How to Find Jobs for Autistic People: Should I Apply?
Learn How To Get A Job When You're Autistic
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Learn How To Get A Job When You're Autistic ă°ď¸
Hello, folks! Vanessa here. You may remember me from the professional writing class in the Spectroomz Academy. Iâve been helping curate jobs for the newsletter here as well. Weâve received lots of feedback about the jobs board and itâs been super helpful in sculpting how I look for the best jobs for autistic people.
One of the biggest issues that seems to come up is questioning, âShould I apply to this job?â
This question is usually in regards to how much professional experience you have, but there are several other things that I consider when looking for listings for you all. Some of the worst jobs for autistic people have nothing to do with how much experience you have.
No, the worst ones are the ones that will:
Demand too much masking from you
Have toxic cultures full of bullying
Be ambiguous about their needs from you
Have no room for growth
Will be poorly matched to your communication styles
Or will otherwise ask too much of you
So, I wanted to write this to show you some real-world examples of job descriptions and discuss what to look out for when deciding whether or not to apply.
Letâs start with the most pressing concern.
Should I apply if I donât meet the requirements?
Your current skill set isn't the most important part of you and employers know that.
One important sign of a good employer is that theyâll be upfront that they donât expect perfection from you. In fact, many job descriptions tell you directly to apply if youâre underqualified.
Even if they donât overtly state to apply anyway, it is common for people to assume you wonât âtick all the boxes.â
Honestly, even jobs that seem like the culture might be a little snotty -- like in the image below -- will still tell you that your current skills arenât the most important part.
Job requirements are there to communicate with you what the job will require. Eventually. Your fit within a team is more important.
No matter how little work experience you have, you are never without skills and experience of some kind. You ultimately need to show potential employers two important things:
That youâve learned specialized skills before in any capacity.
That youâre interested in learning the skills they need you to know.
Look at the next image for a real-world example of exactly this principle.
The same line of reasoning stands if you donât meet other forms of experience, specifically time requirements.
Itâs not reasonable for entry-level jobs to expect actual years of experience in something. You are allowed to ignore that. If you understand the lingo in the job description, youâre probably qualified to apply for an entry level job.
Also, trade schools, college degrees, online certifications, and professional development classes (even the free ones) all count as experience. So do hobbies. Itâs all skill acquisition. Having robust hobbies will tell an employer that youâre passionate about things, which is an important trait.
A good employer will overlook the time requirements in favor of your interest and engagement. Theyâll funnel you into training.
Actually, letâs talk more about that now.
What is their training plan?
As Iâve mentioned before, employers worth their salt will have a training plan in place for you. Itâs often left unsaid, but it should be assumed that almost no employer will expect you to step into a job at full capacity right away.
Even if youâre over-qualified for the position, youâll still need to learn the systems, needs, and intricacies of the company before you can take on full workloads within the position.
Look at the next image, where the company breaks down the onboarding process for new employees. Notice that itâs phrased in terms of months of learning and gradual increases in responsibilities. Iâve seen job listings break down the whole first year in this way, showing potential applicants exactly how their development will unfold.
Even if people donât think to include this in their job descriptions, you should assume something like this is part of their plan. If you encounter someone who wants you to already know everything (like the âno junior hiresâ listing weâll talk about in the culture section) then itâs likely that they arenât being reasonable.
Employers want to know that youâre interested in growing your skills. Thatâs a big part of why theyâre so willing to train you. They benefit from what you learn. Even repetitive jobs like data entry will need you to learn new programs or industry specific terminology.
Companies that will nurture your growth are more likely to continue valuing your contributions, which brings me to the next thing autistic people should look for in a job.
Do they offer continued professional development?
The best autistic employment opportunities will be the ones that offer professional development. Mentors, clear training expectations, and even the freedom to follow your own interests will benefit autistic people who are looking to have sustainable careers.
Look for employment opportunities that offer the training that fits best with your learning needs. Job descriptions will tell you if they offer mentorship. Theyâll often include continued training budgets into their benefits packages as well. Look at the image below for an example of this.
Examining an employerâs attitude about training is actually one of the first steps to determining the culture of the company you would work for.
What is the culture like?
Finding autistic employment opportunities that will be sustainable involves careful vetting of the workplace culture. Burnout is the biggest reason autistic adults give for quitting their jobs. The two things they say contribute to burnout the most: bullying in the workplace and a lack of accommodations.
Letâs look at some examples that Iâve collected from real job descriptions of things to be wary of when applying for a job.
Bullying/Lack of Accommodations:
At first, this may seem like a relief. âNo egosâ is a good thing. But then why mention it? The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
This actually does pop up from time to time. Iâve seen it in many job descriptions. But I got this next screenshot from the same job listing that said, âno jerks, no ego.â The aggressive wording and sarcastic quotes really demonstrate that there is in fact a huge ego in this company and it probably belongs to the person who wrote this.
