Life after redundancy: riding the waves of unemployment and neurodivergence
It is four months since I was made redundant and I still do not have a job. This week I received two rejections from jobs I thought I would be good at. It's always the same story, another candidate more closely matched the criteria or they had more experience - but they never tell you what specific thing you need to also closely match the criteria and score higher. So I'm getting feedback, but it doesn't help with future interviews. My interview technique is generally good, and my presentations are always well received. Any written task I have to do isn't a concern, because writing is one thing I know I can do well. So, I continue going to interviews not knowing what I can do better. And that's the thing, it's always about being better, isn't it? What is wrong with who we are? We wonder, have I answered the question in the right way? Have I understood what they need? Do I look like they would want me on their team? Is there enough eye contact? Is being honest the right thing? Should I have asked for reasonable adjustments? So many questions, with very few answers. And when you've been made redundant in the way I have, especially if your former employer told you your skills aren't valued for their new strategy, the last thing we need, is to be told is that we need to be better. The version of ourself post redundancy should be more than enough.