The Neurodivergent Prospect: Tackling the Hiring Process

This April, I've been writing one article per week to bring attention to Neurodiversity Celebration Month. It's sparked a lot of discussion in my professional (and personal) networks, which, surprisingly, has been overwhelmingly positive and empathetic. (I'm trying to relish it while I can, my cynicism brings me doubts that this will last forever.) A theme that keeps coming up in each article I publish: if we'd like to be adaptable, innovative, empathetic and inclusive in the workplace, the best way to do that is to increase and embrace neurodiversity within our organizations and research populations.

This final article in the series will cover:

• the strengths of neurodivergent (ND) thinking
• the thorny question: How can I make sure my disability doesn't get in the way of me being hired?

Strengths of Neurodivergent Thinking

There was a meme circulating social media a while back, which captures quite well what living with ADHD feels like:

@teaboot (via Tumblr)

My old man once said to me, "your thoughts are so random and unconnected. We were just talking about the carnival- how did you get started on wasps?" So, I told him, "they're not unconnected- we were talking about going to the carnival, and the carnival is on the same fairgrounds they used to use for the rodeo, and one time at the rodeo my brother spilled sprite on himself and a bee went up his shirt and stung him, and bees die when they sting, but wasps don't, and I was wondering why, so I asked you." And he said, "that makes no sense," and for the life of me can't understand how anyone thinks of anything if not by this exact process.

In short: many people often think of those with ADHD as being hyper, daydreamy, and disconnected, when in fact there could be nothing further from the truth: they are incredibly in-tune with connections between things that may, on the surface, seem completely disconnected, when they are, in fact, connected. This means ND folks can often have a propensity to quickly analyze and make sense of large quantities of data without having to pore over every single detail. This also means they have a great appreciation for beauty in the world and can identify trends in places and industries where others would simply overlook them.

Additionally, people with ADHD and autism often have a great deal of sensitivity to stimuli. While this may initially seem like a fault, it actually means that those with autism and ADHD can be incredibly perceptive and will pick up on environmental cues and contextual details far more quickly than others. They can also be very observant of facial expressions and body language, since many of their formative experiences have involved navigating the world with a very different "operating system" (for lack of a better word) than others around them. This often necessitates having to "read" people very well in order to respond or communicate in a socially acceptable way.

All this to say, there are many ways in which ND people can bring value to an organization.

Navigating the Hiring Process as a ND Job Candidate

I've receive dozens of public and private messages since I've started writing this series - some echoing the sentiments I've written, others asking for advice. It puts me in a frightening position, to be honest, since I have just over a year of "experience" being aware of neurodiversity, and definitely do not qualify myself as an expert. I have seen a number of great questions about what this means for neurodivergent people who are applying to jobs, and how to identify these supposed neurodivergent strengths when it just feels like we're falling short of expectations. I had a great conversation with one of these readers (let's call him George), and I thought it would be fitting to share some of this conversation/interview below.

G: What sort of job search advice do you have for someone like me, who’s also diagnosed with ADHD, especially when it comes to interviewing and branding myself?

T: I’m lucky in that I didn’t learn about my diagnosis until after I was hired, and I haven’t looked for new work since my diagnosis. So, I may not have the most meaningful advice here. I will say, the stigma is very real when it comes to having a neurological condition. There are still many people who don’t believe ADHD is a “real” disorder and is an “excuse for laziness.” So, when branding yourself, it might not always be in your best interest to emphasize perceived deficiencies.

That said, you can definitely highlight the strengths you have as a neurodivergent person. For example, I wouldn’t necessarily go out and say “I have ADHD and that makes me a divergent thinker.” However, I would celebrate the strength itself, not as a side-effect of my condition, but as an integral part of my identity, since the condition is a part of your identity. The condition is exactly how you think and perceive the world. So it would be 100% accurate to say: “I am a divergent thinker - I often string together connections very quickly and can find connections where others may struggle to see one.” Here’s a good article with examples of benefits of ADHD and also famous people who have the condition!?

G: What sort of networking advice do you have for me and do you happen to know of any UX groups or resources for neurodiverse and/or ADHD people?

T: As you might be able to tell, I’m a huge fan of the articles on Healthline. They’re a great resource about all types of neurodivergent conditions.

