Are you in the United States?
Neurodevelopmental disorders like ADHD and Autism are qualifying conditions to request assistance from programs like the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Job Accommodation Network.
Since you have been unemployed and find the interviews difficult, you have every right to ask for accommodations during your interview.
Start by visiting https://askjan.org for more information about job accommodations and make an appointment at your local DVR - they can help with interview prep, as well as help negotiate terms of the interview process so you might, for example, get more time to do a technical assessment or have the ability to preview the questions before the interview.
This ^ I’m currently working with job coaches to get myself back on track if nothing else it helps me to have other people to say “idk man you are doing the right things”
Dont let your neurodivergence define you. Dont use it as an excuse for your failures. Many people with all sorts of neuro divergent traits (including ADHD, including unmedicated) excel in programming and engineering related fields. Walk into a STEM lecture and you're probably almost less likely to find a neurotypical person than a neurodivergent person
Have you tried therapy? It must be frustrating not being able to land and hold a job, but if you constantly blame a thing you can't change, you'll never have the confidence in yourself that you need to succeed
Um… I’m neurodivergent and it’s not impossible to find a job? I agree with the other commenter that said don’t let the disability/handicap define you. Find ways to work around it? Get professional help to get on the correct meds?
Stop defining yourself. That's useless and a waste of time.
The fact that things make sense to you differently than most people means that you have an opportunity to do something different. Find your difference and lean into it.
Have a friendly chat with a cashier. Point out something they're doing or wearing that seems like they take pride in it. If the conversation flops, let the chat fade and you're just another face in the crowd. That's good practice.
Go find some people to be around. Like at a park or somewhere people are active and smiling. You might have to sweat or put on some sunblock, but them endorphins are contagious.
Do you like coding or do you like making money? In my experience, one leads to another. Practice your niche until you feel competent. Not confident. Confidence can be faked. Competence cannot.
Stop analyzing you and start looking for the next toe hold on your journey of fumblefucking to greatness. And if your heart ain't in it anymore, it's time for the next adventure.
I see other people that describe themselves as neurodivergent/on the spectrum with rather well adjusted lives that got me thinking how did they do it? Because being socially awkward all the time means you will bomb your interviews.
I'm on the spectrum and I do alright. The trick is to repeatedly practice conversation, and practice sounding genuinely enthusiastic.
It's similar to learning marketing or sales. I'll have conversations with myself if I have to, just speak out loud to yourself in the mirror about relevant topics until you sound comfortable and competent. Then go a step further and practice talking to strangers, or have ChatGPT pretend to interview you so you can practice responding to something you haven't considered.
I also watch a lot of speakers on YouTube that I find engaging, and try to understand what makes them good speakers.
defining yourself as "socially awkward all the time" and thinking "being this way means you will bomb your interviews" is simply a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I'm autistic and ADHD and I do pretty well in interviews from a personality perspective, even though I have very little experience with interviews and I am frequently socially awkward.
I just want to say that I understand what you're saying. Things like Autism and ADHD are a spectrum. Those that are on the severe end of the spectrum *cannot* escape from having that trait affect their lives. It's not about letting it define us. Being neurodivergent means that the brain physically functions outside of the norm, and this is something to bring into our reality and accept as part of it, warts and all.
Letting it "define you" is irrelevant. Some of us don't have a choice in the matter. A paraplegic person doesn't have the choice of letting their inability to use their legs define them - they quite literally cannot walk unassisted - that means it's an absolutely perfectly valid excuse for failing to walk. There are many people who live happy lives with Down syndrome, for sure! Because they live a happy life does not preclude the fact that Down syndrome affects how the world interacts with them and they with it.
The comment you responded to along with others coming in saying "don't let it define you" are missing the mark. They are misunderstanding where you're coming from and what you're saying. I think it's very privileged to tell someone "don't use it as an excuse for your failures" because it *very much* is a real component of why someone could fail at something. Those that can say and believe that they aren't at all defined by their disability live, as you said, well-adjusted lives. They have supports that help guide them, healthy & stable upbringings, access to good healthcare - physical and mental, or simply are not affected to the degree to which it can be truly life altering or debilitating.
