Advice for looking for a homeworking graduate job

phantasmalblaze

Hello, I have a very particular query and I am unsure where to turn for advice as nobody has been able to help me so far.

I am a final year undergraduate student whom is trying to work out how to get into the world of work from home. I am autistic and have ADHD. Because of this I'm not able to handle full time work in the workplace. This is because I need a very particular working environment to be able to work. Hence I have to work from home to stand any chance of getting a career. 

I am aware that I can request this as a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010 if I land a job in the workplace. However I know that it is unlikely this will happen due to how frequently employers discriminate during the hiring process (and my visible autistic traits will work against me). Instead, I intend to look for specific jobs where the work is done remotely with only occasional in-person meetings or commutes if required.

A lot of dedicated work-from-home positions I've seen online require experience and are aimed at older people and parents. I will be 22 when I graduate and have limited experience in the workplace so I am far from the ideal candidate. I am unsure where I can find homeworking graduate jobs for young people. I need stable work hence would rather not try to freelance.

I also know I will need to move out of my parents' home so I can set up a home office that complies with UK health and safety regulations. I know I will need to do this before looking for homeworking jobs as employers will assume that I will already have one. I don't know how I am going to do this though.

Does anybody know what I should do? Where can I find a homeworking graduate job? Which employers are more likely to hire me? I really don't know what to do and am stressing about all this due to the uncertainty.

Thanks in advance.

Pippa_Alumni

Hi @phantasmalblaze, and a warm welcome to the community!

Thanks for sharing this with us, and hang in there! I was in a really similar position myself when I graduated, but the good news is that more awareness of this issue means that there will be likely more accessible jobs in the future. You can also find more information about employers' duties and reasonable adjustments on Scope's website.

Hopefully an employment advisor will be in touch soon, but in the meantime you may like to check out Scope's Support to Work programme. Perhaps it'd be something to consider when you graduate! 

Guy_Scope

Homeworking jobs are difficult to come across and you are right they do tend to be aimed at people with previous experience. Have you had a look at Employability www.employ-ability.org.uk/ they are a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to assisting students and graduates with all disabilities, including dyslexia or long term health conditions, into employment. 

phantasmalblaze

Thank you both for your responses.

I did go to my careers office at my home university but haven't had much help so far. I got advised to consider having multiple part time jobs which isn't helpful due to reasons already stated. I did recently get assigned a new advisor so hopefully they can help me out with more specific advise for my degree path.

I also got advised that maybe I might be limiting myself too much, yet I have to limit myself due to my disabilities. Though judging by all the responses I've had from various sources (including here) dedicated work-from-home jobs for graduates probably do not exist which saddens me.

I did have a look at EmployAbility. I plan to contact them in the future. I noticed a lot of the schemes they have places for tend to be themed around technology and the law which don't match my current skills. I hope their support will still be helpful though.