people-pleasing) questions, especially when they are unrelated to job tasks and context. Don\u2019t ask what someone else might do or think (\u201cWhat would your supervisor say about you,\u201d for example). Ask more direct questions \u2014 people with autism respond well to questions related to things they have actually experienced.<\/p>\n

Phrase behavioural questions, such as \u201ctell me about a time you experienced a disagreement about process flow with a coworker and how you handled it\u201d accordingly. A hypothetical situational scenario can be tough. Avoid any question that starts with \u201cimagine;\u201d instead use \u201cdescribe a time.\u201d<\/p>\n

General communication<\/h2>\n

There are also some general communication guidelines to observe when interviewing people with autism. Avoid the use of confusing language that could be taken literally (for example, \u201cland a job\u201d).<\/p>\n

Be aware that norms around sensitive matters such as salary negotiations may not be clear, so the candidate may not react as \u201cexpected.\u201d That should not impact a candidate\u2019s interview score unless salary negotiations are actually part of the job description for the job they\u2019re applying for.<\/p>\n

Be aware that a subset of people with autism are highly adept at noticing micro expressions<\/a>, the very quick expressions that flit across someone\u2019s face before they \u201crearrange\u201d into a socially acceptable reaction. The people able to perceive this, however, are often unaware that they are supposed to ignore those expressions and respond to the \u201cpublic face\u201d instead. This can lead to social awkwardness.<\/p>\n

Once again, that should not impact the candidate\u2019s interview score unless understanding social nuances is a key job requirement.<\/p>\n

\n


\n
\nRead more:
\nHow accommodating workers with autism benefits employers — and all of us<\/a>
\n<\/strong>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

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These practices can help employers hire highly capable skilled workers with autism.<\/p>\n

And that means organizations can positively impact their bottom line and competitiveness while also achieving social justice and equity goals \u2014 a worthwhile effort indeed.<\/p>\n

\n

The author would like to acknowledge the important contributions of Tracy Powell-Rudy and Marcia Scheiner of Integrate Autism Employment Advisors, an organization that helps identify, recruit, and retain qualified professionals on the autism spectrum, to this research.<\/em><\/p>\n

[ Like what you\u2019ve read? Want more?<\/em> Sign up for The Conversation\u2019s daily newsletter<\/a>. ]\"The<\/p>\n

Katherine Breward<\/a>, Associate Professor, Business and Administration, University of Winnipeg<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Katherine Breward, University of Winnipeg The unemployment and underemployment of capable workers with autism is a well-documented phenomenon, as a British study showed. Employers are gradually getting better at recognizing the value of including neurodiverse people in their organizations, and information about accommodation strategies is starting to become more readily available. That said, these accommodations […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":17853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[42],"tags":[263,2975,6905,3472],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17857"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17857"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17860,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17857\/revisions\/17860"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}