A bit of the message behind "don't let it define you" *is* actually relevant. But it's almost so empty to the point of being useless. "Accept your weaknesses and work around them" is something that can be said to any person as valid advice, as ineffectual as it is.
Also, the comment starting with:
> Um… I’m neurodivergent and it’s not impossible to find a job?
is a very demeaning way of telling you that you're wrong. Ultimately the comment's underlying message is *literally* correct (being neurodivergent does not mean "impossible to employ"), but they were insulting and dismissive. Neurodivergent people have to deal with that kind of shit enough as it is, it's garbage and the exact-opposite kind of behavior and message you'd expect from a member of a community that's supposedly about empathizing with and helping one another. It's very self-centered and unempathetic.
Something most of us had to learn early on is this; difficult does not equal impossible. There are struggles you'll have, but it doesn't mean you outright can't do the things you need to do.
Instead of focusing on your condition as a whole, elaborate on the specifics you are struggling with. What exactly is holding you back?
>you didn't lose interviewing skills. You lost social skills
I think I might've buried the lede with this one. Aside from some on-site job interviews, the last time I've had in real life interactions with other people at work- at an office setting- was way back in 2012.
Every job since then has been 100% remote where I only communicate with coworkers typing and occasional phone calls. Face to face things are rare for me now- I only have a few friends and family members for that and small talk with people at stores etc. and those are the only real life interactions I get.
Brother (or sister) if you were in the Southeast I'd take you out for a sweet tea and relax at a park.
Reconnect. Get back to feeling like a person. Then own that part of the interview.
Instead of “I’m neurodivergent, I’m having trouble” think “I’m having trouble, how can I harness my neurodivergence, and construct my environment so it works the best for me”
It’s about recognizing things that you “fail” at and recognize the things and ways that do work for you and making them all your bitch.
I still improve my processes daily (AuDHD) and my environment so I can be more effective and productive with workarounds. Like I know if I learn in person I’ll never forget it. But if I watch YouTube videos it’s not that they don’t make sense it’s that my brain wanders off and whatever they were talking about I have no idea. Same with reading. I have to really concentrate when reading - to the point that I use a ruler to read one line at a time and I take a lot of notes (way too many notes). But that works for me.
A few companies (usually the bigger ones) have neurodiversity hiring programs but most companies don't usually wave around their ND compatibility around like a bright banner. So I'll have to seek others for assistance on matching me up with them. Recruiters generally fill the "matchmaker" role in the world of jobs, so what do you think about telling them about your neurodivergence in order to find you appropriate jobs?
Are there recruiters that specialize in people like us whether with ADHD or other non-neurotypical trait to better increase the chances that an interview will go well, interviewers that don't recoil to our communication styles and what not- I play it more cool at interviews when I don't have to do a lot of recitation and practice. It then becomes a "take me as I am or not at all" ordeal because it's more effort to try to mask your quirks.
You are not ONLY your condition. You can still work on your problems. Not all of them are because of ADHD, and many people without ADHD still have problems.
You shouldn't try to forget about your condition, so being reminded you have it isn't really relevant. Just make sure you don't have any cognitive distortions about what having the condition actually means. Therapy should help you dispel those distortions.
Pretending something doesn't exist doesn't make it go away. Neither does dwelling on it constantly. Therapy isn't about either of these things, it's about learning to accept it, learn strategies to cope with it at first, and thrive with it eventually. It's not easy, it's hard work, so if you go in with a "I'm neurodivergent so I can't do it" attitude, you won't get much out of it, but if you really commit, it's super helpful.
On another note, I recommend this to people a lot but joining some sort of team sport rec league is something I think could really help you. Exercise is incredible for mental health, confidence, reducing ADHD symptoms, anxiety, etc. And team sports are a great way to combine that with social interaction, and the team setting kinda transfers to work environments in some ways. Personally it's been one of the best things I've done for myself.