A key piece of advice Iâd give to autistic people wondering how to find a job is to avoid places that stress how little oversight there is for the management. By stressing your need to deal with tough emotions, you can be assured youâll be bullied by someone, probably this person. In emphasizing that thereâs no HR, you can assume that there will be no accommodations or protection for you.
You can also assume that asking for any accommodations will not be met with sympathy and will make your work experience worse.
Letâs look at one more example of a place you wouldnât want to work at. The next picture is a classic sign of a bad employer in that they donât offer professional development.
First, that they have no part time work available is going to be about what you, as an autistic person, need in a job. This isnât a sign of toxic culture on its own. But, the reason thatâs given for the lack of part time is also important. It states that part-timers arenât loyal and therefore wonât produce quality work. Even if that were a valid point (which it isnât) the wording is extremely belittling.
When it states that the employer wouldnât even let you work for free, that indicates that your work will be exploited and you will be seriously underpaid. And emotionally abused on a near constant level.
Lastly, there are once again tons of signs that egos are a major factor in this workplace. These job descriptions are telling you that part of your job will be to avoid upsetting people who are giant babies.
You arenât going to catch every bully before they cross your path, but looking for signs in job descriptions will help you find job opportunities that are more likely to support you.
Letâs move away from bullying and look at another element of workplace culture thatâs important for autistic people to consider when seeking jobs.
Masking demands:
A workplace that has high demands for masking isnât necessarily a sign of a toxic culture. But, itâs still a heavy consideration for autistic adults who want to avoid burning out. A look at our first example for this section gives you a clear idea of what to look out for.
Obviously, an employer that expects eye contact AND active listening isnât one thatâs going to navigate an autstic employee very well. And you are well within your rights to avoid this job for your own peace of mind.
That being said, sometimes the language can be a bit trickier to pick out. Look at the highlighted text in the next example.
Thereâs a few phrases here that concern me: comfort with ambiguity, fast-paced, and always on. These phrases donât mean that the workplace is toxic, but they do represent job requirements that many autistic people will find exhausting.
I would be more likely to avoid this job because of these phrases than I would avoid it for its requests for experience. The above jobâs requirements of âextensive knowledgeâ of something is highly subjective, especially considering you canât really know anything extensively after only one year.
(Side note: notice how many times this image asks applicants to be ready to learn new skills.)
The last thing I think we should talk about is communication requirements on job listings.
Navigating communication requirements:
âStrong communication skillsâ is a vague statement that can mean many things. Itâs easy as an autistic adult to find this statement intimidating, because our communication is so often deeply misunderstood and dismissed.
But, itâs also something that people who write job descriptions add as a way to tick boxes. Itâs what everyone does so it has to be there. There are subtle ways that employers will tell you what kind of communication they want you to be strong at. For example, writers need to be strong communicators in completely different ways than customer service reps.
Sometimes, these requirements mean that youâll need to be good at diplomacy, networking, and relationship building. Sometimes, they want you to be good at writing emails or fluent in a language. So letâs look at a couple examples that will help you look for context about their expectations.
Over-requirements:
This is an example of a role that many autistic people will find absolutely exhausting. A significant portion of the roleâs description is dedicated to various communication requirements. You would need to know for certain that you were extroverted enough to handle this before you applied, regardless of any other experience requirements.
Itâs okay that this job needs these things. Itâs not a sign of a bad culture. But, it is a sign that youâll need to mask a LOT, which is a huge contributing factor to burnout.
The next example asks for something much different though.
This communication requirement is here because documentation will be a huge part of this job. It isnât asking you to be able to communicate with people in person, itâs asking that you convey your processes clearly so others can interact with your work. Itâs also asking you to be fluent in English.
These communication requirements seem more autistic friendly.
The Takeaway
Determining if you should apply for a job is about more than just meeting the experience requirements. Remember that the best jobs for autistic people are the ones that will allow us to meet our needs.
You can and should be encouraged to grow your professional skills in an actual workplace. You can definitely apply to a job youâre not fully qualified for.
Short on experience? We offer courses on SEO, email marketing, professional writing and more, autistic adults can pay what they want! Weâre always developing more, so let us know what you want to see!
About the writer
Iâm a writer, artist, and advocate who loves living in Maine among the trees and oceanside villages. Iâm also autistic, ADHD, and PTSD. My education, both academic and personal, has centered around mental health and neurodevelopmental disabilities, as well as discrimination and the socioeconomic consequences of living disabled in America. I work to plant seeds and spread ideas through my writing and will be among the autistic adults helping you understand your autistic kids better on Spectroomzâ Ask An Autistic. You can find me on Twitter @ladysnessa.