Any Job interview tips for Aspies?

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Roninninja
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04 Sep 2012, 7:07 pm

I work in the IT sector. I have all the high level technical abilities required for the job, but I feel like my awkward job interviews keep me from getting the job. I tend to speak faster than usual and have a tendency to over analyze job interview questions. I'm looking for some reliable tips (doesn't necessarily have to pertain to Aspies) to help me get past the interview stage. I have an employment agency that offers classes in finding a job that i'm thinking of giving a shot. Any advice would help! :D



AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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04 Sep 2012, 7:15 pm

l learned C++ and looked for a job in 2000 (yes, twelve years ago).

What I found is that human resource departments focus overwhelmingly on years of corporate experience.



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04 Sep 2012, 7:18 pm

Yes, probably will help to slow down the speech a little, just don't over do it.

Like a presidential campaign, you're mainly looking to sidestep potential landmines and not make any big mistakes. You're not necessarily trying to hit it out of the park. Think Joe Biden in the 2008 Vice-presidential debate. It's more about a steady-eddie B game.



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04 Sep 2012, 7:35 pm

Uhh... I'm in the same boat, I want to work within the IT sector since graduating and specializing in Systems Design. I have been unemployed since leaving school eight years ago. Interviews in the past almost straight away turned bad, citing not sounding enthusiastic enough, too slow to ask general questions, sounding too quiet or I get turned off the job that has hidden emphasis on social interaction, work too quickly, non-routined etc. An alternative somewhere may be job hunter schemes to get the disabled jobs without interview, Remploy is/was a British company to employ all disabilities and all capabilities, until government funding was cut... Looks like I'm out of luck in this economic climate...


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NoGyroApproach
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04 Sep 2012, 11:21 pm

My suggestions to an aspie or non aspie
1) Personal appearance. Make sure you are fresh and clean. This includes trimmed nails, combed hair and clean clothes. This tells the interviewer that this job is important to you.
2) Be on time or 10 to 15 minutes early. This also tell them this job means a lot to you.
3) Keep your answers straight and to the point. They usually have a set amount of time between interviews, the interviewer will ask you to elaberate if needed.
4) Don't be negative and don't say bad things about your last job.

One tip for the resume- Don't put a lot of bull crap fluff in there. Interviewers skim through lots of resumes, they don't read the BS. They look for the meat. They want to know your job experience/skills. Make sure the resume is well organized in an easy to read format. A disorganized resume means the person is most likely not very organized.

These are just my thoughts-
PS I have had to read through a lot of resumes and you wouldn't believe the useless and untrue crap that is in there. Half the time when you question the job applicant about the stuff written in the resume you begin to wonder if the resume even belongs to the applicant.

Best of luck at your interview.


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Roninninja
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04 Sep 2012, 11:41 pm

Thank you all for your advice! I'm also practicing with my Dad which really helps!



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05 Sep 2012, 12:28 am

PerfectlyDarkTails wrote:
. . . citing not sounding enthusiastic enough, too slow to ask general questions, sounding too quiet or I get turned off the job that has hidden emphasis on social interaction . . .

Would a strategy of measured disclosure and partial disclosure potentially be helpful? For example, maybe something like,

'And I'm a nerd. Which I suppose means I have somewhat patchy social skills, but then don't we all in one way or the other.'

The goal is to be light, relatively brief. And then tell the positive parts of being a nerd, first and foremost for IT the ability to dive into technical subjects.

And other people might have even better ideas on how to promote this.



BlueMax
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05 Sep 2012, 12:52 am

Remember to wear a small smile or relatively friendly face! You see it so often with WP avatars using their real picture - the flat, neutral face can often look unfriendly and negative - that can be a job-killer!



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05 Sep 2012, 9:46 am

Smile! If you have to Practice it.

Answer the question asked. In a recent thread someone was asked how they felt about meeting new people. They said it frightened them. The question was in the context of working in a store and providing help like "where can I find x"

Google interview questions. A lot of them are reused over and over. Few people take the time to write unique interview questions for each job.



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06 Sep 2012, 6:52 pm

BlueMax wrote:
Remember to wear a small smile or relatively friendly face! You see it so often with WP avatars using their real picture - the flat, neutral face can often look unfriendly and negative - that can be a job-killer!

I respectfully disagree. We are not auditioning to be morning talk show host (at least not most of us :wink: )

A fake or phoney smile, that can really throw someone off, too.

I think, be more middle of the road, give yourself permission to smile, but a little hold it back, a little bit underdo it.

Remember, there might be a second interview. And if and when you get the job, it's just a regular job, and these are just people you're going to be seeing every day. No need to overdo.