Welcome back to Reading the Research, where I trawl the Internet to find noteworthy research on autism and related subjects, then discuss it in brief with bits from my own life, research, and observations.
Today's article has some solid advice for autistic job-seekers. It's advice I've seen mirrored from self-advocates like Temple Grandin and John Elder Robison, though not in this exact way. And certainly not with this much statistical rigor to back them up.
While the study only covered specifically visible disabilities (wheelchair versus no wheelchair), I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if the results generalized to all visible disabilities and many invisible ones as well. Autism can be an invisible disability but all too often isn't.
Dr. Grandin and Mr. Robison's advice has been essentially: bring a portfolio and let it start the conversation for you. This study suggests that discussing that portfolio or your specific job-related skills ("hard" skills) increases your likelihood of being hired.
It frustrates, but doesn't surprise me, that candidates with disabilities were viewed as less trustworthy and less employable than their abled counterparts. People with disabilities always seem to have to prove we're just as good or better than everyone else, and it's frustrating and gets old fast. Between the rest of the song and dance required for surviving the traditional interview process, it's enough to put many autistic people off applying for jobs entirely.
At any rate, this study offers some useful tips for what tactics to try and which to avoid when applying for a job.
(Pst! If you like seeing the latest autism-relevant research, visit my Twitter, which has links and brief comments on studies that were interesting, but didn't get a whole Reading the Research article about them.)
No comments:
Post a Comment