An initial evaluation of adapted employment interview questions

(2020) Katie Maras, Jade Norris, Jemma Nicholson, Brett Heasman, Anna Remington & Laura Crane

doi.org/10.1177/1362361320981319

Summary by Josh

Job interviews can be a daunting experience for anyone but they pose unique challenges for the Autistic community. This study demonstrates the impact of simple changes to questions and structure on the effectiveness of autistic communication within interview settings without solely relying on the autistic community to conform to neurotypical standards. 

Traditional interviews tend to use open ended questions, such as ‘what qualities would you bring to the job’ or ‘where do you see yourself in 5 years’, which require interpreting social cues and impression management tactics. This often leads to autistic candidates appearing as less competent than their neurotypical peers but is not indicative of job performance potential. When questions are broken down into subsections, probe for specific details, and are provided in paper format for reference, autistic interview performance is drastically improved. This improvement narrowed the gap between the two groups without decreasing any other groups performance.  

From table 6, examples of question adaptations.:

Phase 1 (unadapted)	Phase 2 (adapted)
What are some of your strengths?	I’m going to ask about your strengths: • What do you consider to be your main strengths (things that you are good at)? • How have you used these strengths at work [in education]?
What experience do you have of managing high workloads?	Think of an example of when you’ve had lots of tasks to complete in a limited amount of time. Please tell me: • What was the situation? • What management strategies did you use? • Were these strategies effective?
Tell me about a time you’ve disagreed with a colleague – how did/would you handle it?	Think of a time you’ve disagree with a colleague. Please tell me: • What was the disagreement about? • What you did to resolve it?

Link to full list of questions in supplementary paper

These findings show that small adjustments to the interview process could help solve the current employment disparity between autistic and neurotypical communities whilst also ensuring the most suitable candidate is successful. This paper begins to shift the focus away from the autistic individual towards organisations to reduce the ambiguity and guesswork involved in the traditional interview process.

This approach is good for everyone.