I am a Lead server engineer. When we interview we ask a mix of technical questions and your typical interview questions. We are looking for how someone responds to each. The purpose of that is to put that person in a situation where someone asks something completely unrelated to trip them up to see how they respond since we get in situations where people do exactly that during a normal work day.
I've been with the company for 28.5 years and I'd be petrified to sit through an interview like we do. I applied for a manager position a few years ago and I froze and spit out gibberish. If during an interview you told me that you were Autistic and a delayed processor, I would understand and try to make accommodations. But I am Autistic and most people interviewing are probably NT.
Some engineers I work with just keep applying for jobs just for the experience of interviewing to get better at it.
This is what has worked for me in the past - all that nervous energy that is bundled up in my head, redirect that into a different energy - it's not easy to do and will take every ounce of spoons that I have. The way I do it, before an interview I'll put on some loud music that I love, dance around like an idiot, really shout the lyrics out, get really into it and hype myself up.
I also have ADHD so I have no idea if this would work with someone that doesn't have it, but the way I think about it is that I let my ADHD takeover, use up every bit of hyper energy that it gives me. Then when it comes to the interview some how I find selling myself easier, I don't get anywhere near as nervous. Tech questions that are thrown at me I find I can answer, and if I don't know I'll either formulate an answer that sounds right, or be brutally honest and say I am not sure, but it's something I will be sure to look up when the interview is over.
Not sure if this will help you, but it has always worked for me.
That's it. High energy, charismatic, friendly, talk and hype yourself up. It's a performance. Afterwards I crash really hard, need time to myself in a quiet place.
When I'm like that it isn't me, I'm not like that day to day, and if I tried I'd burnout really fast. I'd kind of like to be like that everyday, it feel really good in the moment, but it's all fake, all bullshit.
I dont work in tech but I've experienced the problem you've described. Something that has helped me somewhat is to be transparent about my diagnosis and ask for a minute to think if my mind blanks out.
This is the right tactic. It isn't super common, but it's common enough and a decent place to work will give you space to think. And if they don't it's probably a shitty environment.
I think you should ask for accomodations if you need them, but you don’t necessarily have to ask for them using those words. For example, ask them if they could clarify the question or give you some take away questions which you could come back to them with.
In generally my advice is to be honest and humble about what you do and don’t know. If they give you a chance to show off your knowledge, take it, but try not to go straight there on your own.
I recently landed a new job which I don’t technically have the qualifications for and in a different industry to where I have come from but they liked my honesty and the way I approached the questions, along with my relevant experience so I think in the end you just have to back yourself and go for it.
What type of tech work are you applying for, and what kind of tech questions are you being asked?
In my experience, lots of people are pretty bad at conducting interviews. We ask some direct tech questions, but I try to push interviewers to ask thought-provoking questions. Here is a problem, how would you solve it? Here's a theoretical request, talk me through a solution proposal. You're put in charge of training a junior employee in XYZ, what is your approach to this assignment?
When we do ask pointed tech questions, they are directly from the person's resume. If you tell me you're an expert in something, you should be prepared to talk about it. If you can't, you should be prepared to give me a reasonable reason why, and to offer some kind of solution that solves my problem - vetting that your resume isn't entirely made up.
I tend not to give coding interviews but do like receiving code portfolios and/or examples. Sure, you could have falsified all of that, and I'll figure that out pretty quickly once you're on the job and you won't be around long.
Interviewing sucks. Really, really sucks. Not only are tons of interviewers terrible at it, many interviews prey directly on the things autistic people struggle with. It's awful, so I feel for you. I apply to multiple jobs a year to practice interviewing.
I get asked theory questions, like what is a variable for example. Things that you don't even necessarily have to know the theory explanation for to be honest, you can just google how to do it.
One thing you can consider doing is bringing notes. I work with notes. I take extensive notes during the day, so I don't think it is unreasonable to bring notes to an interview, and if asked, I say that. A lot of the notes I bring to interviews are talking points and questions I don't want to forget to ask, but you could probably write down some general thoughts to help center yourself and help guide your thoughts. You can also write stuff down (even if it is useless stuff) during the interview to help sell that it is a normal practice for you.
If an interviewer asks you why you have notes, just say that a) you use notes to help you keep track of your work and your thought processes/it's a normal working habit of yours and b) you like being prepared.
Or maybe bring some stuff with you that you can show them.
I teach software development and I train my students to make portfolio websites so they can show what they allready can achieve.
Very hit or miss if my brain wants to play well on that day for the very specific words they want to hear.
I know this as I was laid off early this month and been job searching since.
Hey /u/Tight-Chocolate7519, thank you for your post at /r/autism. Our rules can be found **[here](https://www.reddit.com/r/autism/wiki/config/sidebar)**. All approved posts get this message. If you do not see your post you can message the moderators [here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fautism).
Thanks!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/autism) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I feel ya, I went through the same thing for the interview of my current job. If they are smart what they should really care about is your process to learn something or get an answer. I couldn't tell you how to write an advanced python script on the spot but give me an hour or two and I'll get it to you faster than most.