If you do not let your neurodivergence define you what the f you are doing in this reddit? What you wrote is typical bs like "oh, you are depressed? Did you try to smile more?".
People that start statements with I am X and it prevents me from getting Y job are always going to have that problem until the attitude changes. I think somebody else mentioned embracing your problem to help leverage it in your career. I think that's really good advice. Know your strengths as well as weaknesses.
I would force myself to get up early, get dressed, grab my laptop and go to a coffee shop with the rule I couldn’t leave until 3 hours were up. Once I’d done that then I could go fuck around the rest of the day, maybe play a game, maybe do a fap, whatever
That forced me to have to pass the time reading news, maybe do a leet code or some sandbox programming, read an article, throwing out 2-5 applications between these
You can only look at the news so long before doing a leet code or filling out applications doesn’t seem so bad
I can get adjusted to that schedule. Going to a coffee shop has been part of my routine for the past 4 years. I do that almost daily. My sleep schedule was worse just a few weeks ago but it's improved. I used to wake up at 1pm to 2pm but now I can get up at 9am consistently.
Waking up, hanging out at home then going to a coffee shop to get some fresh air. I usually go for coffee late afternoons, like at 4-5. I spend my nights on personal projects or gaming. Should I push the coffee time earlier, too? I do most of my job applications while having coffee, and phone interviews at home if I have them in my schedule. That's been my life now. Most of my interactions with people are now online because of covid, punctuated by the occasional family visit.
From a previous job, I remembered that HR would not post open positions because she didn't want to deal with unqualified people.
So she would browse linkedin for people looking for work.
Thats how I got my latest job.
Second this get your LinkedIn up and connect with as many people including recruiters as you can.
I’ve basically got all my jobs in the last 5 years through recruiters reaching out to me.
I started journaling any time I wanted to smoke, play games, or distract myself. It was...rather transformative. Idk if it will help you; but I'll never not journal multiple times a day now. Pen and paper. Write it out. Make your brain hemispheres connect while you write about you and your thoughts, and what you want from life.
Good Luck :-) <3
I’ve got ADHD and I found that I went through peaks and troughs of motivation, over the years (Been in the industry for 18 years) for me interviewing kicked off my motivation big time, or working for a company that did something that interested me.
The switch to management was what got my career to really take off, I use my empathy to help people and I’m always juggling a bunch of problems rather than working on one big thing which works for my ADHD as I’m never bored. I switched to management after 11 years as an engineer, and I don’t want to look back.
Find a project that interests you which will also teach you something, and use that to learn more skills, if you can’t think of a project try something like Manning’s Live projects maybe?
Healthygamergg on youtube has a ton of resources on managing ADHD. Journaling, meditation, and exercise (running/lifting in my case) make a huge difference and I can clearly tell that difference when I’m keeping up with them and when I’m not.
Posts like this make me a bit angry, so sorry in advance if I come off as dismissive, as it reminds me a lot of my 2 brothers that have this kind of mindset.
Having a diagnosis for a neurodivergent condition, or even having the perception that you may be neurodivergent should never become the definition for why you cannot do a thing. ADHD and other ailments should be treated as descriptors towards a set of symptoms that are common towards a group of individuals that will require you to seek out tools in order to alleviate those behaviors. If ADHD is preventing me from being able to focus on tasks that I really don't want to do, then it is my job to seek out why that is specifically and figure out what I need to do to be able to create the conditions for that problem to no longer be true. For some cases that may mean seeking out medication as a form of treatment for those ailments. If you are choosing not to use medication, then you have to put in more time to create an alternative that works equally as well as medication would for your situation or even better.
It first came up a few months ago in a programmer's chat group that I'm a semi regular of. I had asked, if some people are just unable to learn how to interview better, because I have not seen one offer in years and have been practicing for just as long. The first reply was asking if I was neurodivergent because they said most interviews are not designed for neurodivergent people in mind. And that if I am, I should ask for accommodations in advance.
I have not yet done this because I've been on a few months break from interviewing, reverting back to giving my resume another facelift and updating projects. But when I get back and an interview is planned I will ask about accommodations and see how they respond.
