Inclusion Is a Skill: Training Recruiters to Assess Neurodivergent Talent

If you are autistic, you're often behind before the job interview even starts. Not because of competence, but because of how we evaluate competence.

Hiring built for one communication style

In the US, estimates suggest that up to 80–85% of autistic adults are unemployed or underemployed. Not because of a lack of ability, but because hiring processes are built for neurotypical communication styles.

A 2022 experimental study (“Seeing is Disliking”) showed that autistic candidates are rated less favourably in hiring contexts because of differences in social presentation, even when they are equally qualified.

Traditional interviews reward eye contact, tone variation and small talk, not necessarily job-relevant capability.

A learning problem, not a talent problem

Recruiters were never trained to recognise and assess neurodivergent talent accurately. Together with Sabine Buch of the European Institute for Neurodiversity, we built avatar-based roleplay simulations that let recruiters and hiring managers practise interviewing autistic candidates: safely, realistically and with feedback.

Because inclusion is not an intention. It is a skill.

How this training works in both directions: neurodivergent avatars train both sides of the interview.