Not getting past interview stage

ACovGal

My autistic daughter has applied for hundreds of jobs and had lots of job interviews but is never getting an offer. She has been told by the companies that she is too timid and shy. She has told them she is autistic so I just don't get how they can't understand it. How can she get them to understand that it's just the interview process that makes her extremely anxious and she can do the job. She is 17 and looking to work in retail/hospitality part time

rubin16

I'm afraid we live in an age where theres literally hundreds of applicants for each job role at the moment and employers can be really fussy on who they choose. The only way I've managed to do a job interview is if someone sits me down and does a mock interview with me first and has some common interview questions lined up for me. Your daughter needs to practice doing interviews so she can get used to them more and knows and is prepared for what might happen in them, its also worth always having some of her own questions lined up too to ask.

Scope could potentially help your daughter with mock interviews and do an employment service; see below:

https://www.scope.org.uk/employment-services

Biblioklept

In retail and hospitality they want someone bubbly and confident, or that can at least fake it - the job is about putting customers at ease, so unfortunately unless she can find a way to push through (and I say this as a fellow highly anxious autistic person), then she will find it really difficult to land this sort of work. She'd be better off going for roles behind the scenes until she builds confidence, kitchens, pot collector, shelf stacking etc, and get both the confidence and work experience ❤️

One thing I used to find helpful is remembering as much as they are interviewing you, you are interviewing THEM! Interviews aren't just about them figuring you out, it's about you assessing them and deciding whether they are people you want to work for/with. It helped me feel a bit more in control and distracted some of my brain power from being anxious!

Good luck to her ❤️

Andi66

Could she try volunteering in a charity shop, this could help jer confidence. Try b&m , my daughter works there and she's autistic and definitely not bubbly. She could do shelf filling etc

OverlyAnxious

I got a part time job in retail when I was 18, though I think it was easier to get jobs back then. I was sent for an interview at the same time as one other person my age, and we both given the job immediately! That was set up by the Job Centre so maybe they were only sending people who they thought fitted the job.

Sadly I was put on till and always struggled with it. I did a bit of shelf-filling when it was quiet and I much preferred doing that. I did ask to move to shelf-filling permanently but was told no, I'd have to stay on tills. In the end I was struggling with it so much I couldn't even get into work half the time, and eventually stopped altogether, didn't even work my notice. I never told them about any of my medical conditions, although Autism wasn't even on my radar at that time, I simply didn't know enough about it to understand that's where a lot of my problems came from.

After that I didn't work for a while. I did get interviews a few years later, one setup by a friend, and the other I applied to online, was told at both of them I was too shy (or words to that effect) and didn't get either job. By that time, I think there were more candidates for each job, so they could afford to be more picky. It was disheartening not to be given the opportunity, but I also understand it from their side, they just need to make as much profit as possible, that's the main purpose of any business, and I don't think they should be forced to take on people who aren't the best option, just because of diversity quotas.