Interviews are a strange format if you're autistic — a high-stakes conversation with a stranger, built around unwritten social rules, judged partly on things that have nothing to do with whether you can do the job. Here's prep that actually addresses that, instead of generic "just be yourself" advice.

Prepare Structured Answers in Advance

Behavioral questions ("tell me about a time when...") reward people who've already built the answer, not people who think best out loud. Use a simple structure — situation, task, action, result — and write out 5-6 answers ahead of time covering common themes: a conflict you resolved, a mistake you learned from, a project you're proud of. You're not memorizing a script; you're building a mental shelf you can pull from instead of improvising cold.

Ask for What You Need, Specifically

Eye Contact and Small Talk

You don't have to maintain constant eye contact to read as engaged — looking at someone's forehead, mouth, or slightly to the side of their face reads the same to most interviewers, and costs you far less. For small talk at the start, having one or two neutral, prepared lines ("traffic was fine, thanks for asking") is enough; you don't need to perform enthusiasm you don't feel about the weather.

After the Interview

Interviews are draining in a specific way, even when they go well — build in recovery time immediately after, not just before. If you think of a better answer to a question an hour later, it's normal and professional to send a short follow-up email adding the thought; it often reads as thorough, not indecisive.

An interview measures how well you interview — not how well you'll do the job. If you struggle with the format, that says something about the format, not about your competence.