{"id":8685,"date":"2026-03-18T13:34:04","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T13:34:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/?p=8685"},"modified":"2026-03-18T14:42:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T14:42:06","slug":"job-hunting-as-a-student-or-graduate-with-autism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/?p=8685","title":{"rendered":"Job-hunting tips for students\/graduates with Autism"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s much harder for people with Autism to find the same information; everyone else just seems to magically know things! Victoria, OU graduate with Autism<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Job seeking can be demanding for anyone, and students with Autism also tell me about some unique challenges they face. As an OU Careers Consultant, here are the top three tips I give the students with Autism I speak to:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Get in the right headspace <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Read our\u00a0Help Centre page\u00a0Build your future with career confidence\u00a0<\/a>and complete some of the activities and get an inventory of all your transferrable skills, strengths and interests. You will already have developed many of these just by being an OU student. Students with Autism often mention not being sure if employers would be interested in them and also focus on what\u2019s difficult for them or what they CAN\u2019T do. A more positive way to start your job-hunting journey, however, is by listing your skills, interests and talents, and all the things you CAN do.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Find the right workplace<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Read this excellent article\u00a0Autism Friendly Jobs<\/a> on The Autistic Boss website to help you search for the best workplace for you. Students with Autism sometimes ask me what the \u201cbest\u201d job roles are for them. The same job title can vary a lot depending on the employer, however. A more useful question is \u201cWhat would the ideal work environment look like for me?\u201d For example, flexibility or predictability might be important to you.<\/p>\n

      If you\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0think working a 9-5 graduate job in an office is for you,\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0plenty of\u00a0other possibilities<\/a>. Many students\u00a0try out roles\u00a0<\/u>by\u00a0volunteering<\/a>\u00a0<\/u>or completing an internship,\u00a0to\u00a0<\/u>build their work experience<\/a> , or\u00a0choose jobs that are part-time or home-based.<\/p>\n

      Another question to ask yourself is whether you want to mention your Autism to an employer and\u00a0ask for reasonable adjustments<\/a> There\u2019s no right or wrong answer as it\u2019s about what is best for you.<\/p>\n

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      1. Know what help is available<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Read more\u00a0about\u00a0where and how to look for jobs<\/a>\u00a0 and make use of\u00a0our\u00a0 interview tips<\/a>\u00a0to help you prepare.<\/p>\n

        Finally, here\u2019s Victoria, an OU graduate with Autism*, talking about her experience of working with OU Careers and Employability Services to help with her job search: “OU careers advice helped me by explaining graduate schemes, and by advising me to look outside of mainstream job listing sites, sending me well-structured job-seeking resources, including listings for part-time work, jobs for the disabled, and remote work.”<\/p>\n

        *Disclaimer: The student asked that \u201cperson-first\u201d language is used when describing her, whilst acknowledging that this is a personal preference, and that others may prefer different language to be used.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        \"Photo<\/a>Alison Skellern is an OU Careers and Employability Consultant with over 30 years\u2019 experience of supporting adults and young people with achieving their career goals, providing Careers Education curriculum support to schools and colleges, and lecturing on a range of Careers Education and Guidance qualifications<\/em>. \u00a0At the OU, Alison <\/em>helps students achieve their ambitions and fulfil their potential through one-to-one appointments. She works with a range of students and alumni as well as specialising in working with Students in Secure Environments.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        It\u2019s much harder for people with Autism to find the same information; everyone else just seems to magically know things! Victoria, OU graduate with Autism Job seeking can be demanding for anyone, and students with Autism also tell me about some unique challenges they face. As an OU Careers Consultant, here are the top three […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[94,104,86],"class_list":["post-8685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-career-planning","tag-career-confidence","tag-career-development","tag-career-planning"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8685"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8703,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8685\/revisions\/8703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/careers\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}