Neurodiversity Career Connector: Finding Meaningful Employment
Neurodiversity Career Connector is a featured job marketplace that assists neurodiversity individuals in connecting with employers in the United States who are looking for neurodivergent candidates. The Neurodiversity @ Work Employer Roundtable, a consortium of 50 organizations devoted to neurodiversity-focused employment efforts, launched the site in 2017. The Roundtable aims to develop a community of companies which collaborate to foster understanding, awareness, and supporting structures that allow neurodivergent employees to flourish and reach their full potential. The following are some of companies engaged in the Neurodiversity @ Work Employer Roundtable: Aspiritech, Bank of America, CAI, Dell, Deloitte, EY, Fidelity, Ford, FreddieMac, Google, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Prudential, SAP, ThermoFisher Scientific, Travelers, Ultranauts, USBank, VMWare, WarnerMedia, Wells Fargo
ASU’s Fulton Schools of Engineering students can receive additional assistance through EASE (Employment Assistance & Social Engagement)
General interviewing tips for neurodiverse candidates Find more career and specific interviewing tips on the Engineering Career Center’s website.
- Research the company to feel confident.
- Prepare for the interview by practicing beforehand.
- Read the qualifications, then develop brief stories about how you meet the qualification through classes, class and personal projects, internships and work.
- Write down some bullet points to help you stay on point.
- Stand in front of a mirror or have a friend ask you questions for you to answer. They don’t have to know the answers. They can give you feedback on how you answered.
- Before the interview, visualize and employ positive self-talk that you are qualified.
- Dress professionally.
- If you are not used to dressing-up, wear your outfit for an hour or two every couple of days for a week before your interview. It’s okay if it’s less often. The idea is to get used to the feel of the clothes on your skin and become accustom to their sound as you move around.
- Use the STAR (Situation-Task-Action- Response) approach to make your replies concise and clear. Refer to the interviewing presentation on our website for STAR details and examples.
- Write down bullet points to help you stay on point.
- During the interview, pay attention to what you say, how you say it, and how much you say.
- Interviewers understand you might be nervous, just like most candidates.
- Pay attention to the body language and gestures used during the interview.
- You are not required to do so, however if you are comfortable, it can be useful to inform the interviewer that you are neurodivergent.
Neurodiversity commonly includes but is not limited to autism, ADHD, dyspraxia, dyslexia, dyscalculia, and/or Tourette’s. For a variety of reasons, neurodivergent adults who want to work professionally are frequently left out of the workforce or forced into lower-skill jobs. Non-inclusive hiring and retention practices, a lack of employer education and training, an absence of on-the-job support ecosystems, and skill differences or needs that often do not align with standard business operations all contribute to the issue. A neurodivergent condition affects an estimated 15% to 20% of the world’s population. Autism affects around 2% of American adults, which is the initial focus of many neurodiversity employment programs. Organizations are recognizing the value of hiring neurodivergent individuals. Their ability to think out of the box and produce creative solutions and ideas adds significant value.