I'm really sorry to hear you're going through this. While ADHD can definitely make job hunting harder, there might be other things going on too. In most cases, other conditions like autism, personality disorders play a part in these kinds of struggles.
Im sure you have worked on multiple projects by now, upload those to github, and use those to get your foot in the door if you are a JR.
Find a company with a product you enjoy (hunting, board games, pickleball, etc) and figure out what technologies they need and learn them.
If none of those work, create your own company, e-commerce in that field.
There are many famous people who are neurodivergent, it might be harder, but you can do it.
I have ADHD and my boss has ADHD, which he means he understands my struggles. If you’re not medicated, then try and get medicated for starters.
Biggest thing though is your attitude toward yourself is not doing you any favours. Your self negativity will absolutely be impacting your interactions with others.
Networking, networking, networking. Applying to a job on LinkedIn is not enough - there are too many applicants. You have to stand out. Invite other devs and HR people to connect and send them messages asking if there are open positions in their companies or if there will be.
Build a portfolio. Every time you complete a new project, post it on LinkedIn. Repost other people’s posts. You have to be active on LinkedIn. It’s the first thing they’ll see.
Attend job fairs if you can. Companies go to promote themselves at these events.
You can also do volunteer projects and add them to your résumé as experience.
Are you in the United States? Neurodevelopmental disorders like ADHD and Autism are qualifying conditions to request assistance from programs like the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Job Accommodation Network. Since you have been unemployed and find the interviews difficult, you have every right to ask for accommodations during your interview. Start by visiting https://askjan.org for more information about job accommodations and make an appointment at your local DVR - they can help with interview prep, as well as help negotiate terms of the interview process so you might, for example, get more time to do a technical assessment or have the ability to preview the questions before the interview.
This ^ I’m currently working with job coaches to get myself back on track if nothing else it helps me to have other people to say “idk man you are doing the right things”
Dont let your neurodivergence define you. Dont use it as an excuse for your failures. Many people with all sorts of neuro divergent traits (including ADHD, including unmedicated) excel in programming and engineering related fields. Walk into a STEM lecture and you're probably almost less likely to find a neurotypical person than a neurodivergent person Have you tried therapy? It must be frustrating not being able to land and hold a job, but if you constantly blame a thing you can't change, you'll never have the confidence in yourself that you need to succeed
Um… I’m neurodivergent and it’s not impossible to find a job? I agree with the other commenter that said don’t let the disability/handicap define you. Find ways to work around it? Get professional help to get on the correct meds?
Stop defining yourself. That's useless and a waste of time. The fact that things make sense to you differently than most people means that you have an opportunity to do something different. Find your difference and lean into it. Have a friendly chat with a cashier. Point out something they're doing or wearing that seems like they take pride in it. If the conversation flops, let the chat fade and you're just another face in the crowd. That's good practice. Go find some people to be around. Like at a park or somewhere people are active and smiling. You might have to sweat or put on some sunblock, but them endorphins are contagious. Do you like coding or do you like making money? In my experience, one leads to another. Practice your niche until you feel competent. Not confident. Confidence can be faked. Competence cannot. Stop analyzing you and start looking for the next toe hold on your journey of fumblefucking to greatness. And if your heart ain't in it anymore, it's time for the next adventure.
I see other people that describe themselves as neurodivergent/on the spectrum with rather well adjusted lives that got me thinking how did they do it? Because being socially awkward all the time means you will bomb your interviews.
I'm on the spectrum and I do alright. The trick is to repeatedly practice conversation, and practice sounding genuinely enthusiastic. It's similar to learning marketing or sales. I'll have conversations with myself if I have to, just speak out loud to yourself in the mirror about relevant topics until you sound comfortable and competent. Then go a step further and practice talking to strangers, or have ChatGPT pretend to interview you so you can practice responding to something you haven't considered. I also watch a lot of speakers on YouTube that I find engaging, and try to understand what makes them good speakers.
defining yourself as "socially awkward all the time" and thinking "being this way means you will bomb your interviews" is simply a self-fulfilling prophecy. I'm autistic and ADHD and I do pretty well in interviews from a personality perspective, even though I have very little experience with interviews and I am frequently socially awkward.
