We’ve all been there: the job interview is right around the corner, and you’re sweating about making a good impression and (hopefully) landing the role. Job interviews can feel incredibly high-pressure, loaded with trick questions that can stump even seasoned professionals (who haven’t heard the classic, “What would you describe as your greatest weakness”?). For job seekers who are neurodivergent, the interview process comes with a unique set of headaches. For starters, there’s the pressure of making small talk, on top of reading social cues, sensory overload, anxiety about disclosure/asking for reasonable accommodations, concerns about being judged based on performance rather than skills, etc. Overhauling and streamlining the interview process to make it more inclusive, accessible, and accommodating is the most obvious approach. However, some disability rights advocates argue that the unemployment crisis impacting millions of neurodivergent Americans (the unemployment rate for the neurodiverse population is as high as 40%, according to some estimates) calls for more innovative and unconventional ideas. Some have gone as far as suggesting that companies should do away with the traditional interview format altogether. Naturally, some employers might balk at this suggestion, claiming that interviews are too intrinsic to the hiring process. However, many alternatives could work as a replacement, perhaps serving as a more accurate gauge of skills, expertise, and qualifications.
Alternatives to the Typical Interview Process
Most of us take job interviews for granted as a necessary, if stressful, part of the hiring process. However, the truth is that in many respects, job interviews are flawed and outdated. Unconscious bias from hiring managers, an overreliance on A.I. tools that screen out qualified candidates, including those who are neurodivergent, and a lack of constructive feedback post-interview are just a few commonly-cited problems. “I hear from candidates every day who are upset with the interview process,” Jack Kelly, a former Forbes contributor, wrote in 2019. “They don’t openly complain on social media because they don’t want to be blacklisted or for their boss to notice that they are looking for a new job. However, privately, job seekers freely share their opinions with me.” This was confirmed through a 2019 study of over 6,000 candidates, which found that 41% complained about not receiving enough information about the job/company; 34% felt the interviewer was unprepared; 27% felt the interviewer ran significantly over the scheduled time; 22% felt the interview organization was poor; and 19% felt the interview questions were too hypothetical. One of the most significant problems with job interviews, especially for those who are neurodivergent, is their tendency to reward being more socially performative, rather than focusing on actual skills or qualifications. “Interviews don’t always showcase the best person for the job,” Katie Bishop, founder of the neurodivergent support organization Curiously Divergent, writes. “They often just highlight the most confident speaker.” This is a major obstacle for otherwise skilled, talented, and qualified neurodivergent candidates who might not have the social finesse hiring managers are focusing on. “Unsuccessful interviews have a massive knock-on effect for my self-esteem,” Maxwell Dean, a writer on the autism spectrum, shares in a blog post for DisabilityHorizons.com. “I have to work really hard to build it up again each time. But by undertaking work placements and challenging myself with new experiences, I am equally determined to grow my self-belief.” Dean supports swapping interviews for short work trials, which would allow neurodivergent candidates to demonstrate their skills without the pressure of a time-based, sit-down interview.
Acknowledging these problems, some major companies have already started experimenting with substitutes for conventional interviews. Microsoft and EY, for example, have started onboarding neurodivergent employees by switching out the conventional sit-down interview for a more hands-on, weeklong process, in which a group of candidates is brought in to collaborate on the day-to-day tasks and assignments of the job. Specialisterne, a company supporting neurodivergent employment, has collaborated with the wealth management organization TD Wealth to replace interviews with a series of exercises that evaluate candidates’ skill sets. With this approach, candidates are given the opportunity to perform the role for a week to determine their suitability for the job. In her article, Bishop suggests replacing the traditional interview format with workshops where candidates can collaborate on problem-solving and teamwork. “I believe that it is paramount that employers are patient and recognise that everyone is different,” Dean writes. “The range of individual abilities within the autistic spectrum, as with those who are not, can be huge. In the end, no-one is the same and we all should value this.”
