Why Asperger's candidates fail in job interviews
Scene 1: The interviewer enters the room, gives her hand to the candidate and greets him looking him in the eye. The candidate doesn’t shake hands and avoids eye contact.
The interviewer thinks “That’s rude. Doesn't he have any manners?” The candidate may think "I hate sweaty hands".
Scene 2: The interviewer makes a joke to break the ice. The joke fells flat and the candidate doesn’t even smile.
She thinks “Is he really that humorless or is he too arrogant to ignore my joke?” He may think "I don't get it".
Scene 3: The interviewer asks the first question: “Tell me about yourself”. The candidate looks at the floor and fidgets with his pen.
Time passes by. She thinks "If he cannot answer such a simple question, how can he cope with the heavy workload?"
He may think “What does she mean? What am I supposed to say?” and he fidgets with his pen.
Scene 4: The interviewer, already annoyed with the previous scenes, she stares at him and thinks
“He doesn’t pay any attention to what I’m asking, he doesn’t give me an answer to a simple question and he is playing with his pen.
” The candidate cannot concentrate; there is a light blinking on the ceiling. He thinks “I cannot stand it, why don’t they fix it?”
Scene 5: The interviewer thinks “he seems like a waste of time. I have four more interviews to go.
I have to be quick.” and she continues with the next question: "Why should we hire you?’’
The candidate is in sweat now and some minutes later he replies: “Well, I don’t know. It’s your decision, not mine”.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-aspergers-candidates-fail-job-interviews-marina-prifti