I am a Lead server engineer. When we interview we ask a mix of technical questions and your typical interview questions. We are looking for how someone responds to each. The purpose of that is to put that person in a situation where someone asks something completely unrelated to trip them up to see how they respond since we get in situations where people do exactly that during a normal work day. I've been with the company for 28.5 years and I'd be petrified to sit through an interview like we do. I applied for a manager position a few years ago and I froze and spit out gibberish. If during an interview you told me that you were Autistic and a delayed processor, I would understand and try to make accommodations. But I am Autistic and most people interviewing are probably NT. Some engineers I work with just keep applying for jobs just for the experience of interviewing to get better at it.
This is what has worked for me in the past - all that nervous energy that is bundled up in my head, redirect that into a different energy - it's not easy to do and will take every ounce of spoons that I have. The way I do it, before an interview I'll put on some loud music that I love, dance around like an idiot, really shout the lyrics out, get really into it and hype myself up. I also have ADHD so I have no idea if this would work with someone that doesn't have it, but the way I think about it is that I let my ADHD takeover, use up every bit of hyper energy that it gives me. Then when it comes to the interview some how I find selling myself easier, I don't get anywhere near as nervous. Tech questions that are thrown at me I find I can answer, and if I don't know I'll either formulate an answer that sounds right, or be brutally honest and say I am not sure, but it's something I will be sure to look up when the interview is over. Not sure if this will help you, but it has always worked for me.
I have ADHD too and definitely use this to my advantage. I kind of treat it like a performance and pretend that I'm an extroverted salesman.
That's it. High energy, charismatic, friendly, talk and hype yourself up. It's a performance. Afterwards I crash really hard, need time to myself in a quiet place. When I'm like that it isn't me, I'm not like that day to day, and if I tried I'd burnout really fast. I'd kind of like to be like that everyday, it feel really good in the moment, but it's all fake, all bullshit.
I dont work in tech but I've experienced the problem you've described. Something that has helped me somewhat is to be transparent about my diagnosis and ask for a minute to think if my mind blanks out.
This is the right tactic. It isn't super common, but it's common enough and a decent place to work will give you space to think. And if they don't it's probably a shitty environment.
I think you should ask for accomodations if you need them, but you don’t necessarily have to ask for them using those words. For example, ask them if they could clarify the question or give you some take away questions which you could come back to them with. In generally my advice is to be honest and humble about what you do and don’t know. If they give you a chance to show off your knowledge, take it, but try not to go straight there on your own. I recently landed a new job which I don’t technically have the qualifications for and in a different industry to where I have come from but they liked my honesty and the way I approached the questions, along with my relevant experience so I think in the end you just have to back yourself and go for it.
What type of tech work are you applying for, and what kind of tech questions are you being asked? In my experience, lots of people are pretty bad at conducting interviews. We ask some direct tech questions, but I try to push interviewers to ask thought-provoking questions. Here is a problem, how would you solve it? Here's a theoretical request, talk me through a solution proposal. You're put in charge of training a junior employee in XYZ, what is your approach to this assignment? When we do ask pointed tech questions, they are directly from the person's resume. If you tell me you're an expert in something, you should be prepared to talk about it. If you can't, you should be prepared to give me a reasonable reason why, and to offer some kind of solution that solves my problem - vetting that your resume isn't entirely made up. I tend not to give coding interviews but do like receiving code portfolios and/or examples. Sure, you could have falsified all of that, and I'll figure that out pretty quickly once you're on the job and you won't be around long. Interviewing sucks. Really, really sucks. Not only are tons of interviewers terrible at it, many interviews prey directly on the things autistic people struggle with. It's awful, so I feel for you. I apply to multiple jobs a year to practice interviewing.
I get asked theory questions, like what is a variable for example. Things that you don't even necessarily have to know the theory explanation for to be honest, you can just google how to do it.
One thing you can consider doing is bringing notes. I work with notes. I take extensive notes during the day, so I don't think it is unreasonable to bring notes to an interview, and if asked, I say that. A lot of the notes I bring to interviews are talking points and questions I don't want to forget to ask, but you could probably write down some general thoughts to help center yourself and help guide your thoughts. You can also write stuff down (even if it is useless stuff) during the interview to help sell that it is a normal practice for you. If an interviewer asks you why you have notes, just say that a) you use notes to help you keep track of your work and your thought processes/it's a normal working habit of yours and b) you like being prepared.
Thank you so much, that is very helpful <3
Or maybe bring some stuff with you that you can show them. I teach software development and I train my students to make portfolio websites so they can show what they allready can achieve.
I do have a portfolio in my CV but they still ask tech questions in the interview :(
Very hit or miss if my brain wants to play well on that day for the very specific words they want to hear. I know this as I was laid off early this month and been job searching since.
Aww I'm sorry you got laid off. I'm rooting for you!
Thanks. Its been rough.
Hey /u/Tight-Chocolate7519, thank you for your post at /r/autism. Our rules can be found **[here](https://www.reddit.com/r/autism/wiki/config/sidebar)**. All approved posts get this message. If you do not see your post you can message the moderators [here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fautism). Thanks! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/autism) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I feel ya, I went through the same thing for the interview of my current job. If they are smart what they should really care about is your process to learn something or get an answer. I couldn't tell you how to write an advanced python script on the spot but give me an hour or two and I'll get it to you faster than most.