Professional networking with neurodiversity as a focus is still a bit of a challenge because not everyone openly admits to their professional networks that they have a condition. It’s scary. It can lead to ostracization if you don’t have a supportive network. And, as I expected - LinkedIn may not have a plethora of ADHD- or even neurodivergent-specific UX groups. I did a quick search and couldn’t find one. (But hey - that just means there’s an opportunity to start one if you wanted to get ahead of the trends.) I’m hopeful that the space will change in the next year or so, and that there will be more publicly promoted resources for neurodivergent people in the workforce.

Facebook has a number of decent groups though (not UX specific, but for neurodivergent/ADHD folks in general) “We have ADHD” is a rather large group, and they have a lot of conversations and discussions about coping with the condition - ranging from medication to behavioral techniques to peer-recommended solutions (though, take those with a grain of salt) “Jenn has ADHD” and “The ADHD Gift” are both meme pages, but do occasionally put out some gems of knowledge as well. If you're on Clubhouse, there are also a number of ADHD support groups regularly meeting on there.

Books that have helped me:

• Driven to Distraction
• Driven from Distraction
• ADHD 2.0
• The Drummer and the Great Mountain
• Smart but Scattered

(Of course, I’ve only made it 100% through only 2 of these but got halfway through the rest of them :) - but they all have great information in them).

G: What advice do you have for me in trying to avoid putting myself in a situation where I may end up revealing my ADHD diagnosis to prospective employers? As a job seeker, this is something I’m always mindful of.

T: Hopefully that earlier tip will help here, but if you’re working in the US, employers are legally prohibited from discriminating against prospective hires based on their disability. But also this means they are legally prohibited from asking you about your disability during the interview process - even if you publicly release information about it on the internet, like I did on LinkedIn.

My recommendation is to be honest about your challenges, your strengths, your failures and your successes, but don’t frame it as something that comes from your condition. Keep in mind that everyone has challenges, failures, strengths, and successes, whether they are neurotypical or neurodivergent. You don’t owe anyone an explanation about your condition unless you are requesting a specific reasonable accommodation which is not currently offered with the job description as written. There will be a part of the job application process where you have the option of disclosing that you have a disability. Again, you do not have to answer it if you do not plan to request special accommodations.?

G: At the same time, you mentioned in your article that there were times when your ADHD was advantageous to you. This is something that resonates with me, and I’ve been thinking about highlighting these positive attributes more often in my job search. But how do you suggest I go about doing that in a way that doesn’t reveal my diagnosis?

T: Again, hopefully that earlier tip helps - you are you. ADHD or not. You bring skills to the table. Those skills aren’t necessarily exclusive to ADHD. Your diagnosis is none of their business unless you need it to be!

Don’t worry about being revealed - the blessing in disguise about ADHD ignorance is that you can highlight your strengths and people are almost always none-the-wiser about your diagnosis. I’ve learned over time that we are a lot more cognizant and anxious about being found out than most people care about finding us out! :) And if they can find you out, it’s likely that they have the condition themselves, and therefore aren’t one to judge!

G: Lately, I’ve been thinking about making more of an effort to look into companies with accommodations/support for people who identify as neurodiverse. What sort of things should I be looking for while researching that?

T: This really depends on your specific symptoms and challenges - even people with ADHD struggle in different ways from each other sometimes. For me, with inattentive ADHD, I thrive with a high degree of novelty, flexibility and just enough structure each week to have a routine. These wouldn’t necessarily be considered “accommodations” in all organizations - some workplaces are structured in a way that few accommodations are needed in the first place. (Again, my next article will go in much greater detail about specific accommodations or workplace structures that are worth considering).

But rather than use my workplace challenges, I encourage you to really reflect on the things that have been most challenging for you.?

Other than accommodations, supports or benefits to ask about:?

• Health insurance/HSA: Obviously “health insurance is included” is good, but having a “disability” means you need more details. See if you can get details on specific plans that are available to choose from - and see if you can coverage/copay information listed by condition - is behavioral health covered? What about pharmacy coverage? Is there a health savings account (tax free money) to use for medication??
• Employee Assistance Programs: These offer coaching, counseling, and other types of assistance for various work-related and family-life problems. These work in concert with other behavioral health treatments and can be really helpful for working through short-term challenges. It’s through my employee assistance program that I have my CBT services covered.
• Stipends for wellness: Some companies offer to pay for gym memberships or fitness equipment, meditation apps, nutrition counseling, personal training, and other tools for physical health. Particularly for ADHD these can be really helpful for managing hyperactivity or inattentiveness.?

