The struggles of finding a job with autism and how to take proper action to get your dream job

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Chan With A Plan, host Max Chan speaks with Mike Motter, an autistic professional with a mission to educate individuals on autism and how to effectively interact with autistic people in the workplace to make them feel welcome and feel they are a major contributor to the team and organization. In this conversation Mike discusses his career struggles as an autistic individual and what actions he took to help him land his dream job. 

 

QUOTES

“So the number being tossed around right now is that 80% of autistic people are either unemployed or underemployed. Now underemployed would be like I was before I got my Master's degree. I was driving a forklift in a warehouse, even though I had a college degree. That's just one example of being underemployed. Most autistic people I know, a lot of them don't even have a degree.” - Mike Motter
“Autism still isn't well understood. Because up until a few years ago, if you said autism in any case or capacity, people would associate that with people like who are nonverbal and don't have an executive function and can't take care of themselves and wouldn't be applying for these kinds of jobs in the first place. But recently, we found out that you can be autistic and you can be in a traditional work environment with some accommodations. Some people just don't know that. So if you tell them you're autistic, that's why they are probably going to be turned off by it.” - Mike Motter
“[When I didn’t get the job I really wanted] I really got disheartened and wondered if I was ever going to find a job. Then I started looking up neurodiversity hiring initiatives, just to see if they existed, and turns out they do.” - Mike Motter

 

TIMESTAMPS

[0:33] Meet Mike
[2:59] How to tell if someone is autistic
[4:54] Employment stats for the autistic 
[5:52] Mike’s educational experience as an autistic individual and advice for someone who’s autistic that’s currently getting their degree
[7:36] Mike’s initial struggle with the job search process as an autistic individual
[9:40] How Mike changed his approach when the regular job search process was not working for him and how he landed his dream job
[13:48] Mike’s current work experience at his dream job
[15:49] Mike’s terrible work experience from past jobs where they didn’t accommodate his autistic needs
[16:46] Advice from Mike for people who work with someone who’s autistic to make them feel more welcome and a part of the team
[18:48] Advice for autistic individuals currently struggling at school or at work and some solutions to help tackle these issues
[19:30] Mike’s mission
[20:20] The biggest career challenge Mike has faced, and what he did to overcome it to get to where he is today
[21:11] How Mike discovered that he was autistic
[22:38] Contacting Mike
[23:57] Outro

 

RESOURCES & RELEVANT LINKS

Mike Motter Youtube Channel
Mike Motter on LinkedIn
Chan With A Plan
Chan With A Plan Facebook Group