To ask for these ‘reasonable’ adjustments interviewing with ASD

[ASDnocareer]

I have ASD and really struggle with interviewing. Whenever I get told tasks to prepare in advance I can do very well, as I have time to research and break down exactly what they’re asking from me.

However during actual interviews I’m a mess, I really struggle to understand what exactly they’re asking from me, combined with thinking quickly on the spot and end up going on a tangent or blanking because my mind is so overwhelmed. It’s embarrassing and taking anxiety medication as well as regular practice hasn’t prevented it

I find it really hard to know what to ask for when it comes to reasonable adjustments at interview stage, without being perceived as taking the piss. Usually, I just mention I’m autistic and please could the panel be aware I struggle with maintaining eye contact for prolonged periods.

However, recently I’m wondering if it would be fair for me to request having interview questions in advance?

Through googling reasonable adjustment for autistic candidates, sources such as University of Bath and Employment Autism charity both suggest this but I’m still conscious it will give a bad impression to employers, and scared hiring panel will think that I’m using autism as an excuse to get an easier interview.

It rather depends what the demands of the role are going to be. Is quick thinking on your feet a core skill? If so, then they do need to test it. If not, maybe it is a reasonable adjustment. Or maybe they should do the same for everyone.

I work in the public sector and we have been asked this by a couple of Autistic candidates and felt it was a very reasonable adjustment. We've now moved to giving all candidates the questions in advance, whether they're Autistic or not. We've found this helps us get the best out of people, we get meaningful and considered responses rather than people waffling because their nerves have gotten the better of them.

It depends on the role. In my role, you need to be able to think on your feet, fast. I couldn't hire someone who always needed questions in advance, they'd hate the role, it would cause them massive stress & dysfunction.

I worked in recruitment for years and was always happy to provide the questions in advance as a reasonable adjustment. I did an experiment once when I was hiring an apprentice for my team and provided all candidates with the interview questions a day ahead of time and made one of my best hires ever.

I would have no issue providing the questions in advance.

However,it would concern me if the role required quick thinking or rapid responses.

We provide the questions in advance … an interview shouldn’t be a memory test, or a pressure test, it’s about getting to know someone better.

DS applied for loads of degree apprenticeships and asked for questions in advance quite a few times. He found it was actually a good way of finding out how supportive and understanding a company was likely to be - and whether their 'disability confident' status actually meant anything or was just a tick box exercise. He found the perfect place for himself this way.

Definitely ask but be prepared for some to say no and offer you extra time instead - really helpful 😂.

I'm an academic. I can probably tell you now which questions are going to be asked in pretty much any interview for an academic post

Really depends on the role you are being interviewed for. If it requires making quick decisions based on information you receive at that moment then it would be unreasonable to give you some of the questions in advance as they would want to test your ability to problem solve in the moment receiving the info. If however the role is more “stable” and this type of decision making isn’t required then it isn’t unreasonable adjustment to ask for the questions in advance.

The worst they can say is no, but as an interviewer in many circumstances it might help get the best out of a candidate ( as a interviewer you can always spot the BS / scripts) but if you don’t ask the answer will always be no.

Everyone who's got the job at my place in the last couple of years has had ASD and they've all requested and received questions in advance.

Honestly I think they should give them to everyone as standard but yes, definitely do it! Imo if they refuse I don't think it's the kind of workplace I'd want to work for.

It is becoming standard practice to provide interview questions in advance to support neurodiverse candidates. We do but we provide them to all candidates rather than just people who request it or declare a disability etc.

I request this, of course the sensible thing is for the employer to provide them to everyone for fairness. One time (actually my current employer) they wouldn’t, because I think the panel hadn’t actually decided which questions they’d be using in sufficient time, but I was given themes and the questions were typed into the chat box (Teams interview) during the interview.

I think it's completely reasonable and I hope they do it for you. I'm also autistic and made the same request for my last job interview, but they wouldn't do it and just gave me some flannel about what vague form the interview would take. I did get the job even so, but I've found that they've been a rubbish employer from a neurodiversity point of view. For instance, they do a lot of large meetings by Teams and insist on doing 'icebreaker' activities at the beginning, where everyone has to, like, name their favourite vegetable and say why, or something stupid. I completely go blank in that sort of situation and have asked and asked and asked that they not pick me to go first (I don't mind doing it, just need a bit of thinking time) but because my name's at the beginning of the alphabet and I always turned up on time, they somehow still always did, with the result that I now skip as many meetings as possible. So my advice is to make your request, and if it's refused, bear that in mind when deciding if it's the job for you anyway.

I personally think it gives people an unfair advantage. If they give to one they should give to all

It is something I ask for in everyone, majority of times have been accommodated in some form, whether that’s sending out to everyone, sending out an hour before

I mean you can ask. My worry would be, if they did this for everyone, how many would use chatGPT for the perfect answer 😂

Sure. The unfair advantage of being disabled.

Should all those poor unfairly disadvantaged non disabled people be provided with a wheelchair, hearing aid and white stick each too?

I think you should ask and if they refuse or knock you down for it, it won’t be a supportive environment for you (I say this as someone with ASD as well but for me a ‘normal’ job is out of the question sadly).

We already get people using it in applications 😅 but so far at least it's still fairly easy to spot.
This thread has actually given me some food for thought. We interview a fair amount in my team, often for relatively junior roles and I wonder if giving everyone the questions a day ahead might improve performance. We see a lot of people who obviously don't know how to prepare for an interview.

That could easily be checked for by the interview also interviewing chatGPT.

My concern would be that it disadvantaged undiagnosed Autistic people. Although sending them to everyone would easily avoid that issue. But it is the job of the company to make sure the interview process is fair, and asking for the questions in advance means that the OP will not be at a disadvantage.

For my next interview I will ask for the questions to be given in writing as well as asked verbally, as I find when I get stressed I forget the detail of the question because I am so focused on my answer and also looking at the right person but acknowledging others, sitting still etc. I wouldn't be bothered about questions in advance as I'm always really well prepared and have enough to say I just lose the thread sometimes.

The DWP has access to work support, which can include a communication worker to attend interviews with you.

www.gov.uk/access-to-work

It might be worth looking into, especially if you claim PIP.

fair enough, I did worry it would still seem this way to some people.

The reason I’m thinking of requesting it is because autism significantly impairs my communication skills, and my ability to ‘sell’ myself which is very helpful when it comes to interviewing. Even when I take medication I still have high levels of anxiety related to asd. I personally feel having this condition puts me at a disadvantage 🤷‍♂️

I also didn’t make up the adjustment request out of thin air, academic bodies and autism charities suggest it.

Also public sector and we will give questions in advance (we then give to all candidates in advance). As we use a set competency framework the questions are never too much of a surprise, but it stops the panic when it's not quite framed in the way the candidate had prepared.

It's no problem at all.