G: To add on to the question above, I’ve also been considering bringing up the aforementioned accommodations in informational interviews with people who work at companies considered neurodiverse-friendly. I’d like to get your thoughts on this as well as any suggestions you may have for me.

T: What I would look for is: is the workplace structured in a way that I can thrive, by default, without needing to ask for accommodations? If there are some workplaces that are close to what I need, but maybe one aspect is not there - how can I negotiate those accommodations?

For example - if “flexibility” is offered - what kind of flexibility is it, and how does that compare to the kind of flexibility I need? (For me, it’s working hour flexibility that I need, not necessarily deadline flexibility) If it’s not offered - how does the interviewer respond to questions about different kinds of flexibility? That could reveal a little bit about the culture and the likelihood they would be willing or able to accommodate your requests.

I wouldn’t frame these as “accommodations” because the term “accommodations” is a red flag for “this person has a disability” and even if they can’t discriminate, it may bias the interview.

So, instead, I’d ask questions like:?

• “What makes the workplace unique to others?”?
• “What do project timelines look like? Do they change at all?”?
• “What would warrant a project timeline change? What happens when a project timeline changes?”?
• “How does this workplace support your needs and challenges in getting work done?”

These are all not related to disability - anyone can ask these. But they will give you some insight into whether the workplace is rigid or not.?

G: Do you think I should mention neurodiverse accommodation programs in my cover letters and/or interviews as a reason why I’d like to work for that particular company?

T: This is a tough question. I don’t know that I would if I were applying to jobs right now. While ADHD impacts everything we do, the rest of the world doesn’t always realize the impact of that, and may see these declarations as attention-seeking rather than genuine, unfortunately. The exception though, would be if the company makes a big deal out of neurodiversity in their press releases, or their main offering is a mental health product/service, then it could be a good way to identify yourself as a prime candidate who understands the priorities of the population they would like to serve.

G: Lastly, as an individual with ADHD trying to land my first full-time role in UX at some point, what advice do you have for me?

T: I’ll try to summarize:

1. Don’t doubt your value. UX requires divergent thinking to solve problems in innovative ways. It also requires empathetic thinkers and people who have ideas for creating inclusive products and being inclusive in research. Being neurodivergent means you are often in-tune with things many others aren’t. That is an asset many companies need right now.
2. Try not to get stuck in your own head. UX is fun for me because I get to get out of my own head and into the heads of others. Empathy and the ability to set your own perspectives aside is the single most useful strength whether you’re in design or research or development.
3. There’s a lot you can do now, even before you start a UX role. There’s a lot you can do in your first UX role too, before you start your next one. Don’t wait until you have the job title to try new things. Job titles are arbitrary. If there’s something you notice or want to try, experiment and do it in your current position (and coordinate with others who are already doing what you’d like to try).
4. Take your time. Be ready to learn, but don’t feel like you need to learn it all in one night. There is a lot to learn in the field, and it might be tempting to go on a learning spree for like 3 months or more. Take your time. Don’t burn out. Read as you go. Don’t forget to enjoy being where you are now.?

Best of luck!?

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Thanks for reading this final installment of my Neurodiversity Celebration Month article series! I've published an article for every week of April. I've written this article plus three others:

• #1 - I am a woman in tech with ADHD?(Apr 1, 2022 - 10 min read)?- Cognitive and neurological conditions often lack external physiological symptoms or forms, and thus, can go unnoticed, undiagnosed, and untreated for years at a time. Some of your colleagues may be living with one of these invisible disabilities, and there are things you can do to help support them. I share the story closest to home: mine.
• #2 - The Key to Succeeding with Neurodivergence: Embracing It?(Apr 10, 2022 - 12 min read)?- This installment covers language, mindsets, and specific strategies that may help neurodivergent people bring their best selves to the workplace (and, as it turns out, will probably help other people too)
• #3 - Celebrating Neurodiversity in the Workplace (Apr 18, 2022 - 14 min read) - Ever wonder how managers and employers can better support neurodivergent employees? This article covers: accessibility legal requirements, ways structural and systemic issues can impact neurodivergent employees, and how organizations can evaluate their climate of trust and structural/systemic components (policies/protocols, programs/perks, and processes) to better support their team.

It means a lot to have the support I've been given over the last month, and I am sincerely grateful for your attention (especially if you have ADHD, that attention is precious). I would love to pay forward the kindness I've received, so if you or someone you know is a neurodivergent person in the UX/tech space, please don't hesitate to connect with me. I would love to keep the conversation and momentum going.