Promoting Success for People with Autism by Using their Strengths – Just like Everyone Else: Obtaining Employment via a Portfolio

The Conundrum of the Interview

In the previous article I shared some ideas about the importance of finding employment matched to one’s interests and strengths.  Success in this area results in increased fulfillment and productivity in the workplace, which then has a positive spillover into one’s life in general.  While the benefits of a good employment situation cannot be overestimated a major challenge for everyone, autistic or otherwise, lies in leaping through the hurdle of having a successful interview on the way towards finding and securing a suitable position.

The social requirements for making it through the interview step are challenging to most people, whether on the autism spectrum or not.  This fact may explain the proliferation of interview self help books such as Interviewing for Dummies, consultants specializing in fine tuning one’s interview skills and other resources for making it through what often seems to be a ring of fire.  For most of us on the autism spectrum, the interview process is often all that much harder.  For example, a position is advertised and 10 out of 20 candidates interviewed may be suitable for the job.  However, the person obtaining the position will be the one who is the best at interviewing and develops a good relationship with the interviewer.

For people with autism, doing a task or job right is paramount.  The challenge is to find a way for the hiring manager or supervisor to learn about the abilities of a person on the autism spectrum before, instead of during the interview stage.

Supplementing the Interview Process Using a Portfolio or Example of One’s Work

Temple Grandin, in her books Thinking in Pictures: Reports from My Life with Autism and Developing Talents indicates that she bypassed the standard interview process by getting the person in charge of hiring interested in her work before even setting foot in the door of the company.  For example, in her efforts to obtain work related to her special interest – humane processing of cattle – Temple mailed architectural drawings she developed for efficient cattle processing.  These plans piqued the interests of the hiring manager sufficiently enough for him to contact Temple for further information; which eventually lead to employment.

As a teenager, repairing and building bicycles was one of my special interests.  This focused interest grew to such a point where I was able to tear down and rebuild a bicycle from the ball bearings in the bottom bracket to building wheels spoke by spoke.  As a result I had built a number of professional quality racing and touring bicycles.

I would ride to a bicycle shop and strike up a conversation with the manager – which inevitably would center on my custom-built bicycle that I brought in with me.  Using my bicycle as a sort of portfolio or example of my work, my competency in bicycle repair was well on its way to being established, and I would then ask the manager for a job.

My initial task at one store was to build 10 bicycles wheels from scratch.  A sub-interest within my special interest of bicycles the wheels were assembled in short order.  My employment at that shop lasted for four years.  This job was definitely much more suited for me than working as a busboy in a restaurant!

Summary

Looking for suitable employment can be very challenging; and even more so for people on the autism spectrum.  According to a recent study done by the National Autistic Society of England, the combined under and unemployment rate for people with autism approaches 90%.  As described above, part of the reason may lie in difficulties getting through the socially intensive interview process as a way to get someone interested in the skills and talents a person may have to offer the hiring organization.

A way to get a hiring manager or supervisor interested in one’s work may be to send a portfolio or example of a person’s work to pique their curiosity as to what the potential employee may have to bring to the organization.

Next month we shall look beyond the standard full and part time models of employment in order to explore different capacities in which a person with autism may engage in fulfilling and productive work.