'If I'm just me, I doubt I'd get the job': A qualitative exploration of autistic people's experiences in job interviews.

This study talked to 10 autistic adults about their job interview experiences. The researchers found that autistic people often felt they had to hide parts of themselves during interviews, which was very tiring and stressful. Participants wanted employers to be more understanding and accepting, so they could feel safe being open about being autistic when applying for jobs.

This qualitative study interviewed 10 autistic adults about their job interview experiences in Australia. The research identified six themes related to employment barriers: three concerning individual factors and three concerning environmental factors. Participants reported engaging in camouflaging behaviour during interviews, feeling pressured to conceal autistic characteristics. This masking required significant effort and resulted in increased stress, anxiety, and exhaustion.

Participants expressed need for more inclusive, understanding employers who would create environments where autistic individuals feel safe disclosing their diagnosis during the application process. The findings contribute to existing research on camouflaging behaviour and employment barriers faced by autistic people.

Results suggest need for workplace autism awareness training and inclusive recruitment practices. Clinicians should address camouflaging behaviours and associated stress in employment support. Findings support development of interview accommodations and disclosure support strategies for autistic job seekers.

Small sample size (n=10) limits generalizability. Qualitative design prevents causal inferences. Limited geographic scope (Australia only). Study type and detailed methodology not clearly specified. No comparison with non-autistic job candidates' experiences.

When applying for a job, autistic job candidates are likely to face a number of challenges. Job interviews are one of these challenges - they require communicating and relationship-building with unfamiliar people and involve expectations about behaviour (that may vary between companies and are not made clear to job candidates). Given autistic people communicate differently to non-autistic people, autistic job candidates may be disadvantaged in the interview process. Autistic candidates may not feel comfortable or safe sharing with organisations their autistic identity and may feel pressure to hide any characteristics or behaviour they feel might indicate they are autistic.

To explore this issue, we interviewed 10 autistic adults about their job interview experiences in Australia. We analysed the content of the interviews and found three themes that related to the individual person and three themes that related to environmental factors. Participants told us that they engaged in camouflaging behaviour during job interviews, feeling pressure to conceal aspects of themselves. Those who camouflaged during job interviews reported that it took a lot of effort, which resulted in increased stress, anxiety and exhaustion.

The autistic adults we spoke to reported a need for inclusive, understanding and accommodating employers to help them feel more comfortable disclosing their autism diagnosis in the job application process. These findings add to current research that has explored camouflaging behaviour and barriers to employment for autistic people.