Job posts

- My biggest tip when you're setting out to recruit more autistic talent is to rewrite your job descriptions. Often job descriptions don't accurately reflect the core skills and abilities required to succeed in a position. As an autistic woman, if I don't have all of the skills listed on the job post, I most likely will not apply. My general feeling is, the job post is what the company is looking for, and I don't have the skills that match. It doesn't occur to autistic people, especially women that having 85% of the skills needed is great because after being hired, they can receive training on the rest. Some may feel that they're wasting a hiring manager's time by applying. So autistic candidates may not apply for their job, and your organization misses out on great talent. So how should you go about refining these job descriptions to ensure this doesn't happen to you? To start, we recommend completing a job analysis with someone currently in the job you're hiring for. The process clarifies the core job tasks and responsibilities of the job. Focusing on the core elements changes the mindset from looking for the "ideal" candidate to looking for the right candidate. The key here is to be specific. What do I mean by that? For example, when a job description says, you must be an effective communicator, how do they need to communicate? Oral or written? Provide team updates, answer questions, or present to a large crowd? The general statement, "effective communicator" is intimidating for someone who may have been challenged with communication. Analyzing core requirements includes being realistic about how many years of experience and degrees your candidate actually needs. It's common these days to see an entry level job that requires five years of experience or a college degree. This doesn't sound very entry level to me. Make sure the education requirements in your job description align with the experience required. You can do this by emphasizing the presence of skills over arbitrary titles and formal degrees. Then, to make the job description even clearer, remove industry jargon. Statements like "self-starter," "proven track record," or liaison can be vague. Remember, if a candidate isn't familiar with the language in your job description, they may think that they aren't qualified. The purpose of your job post is to also make an impression on the job seeker. You want them to get a feeling of what it will be like if they work for you. So what story does the job post tell of employee experience? Are previous employees promoting you as a supportive employer? Do you include disability and neurodiversity as part of your diversity focus? You can't talk about diversity without including neurodivergent groups like autistic people. Your organization must make an active effort to add this group to your diversity, equity, and inclusion focus. It's a substantial group. Nearly one in every seven people is neurodivergent and deserve to be part of the discussion. Finally, and this is important, in every job post, outline the interview process, location, and requirements. Autistic job seekers may want to be front loaded with information. The more of the unknown you can remove, the more anxiety you reduce, which allows the candidate to perform at their best. Let them know if there are four steps in the process or a panel interview. Break it all down and include a brief summary. Once you've finalized your job post, don't forget to get it out to different candidate pools. Here are a few resources you can check out. Mentra, Hire Autism, Ability Jobs, and Getting Hired. Each provides employer and candidate education to facilitate a better job person match and interview experience. Autistic people are very connected through social media and actively discuss good and bad employment experiences. Your effort at being more inclusive will be shared, so make sure you're thoughtful and considerate.