Ask HN: How do people with Autism survive full day onsite interviews?
I have autism and I just did a round of on-site interviews. What stuck out to me was that I was mostly able to get the answer to problems, but I felt (subjectively, because no company will ever give feedback) that I came off slow, because I was overwhelmed by being in a new place, around new people. There was one answer that I understood that the interviewer thought I didn't get because of this.
I also am prone to anxiety. One interview I had a full on anxiety attack, and even though one of the interviewers mentioned that he wanted me on the team, I was rejected. I feel, subjectively, that it was my panic attack not my coding ability that was rejected. I've tried really hard, and improved lots on that front over the years, but apparently not enough.
Have you been through similar experiences? What worked, didn't work? Are there better ways to approach recruiters about why I feel like I'm failing?
I'm also aware that people are not hiring "brilliant assholes". People with autism often are thought to not have empathy. I don't know if I'm doing a good job communicating, and an interviewer's job is not to let me know if I've communicated correctly. How do I address this?