Why Traditional Interviews Don’t Work for The Neurodiverse Community, and What Can Be Done

BY MATT KNIGHT

As many neurodiverse and other disabled people know, the traditional job interviewing process is massively flawed. In my own experience of submitting over 3,000 job applications and attending more than 100 interviews in the span of 9 years, I have come to realize that it is mostly an exercise in memorization, having good control over your emotions, and making a good first impression. As a result, the interviewer must rely mostly on their instincts to find the”right” candidate since the interviewee may give”cookie cutter” answers that can be manipulative, inauthentic, or embellished.

Also, the traditional interview process does virtually nothing to critically examine one’s skillset with regard to the job duties and how well one reacts to stress and roadblocks while working. It simply shows how one can communicate in a particular setting (i.e., can you mask well enough to function in this role/team/company/etc.?).

Sadly, that makes it harder for neurodiverse people to get hired, myself included. More often than not, interviewers are looking for normal, extroverted individuals with enough social skills to flatter the interviewers into thinking that they are a good”culture fit” and won’t be a burden to the team. Many neurodiverse individuals aren’t outgoing and find it hard to exhibit the kind of social skills that an interview requires. Others may need special accommodations to complete an interview but have a hard time admitting or verbalizing that. Starting from the assumption that an interviewer has already seen a candidate’s resume or online application, here is my”All Inclusive Showcase” interviewing method/process that I think would be a massive improvement over the current one:

1. For initial screening, use email conversations instead of phone interviews. This is helpful for quality neurodiverse candidates who simply have a different verbal communication style and can’t sell themselves as well as neurotypical candidates. Additionally,

1. Anything that can be asked in a phone screen can be said in an email.

2. If one or both parties have an accent or speech impediment, misunderstandings are reduced.

3. Behavior and body language cannot be observed.

2. Ask candidates 2-3 general questions and give them a time limit to send a reply. Failure to answer all questions within the time limit automatically disqualifies the candidate. Candidates could be given the option of recording responses in a video or audio format where it makes sense.

1. What are some of your strengths/weaknesses?

2. What’s your ideal company/ manager/work environment/etc.?

3. What are your goals?

4. Why did you leave (or why are you leaving) your last/current job?

For neurodiverse/disabled individuals, ask them to elaborate how their divergence/ disability may impact their work.

1. Consider administering one of the more widely accepted personality tests, such as Big 5, Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ 32i), or Extended DISC Assessment.

2. Ask candidates to submit a portfolio of previous work. Depending on the industry, this could include published work, photos, coding projects, data analyses, research projects, written or graphic content, art, drawings and designs, examples of coding, and much more.

3. If not already included in the resume, ask candidates to provide a list of certifications and scores from industryspecific examinations, if applicable.

4. Have candidates participate in practical exams or job auditions, where they can show their experience and expertise given a specific scenario and a defined amount of time. In the IT world, this might include diagnosing device problems and fixing them, writing or correcting code, or creating a user flow.

1. In sales and marketing, the candidate could create a brief pitch of a product or service.

2. In almost any field, a candidate could be asked to demonstrate skills or carry out tasks alongside the individuals they would be working with.

5. Finally, provide an opportunity for candidates to ask questions of the interviewer and vice versa.

Admittedly, my”All-Inclusive Showcase” interviewing process is more time consuming than the traditional process, since it takes a”quality over quantity” approach. This can be mitigated somewhat by group interviews or auditions, such as what is done in the NFL, NBA and MLB Draft Combines and in casting calls in the entertainment industry. While the hiring process will always boil down somewhat to the inherent biases of the interviewer and what they want in a candidate, I do think that a process that focuses on the demonstration of actual skills or knowledge is a more fair and effective way to evaluate candidates, whether they are neurotypical or neurodivergent. The core issue regarding interviews (and employment) that I think is happening is that employers use “culture fit” as a way of separating candidates too often. In order for the neurodiverse community to get a more even footing, employers need to start placing more emphasis on merit (or measured potential for entry level jobs). The way I see it, if a few industries have managed to discover and perfect job auditions, I see no reason why the rest of the corporate world should not follow suit.