Along with Dean, other neurodivergent experts and professionals have advocated for replacing job interviews. “Interviews are unnecessary,” Dr. Bernard Grant, a neurodivergent writer specializing in psychology and counseling programs, writes in a blog post for Specialisterne. “They are also distracting, as employers lose sight of what matters during an interview: skills.” As an alternative, Grant believes employers should bypass archaic aspects of the interview process, instead focusing on “finding the best person for the job, rather than the best talker. They’ll learn how little social presentation matters for most jobs.” In a 2021 article, The Guardian reported that EY India had accommodated neurodivergent job seekers by replacing interviews with informal, unscripted chats, with pauses to ensure that questions were understood, along with ensuring that instructions were clear and straightforward. The article notes that this process worked for candidates like Rishabh Birla, a 25-year-old postgraduate with autism. “My family and I were elated,” Birla said after being offered a job as an analyst. “This is a major milestone in my life personally and professionally.”
Academic Research on Replacing Job Interviews
While academic research is tentative, at least one study supports the value of replacing traditional job interviews for professionals who are neurodivergent. “Autism and the Case Against Job Interviews”, a 2024 study from associate philosophy professor Bouk De Vries, makes a compelling argument that job interviews have hurt employment for job seekers on the autism spectrum. De Vries cites a 2014 U.S. study, which found that only 60% of 18,000 people with autism enrolled in employment-readiness programs managed to land a job. Meanwhile, another study of autistic adults in the workplace found that 16% experienced interview anxiety, which could impact performance and demoralize them from seeking employment in the first place. “What is pertinent for us,” De Vries writes, “is that if job interviews are indeed a major contributor to autistic unemployment, as I assume from hereon, then it becomes imperative to ask whether such interviews can be morally justified (italics De Vries’).” Although De Vries’s study centered on job seekers with autism, his question is equally relevant to those with other forms of neurodivergence, such as ADHD, dyslexia, OCD, and many others. Systemic bias and lack of accessibility/accommodations are problems that impact all job seekers who are neurodivergent. By re-framing the shortcomings of the interview process as a moral/ethical problem, rather than just a practical or business one, De Vries drives home the urgency of overhauling the interview process, if not doing away with it altogether in favor of some of the alternatives mentioned above.
Those alternatives can and should be tested and explored before resorting to eliminating the interview process altogether. Dice.com lists some alternative interview techniques for job seekers who are neurodivergent, including a more structured, distraction-free environment; breaks during interviews/allowing the use of assistive technology; training interviewers to have a better understanding of neurodiversity; and allowing different interview methods, such as written responses, that cater to individual strengths. Acara.com lists some assessment and evaluation methods that go beyond traditional interviews, such as online simulations, work samples, practical tasks, and tailoring the onboarding process to accommodate the learning styles, sensory sensitivities, and communication preferences of candidates who are neurodivergent. At the same time, the possibility of replacing the interview process with alternatives, such as practical tasks, real-world trials, and skill assessment simulations, should not be discounted, if those alternatives can be just as effective as interviews, if not even more so. Employers should not be risk-averse when it comes to providing equal employment opportunities for neurodivergent employees and accessing their skills and talents. That talent and expertise are vital for driving growth and innovation. For neurodivergent employment, business as usual hasn’t been working. In 2026, isn’t it time to try something new?
Sources:
Kelly, J. (2019). “11 Complaints From Frustrated And Angry Job Seekers About The Interview Process”, Forbes Magazine. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2019/08/12/11-complaints-from-frustrated-and-angry-job-seekers-about-the-interview-process
Dean, M. (2024). “Autism: overcoming barriers to work for people on the autistic spectrum”, Disability Horizons. https://disabilityhorizons.com/2024/12/autism-overcoming-barriers-to-work-for-people-on-the-autistic-spectrum/
Vries, B. (2024). “Autism and the Case Against Job Interviews”, NeuroEthics. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12152-024-09563-4?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Grant, B. (2021). “Employing and Empowering Neurodivergents: Job Interviews”, Specialisterne. https://us.specialisterne.com/employing-and-empowering-neurodivergents-job-interviews/
Newman, R. (2024). “Creating an Inclusive Recruitment Process for Neurodivergent Candidates”, Acara Solutions. https://acarasolutions.com/blog/recruiting/creating-an-inclusive-recruitment-process-for-neurodivergent-candidates/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Dice, (2024). “Neurodiversity in Tech: Inclusive Interview Process Tips”, Dice. https://www.dice.com/hiring/recruitment/neurodiversity-in-tech-inclusive-interview-process-tips?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Dhillon, A. (2021). “Autism in India: how a pioneering jobs scheme is opening up opportunities”, The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/feb/09/autism-in-india-how-a-pioneering-jobs-scheme-is-opening-up-opportunities
