Job interviews

Job interviews are a challenge for everyone. Having special needs simply make them harder.

Imagine a two-day process when you cannot recognise faces.... The panel tend to wear different colours on the second day (as do the other candidates) and I cannot identify them. Most people do not know about prosopagnosia and so feel that when I have to ask for names again it is me demonstrating a lack of manners. Or I explain prosopagnosia and the other person responds with "Oh, I'm not good at remembering everyone's name either", it is not the same thing!

I understand why schools choose fishbowl exercises. For someone with special needs these can be an absolute minefield! The worst case scenario is when other candidates are responding to each other's implicit points and I feel like I'm constantly playing catch up as I process everything going on. This is made even harder by everyone wanting their voice to be heard and using tones that overwhelm my whole body. You know that feeling when the bass is too loud and you can feel it and it makes your stomach turn? Voices can do the same thing! It's an odd sensation. [Though ironically wearing noise cancelling headphones doesn't help me either, I simply become overwhelmed by the sound of my heartbeat and breathing!]

Then there's the actual interview. When I'm relaxed I can identify implicit questions. In the stress of an interview situation I can only answer the explicit. Ironically in an interview at a school for Autistic students I was asked questions such as:

"explain how you have improved education for a student" 

I answered the question by talking about a student who had failed her AS exams before taking the tough decision to restart her course and succeeding. The feedback was that I talked too much about individual students and not enough about whole school strategies. None of the questions had been worded for whole school and I didn't relax enough to interpret the implicit. I have learnt from this experience and now ask if I have answered the intended question. 

My school teachers used to be very frustrated with my ability to answer exam questions. I answer a question until I feel it is answered which often means I haven't really answered at all. Lol. It is great when an interview panel appreciates the challenge of Autism and provide me with sub questions. I am not looking for positive discrimination for us Autistic Women. I would love a level playing field. 

I remember offending a colleague once who told me I needed to schedule a PMR review meeting; I replied asking for her to email me some possible times and then asked what the R stood for. She called me a ******* sarcastic ***** and stormed off. I was left wondering what I'd done now to offend. I went over the conversation again and again with no luck until I explained it later and it was pointed out that R stood for review. I had not intended to offend and feel I am judged by others standards. Why can my words and actions not be taken at face value?