For many people, Job hunting is easy to do. For people with autism or who are neurodivergent, the increasing popularity of the use of Application Tracking Systems can impact any chance of getting a job within the tech industry. The days of just getting a job with an application are sadly over, the ATS system will generally check the application and will make an informed decision about whether or not to even pass that application you wrote, to the recruitment manager.
How can we beat the application tracking system?
The best way would be to educate those who are struggling on how to deal with the application tracking system.
How should your cv look?
First off you will need to make sure your cv is styled in a way that will be easily readable by an ATS system. Make sure your contact details are at the top, your summary of yourself should come next, followed by skills and qualifications. You should also include projects you have worked on, including projects you were the project manager. Also, make sure not to include too many buzzwords. Skills like leadership skills are only good in a cv if you can show examples of where those leadership skills come into play, the main issue with ATS systems is that it also picks up any tics someone may have on the cv, something that affects most people with autism.
Why phone interviews and video calls aren't the best choices for those who are neurodivergent.
Next, should your cv pass the criteria, it will be sent to the hiring manager. They may contact you for an interview whether this is over the phone or via a video call, or a face-to-face interview. Now I don't know about you but doesn't it feel weird or off-putting to someone with autism to do a video call or phone call? It sure did to me, when I had my first interview which was a phone call, I was a nervous wreck, believe me, when I say, it wasn't easy. But never the less, I kept on with the interview and smashed it. But many people with autism feel as though they can't do phone calls. This is mostly because they aren't familiar with the employer, it's like meeting someone for the first time, but you can't see them. You don't know what they are like or what they look like.
Why Technical interviews are hard for those who are neurodivergent
After this comes the technical interview and wow, those tests are harder than you expect. Although I can't go into details about the tests I had to do. I can tell you that timed tests like that are not only overly challenging for someone with autism, but they are taxing on the brain and also can knock your confidence if you don't feel you have done well enough to pass them.
I hope this article has been helpful to you all, especially those who have autism like me.