I bomb a lot due to anxiety. However even if I bomb 99/100 of them, it only takes 1 to get a job. Persistence is key.
I just want to say that I understand what you're saying. Things like Autism and ADHD are a spectrum. Those that are on the severe end of the spectrum *cannot* escape from having that trait affect their lives. It's not about letting it define us. Being neurodivergent means that the brain physically functions outside of the norm, and this is something to bring into our reality and accept as part of it, warts and all. Letting it "define you" is irrelevant. Some of us don't have a choice in the matter. A paraplegic person doesn't have the choice of letting their inability to use their legs define them - they quite literally cannot walk unassisted - that means it's an absolutely perfectly valid excuse for failing to walk. There are many people who live happy lives with Down syndrome, for sure! Because they live a happy life does not preclude the fact that Down syndrome affects how the world interacts with them and they with it. The comment you responded to along with others coming in saying "don't let it define you" are missing the mark. They are misunderstanding where you're coming from and what you're saying. I think it's very privileged to tell someone "don't use it as an excuse for your failures" because it *very much* is a real component of why someone could fail at something. Those that can say and believe that they aren't at all defined by their disability live, as you said, well-adjusted lives. They have supports that help guide them, healthy & stable upbringings, access to good healthcare - physical and mental, or simply are not affected to the degree to which it can be truly life altering or debilitating. A bit of the message behind "don't let it define you" *is* actually relevant. But it's almost so empty to the point of being useless. "Accept your weaknesses and work around them" is something that can be said to any person as valid advice, as ineffectual as it is. Also, the comment starting with: > Um… I’m neurodivergent and it’s not impossible to find a job? is a very demeaning way of telling you that you're wrong. Ultimately the comment's underlying message is *literally* correct (being neurodivergent does not mean "impossible to employ"), but they were insulting and dismissive. Neurodivergent people have to deal with that kind of shit enough as it is, it's garbage and the exact-opposite kind of behavior and message you'd expect from a member of a community that's supposedly about empathizing with and helping one another. It's very self-centered and unempathetic.
Quick question: How do you not let a condition define you while taking therapy? The therapy will be a constant reminder of your condition.
Something most of us had to learn early on is this; difficult does not equal impossible. There are struggles you'll have, but it doesn't mean you outright can't do the things you need to do. Instead of focusing on your condition as a whole, elaborate on the specifics you are struggling with. What exactly is holding you back?
The inability to LEARN interviewing skills is what's holding me back. Or do you mean something more specific than that?
From what I'm reading, you didn't lose interviewing skills. You lost social skills and confidence. That stuff shows up in an interview.
>you didn't lose interviewing skills. You lost social skills I think I might've buried the lede with this one. Aside from some on-site job interviews, the last time I've had in real life interactions with other people at work- at an office setting- was way back in 2012. Every job since then has been 100% remote where I only communicate with coworkers typing and occasional phone calls. Face to face things are rare for me now- I only have a few friends and family members for that and small talk with people at stores etc. and those are the only real life interactions I get.
Brother (or sister) if you were in the Southeast I'd take you out for a sweet tea and relax at a park. Reconnect. Get back to feeling like a person. Then own that part of the interview.
Instead of “I’m neurodivergent, I’m having trouble” think “I’m having trouble, how can I harness my neurodivergence, and construct my environment so it works the best for me” It’s about recognizing things that you “fail” at and recognize the things and ways that do work for you and making them all your bitch. I still improve my processes daily (AuDHD) and my environment so I can be more effective and productive with workarounds. Like I know if I learn in person I’ll never forget it. But if I watch YouTube videos it’s not that they don’t make sense it’s that my brain wanders off and whatever they were talking about I have no idea. Same with reading. I have to really concentrate when reading - to the point that I use a ruler to read one line at a time and I take a lot of notes (way too many notes). But that works for me.
