Victory Log Entry - even though its the end of the job

Yes I'm still calling this a "Victory Log Entry". Yes it is the end of the supported job but it has been such a positive experience. It was unfortunate that the employer isn't in a position to be able to recruit me onto their own payroll, but the director has given me a good reference. I got an extra 4 weeks which were pushed for both by the employer and the training organisation who technically employ me, so that was very positive in itself. Most of all it has been so good to be able to utilise and expand my skills, and above all prove that despite my disability I'm NOT UNEMPLOYABLE (LOL, the double negative that makes a positive), as highlighted by the article I linked back to in August.

"The people who conduct interviews generally have zero understanding of the job role..."

This sentence starting the 7th comment on a "Help needed for interview problems" forum thread struck a chord. This poster has hit the nail on the head with the subject of interview performance versus general ability to do the job, precisely what those of us with Asperger face.

One down, two to go

First reply from three jobs I found last Friday

"Thank you for your interest in our vacancy for Junior Accounts Assistant. I regret to inform you that on this occasion you have not been successful in your application. I wish you success for finding suitable employment in the future."

That was even without mention of my disability in the application, just as I'd been told. Guess its just the numbers game.

Guardian Letters - Living on benefits is in no way 'a lifestyle choice'

A few days after I posted the BBC news link to the chancellor's comments these letter writers in the Guardian have got the right idea.

Key sentences quoted:
- For a person from a very rich and privileged background to call living on benefit in any shape or form a "lifestyle choice" is the most crass and insulting demonstration of patrician insensitivity and ignorance to have crossed the lips of any politician in recent times.
- Government's own figures show that people with mental health problems, disabilities or from minority ethnic groups get sanctioned disproportionately. Now this really concerns me!
- In my own experience as a paid Citizen's Advice Bureau adviser, most people are very keen to find work and realise that apart from the financial benefit, work provides one with better health and self-esteem. It is a complete myth that there is a large sector of the population that choose not to work.
- Where is the understanding that it costs more to live as a disabled person, or that to find employment many will need individually tailored support? VERY TRUE!

The "lifestyle choice to just sit on out-of-work benefits" - cuts announced

Welfare spending to be cut by £4bn, says the chancellor. He has told the BBC that those making a "lifestyle choice to just sit on out-of-work benefits" would be affected. I hope this holds true, I deplore the people on JSA who get us all tarred with the same brush. One point made on TV was speaking of "how ready unemployed people are to take up offered employment" if they have been out of work a while, of course the other overlooked side of the coin is "how ready EMPLOYERS are to offer positions" to those out of work for a while, as there is prejudice against CV gaps etc.

Another blog entry about role-play

Found this blog "Social Dynamics and Asperger's Syndrome" on a link on the ASD forum I sometimes go on. The entry on 4th August strikes a chord, the writer had been to a seminar about one-to-one dating relationships, and there was an element of role play involved. I know the feeling with some of those involved on Flexible Routeways, and I'd linked to a couple of those who wrote about similar on their job search courses.

I've started to follow this blog as there's interesting stuff, I'll have to read it through and perhaps leave some comments, the reader would probably relate to my blog too. It says on the intro he is working, but probably still understands the issues of interviews and requirements for "good communication" in jobs.

"Aspies are far from unemployable" - but fall at the hurdle of the job interview

Found this on the Guardian, which sums up what I went through while out of work, and could well go through again while at the mercy of the open market. That is in remembering that the job I've got now is through a ring-fenced scheme where I had to have a disability and out of work a year to qualify.

"The prospective employer reads the unwillingness to shake hands, difficulty making eye contact and hesitation in speech as coldness or incompetence, and the applicant is rejected." I'm not "unwilling" to shake hands but know I'm not as "firm" at it as its perceived I ideally should be. Fully agree about my hesitant speech though, this is the first time I've seen an article explicity referring to it as "coldness" though I had guessed from my experience of previous supervisors that they did seem to see me as "incompetent" from the tone they spoke to me with, and that when out of work and attending interviews that was again how it could be seen.

This puts another angle on the issue of whether or not to admit my condition on the initial written application, if it is an open covering letter rather than an application form with a disability question. On one hand I'm told "don't say it as you just won't get an interview", on the other it may help to prepare them for my hesitant speech. That said of course there were those interviews I had where I had said it in my letter, still got interviewed, but they hadn't noticed it and still wanted the communication aspects of the jobs so was eliminated anyway.

The comment on the article by a writer called "Darkblade" puts it well: "Most job application forms have a place where you can fill in if you have a disability or similar. Maybe it would be advisable for people with Asperger's syndrome to complete this section. Perhaps they don't want to because they fear stigma and misunderstanding - and think that this will mean they just won't get the interview in the first place. Or, getting to interview stage, there is often a question beforehand about 'special requirements' where, I suppose, it's expected that people might ask about wheelchair access etc, but it might also be appropriate to mention if the candidate has Asperger's syndrome so that it can be taken into account at the interview. I think that in order to encourage people to 'disclose' Asperger's syndrome at application or pre-interview stage, employers definitely need to be educated better about Asperger's syndrome". I've been saying this for ages, courses like Flexible Routeways and New Deal focus so much on "its always the jobseeker that needs coaching" hence putting people through all these role plays about plane crashes and nuclear holocausts, yet it is employer education that is much needed.

One comment writer called "Muggedbyreality" does seem to hold firm their belief that people with AS are unemployable and makes a sarcastic comment about whether they are going to be told to employ someone with AS in sales. Another called "ThermoStat" stands up to Muggedbyreality asking "What do you suggest? That Aspies are left unemployed and in receipt of benefits for their entire life. Is that sustainable?" Muggedbyreality replies "Of course not. But private companies are not charities - why should they be expected to redefine the way they work or take people who aren't suited for the job? The author is asking for what are essentially either sinecures in HR or a complete change to the way HR works." It's not about asking for a complete change to the way HR works but more subtle redefinition of some manpower in a team should not be too much to ask in a reasonably sized employer.