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Applying for jobs is stressful. We’re pretty sure that nobody, not even that one guy you know from the gym who thinks he’s the next Alan Sugar, actually enjoys it. And it can be a very difficult part of your life, especially if you’re looking for a first role or a job that can adequately support you and your family.
And when you’re neurodiverse, things might feel even more difficult. The hiring landscape is a maze, and it can often prompt fears that your neurodiversity might hold you back in some way, or that some workplaces won’t suit how you need to work to do your best. It’s a problem that is evident across almost every industry, and there are some phrases in our hiring lexicon that might leap out at neurodiverse candidates that feel like a red flag. It’s about solving the issue, as well as deleting the words from your job posting- so here are four of the biggest problem phrases we found, as well as how to deal with them at a hiring level.
‘A Good Cultural Fit’
Let’s talk about what this really means. Maybe you’re looking for somebody who will just slot seamlessly into your existing office set-up and gel immediately with all the processes you have in place – and that’s fine, but it leans dangerously towards hiring homogeneity. Workplaces function because different people do different jobs, and it’s wrong to expect everybody to fit in with each other like cogs in a well-oiled machine when we’re all the product of different experiences. Neurodiverse hires might not look like the neurotypical hires in your office: people with ADHD might be louder and more enthusiastic than what you’re used to, or they could be quiet and daydream a lot; people with autism may love conversation but miss social cues, or even want to take a step back from the social side of working. People who have dyslexia might want to work differently, in a quieter place that lets them focus, or they might find that in your quiet and studious office, they respond the best to in-person debate and conversation. And some people may look towards hybrid working, some other people may want to be in the office, and some people may even need to change your meticulously-designed ticketing or email system in order to work the way that’s best for them. And that’s fine – we all respond differently to different things. Different viewpoints drive innovation, and it’s important to make sure you’re not just hiring based on who you think will ‘fit in’ the best.
There might be a bubbly, open candidate who’s passable at graphic design, or a quiet, reserved candidate who’s excellent at it- but withdraws a little from the office social world due to struggling with social cues or social anxiety. Hire the skills, not the personality – it generally doesn’t matter that much if they sit with their headphones in all day, or skip out on your after-work drinks to hang out with their dog at home, and they might just be able to bring an idea to the table that nobody’s thought of yet too.
‘Thick Skin’
Every workplace is full of different people and systems with different eccentricities, egos and ways of communicating – there will be folks and tasks you get on with and ones that you don’t so much. But one major red flag for somebody neurodiverse who’s looking for a new position could be that your job posting mentions having ‘thick skin’ or ‘being able to deal with criticism’. Not only does it imply that the successful candidate will potentially be expected to deal with stressful and hurtful situations, it also means that they’ll be expected to be able to respond to it in the expected way – which isn’t always possible.
Rejection-Sensitive Dysphoria is a condition that primarily affects people with ADHD, however there have been one or two links made between the condition and autism in recent years too. It means that an individual is more sensitive to rejection and criticism, and it can have a huge emotional impact on their wellbeing. It’s not all about having your work criticised- it can look like social phobia, withdrawal, or hyper-vigilance when it comes to getting people to like you- but it does mean that some work-related disagreements could have huge emotional implications. Nobody actively likes their work being corrected, but someone with RSD can feel this interaction as keenly as grief or a loss, and the response can in some cases get well beyond the proportions of the event that triggers it.
‘Thick Skin’ isn’t just saying you need somebody who can shrug off criticism and work around it, it’s pretty actively indicating that folks with ADHD who experience RSD need not apply- and that means you could be missing out on some amazing candidates. Think about the mental health support needed for a stressful, criticism-heavy role, provide it, and talk about that in the job posting instead.
‘A Multi-Stage Interview Process’
This one’s subjective – one or two stages and a set task is pretty normal, and they’re still technically multi-stage. What we mean is the interview processes that take five or six rounds with phone screening interviews, candidate-level interviews, presentations, multiple assessed tasks and panels with everyone from a hiring manager to a business leader.
Many neurodiverse people struggle with motivation and attention, and extended interview processes that drag on for over a month are incredibly stressful. There’s the often unpaid labour of creating tasks and presentations, the daily drama of checking your inbox for a progression or a rejection throughout the five or six stages, and the whole thing hanging over you like a dark cloud, for a start- even if it’s your dream job that you’re applying for, maintaining motivation, attention and not letting the stress win for over a month is hard enough for those who are neurotypical.
Many people who are neurodiverse struggle with stress and anxiety, and putting themselves in a situation where they’re expected to live under a heightened amount of it for an extended period of time is fairly likely to make some of them click the back button and look for other roles. It’s a case of expecting every applicant to be able to comfortably maintain mental focus and their mental health for the time it takes your business to decide on their preferred candidate, and this process isn’t that accessible when we think about how many people- how many qualified, skilled candidates- there are with dyslexia, ADHD and autism in the societies we live in. Streamline the process – even for top jobs, it’s important to know that you’re not cutting out a big chunk of candidates with what is essentially an accessibility issue.
‘Excellent Spelling and Grammar’
Seriously guys, it’s not that deep. Unless you’re hiring for a writing role, there are very few roles where spelling and grammar count for everything. There are so few spelling and grammar mistakes that can’t be corrected using spellcheck and grammar check functions on a standard desktop computer, let alone dedicated auto-editing software – and we need to ask the question to what extent does it matter?
The issue is that we equate good spelling and grammar with other things, like being a fastidious worker, a dedicated employee, and an all-round good egg; and we associate bad spelling and grammar with laziness and a negative approach to work. And this is inaccurate and wrong – somebody with dyslexia may well have weaker spelling skills, but to assume things about their working character because of it is exclusionary and outdated. Someone might be the best HR manager/stock controller/train driver/nail tech you’ve ever had, but struggle with spelling in their emails – how much does it matter? You’re not actually employing them to spell.
Detach from the idea that good spelling and grammar are vital for every role, and that they imply more about a candidate than they do. People with dyslexia are amazingly creative and have the potential to do incredible things in the business world, and we need to end the social stigma about incorrect spellings and inherent worth.