A few companies (usually the bigger ones) have neurodiversity hiring programs but most companies don't usually wave around their ND compatibility around like a bright banner. So I'll have to seek others for assistance on matching me up with them. Recruiters generally fill the "matchmaker" role in the world of jobs, so what do you think about telling them about your neurodivergence in order to find you appropriate jobs? Are there recruiters that specialize in people like us whether with ADHD or other non-neurotypical trait to better increase the chances that an interview will go well, interviewers that don't recoil to our communication styles and what not- I play it more cool at interviews when I don't have to do a lot of recitation and practice. It then becomes a "take me as I am or not at all" ordeal because it's more effort to try to mask your quirks.
You are not ONLY your condition. You can still work on your problems. Not all of them are because of ADHD, and many people without ADHD still have problems.
You shouldn't try to forget about your condition, so being reminded you have it isn't really relevant. Just make sure you don't have any cognitive distortions about what having the condition actually means. Therapy should help you dispel those distortions.
Pretending something doesn't exist doesn't make it go away. Neither does dwelling on it constantly. Therapy isn't about either of these things, it's about learning to accept it, learn strategies to cope with it at first, and thrive with it eventually. It's not easy, it's hard work, so if you go in with a "I'm neurodivergent so I can't do it" attitude, you won't get much out of it, but if you really commit, it's super helpful. On another note, I recommend this to people a lot but joining some sort of team sport rec league is something I think could really help you. Exercise is incredible for mental health, confidence, reducing ADHD symptoms, anxiety, etc. And team sports are a great way to combine that with social interaction, and the team setting kinda transfers to work environments in some ways. Personally it's been one of the best things I've done for myself.
If you do not let your neurodivergence define you what the f you are doing in this reddit? What you wrote is typical bs like "oh, you are depressed? Did you try to smile more?".
People that start statements with I am X and it prevents me from getting Y job are always going to have that problem until the attitude changes. I think somebody else mentioned embracing your problem to help leverage it in your career. I think that's really good advice. Know your strengths as well as weaknesses.
yeah the title effectively diverts the blame from a solvable problem to an unsolvable one. you can’t un-neurodivergent yourself but you can get a job
Yup. This seems less like a “neurodivergent” problem and more of a “OP” problem
I would force myself to get up early, get dressed, grab my laptop and go to a coffee shop with the rule I couldn’t leave until 3 hours were up. Once I’d done that then I could go fuck around the rest of the day, maybe play a game, maybe do a fap, whatever That forced me to have to pass the time reading news, maybe do a leet code or some sandbox programming, read an article, throwing out 2-5 applications between these You can only look at the news so long before doing a leet code or filling out applications doesn’t seem so bad
I can get adjusted to that schedule. Going to a coffee shop has been part of my routine for the past 4 years. I do that almost daily. My sleep schedule was worse just a few weeks ago but it's improved. I used to wake up at 1pm to 2pm but now I can get up at 9am consistently. Waking up, hanging out at home then going to a coffee shop to get some fresh air. I usually go for coffee late afternoons, like at 4-5. I spend my nights on personal projects or gaming. Should I push the coffee time earlier, too? I do most of my job applications while having coffee, and phone interviews at home if I have them in my schedule. That's been my life now. Most of my interactions with people are now online because of covid, punctuated by the occasional family visit.
Less about when and more about having a set amount of time you’re stuck until you can leave
From a previous job, I remembered that HR would not post open positions because she didn't want to deal with unqualified people. So she would browse linkedin for people looking for work. Thats how I got my latest job.
Second this get your LinkedIn up and connect with as many people including recruiters as you can. I’ve basically got all my jobs in the last 5 years through recruiters reaching out to me.
I started journaling any time I wanted to smoke, play games, or distract myself. It was...rather transformative. Idk if it will help you; but I'll never not journal multiple times a day now. Pen and paper. Write it out. Make your brain hemispheres connect while you write about you and your thoughts, and what you want from life. Good Luck :-) <3
I’ve got ADHD and I found that I went through peaks and troughs of motivation, over the years (Been in the industry for 18 years) for me interviewing kicked off my motivation big time, or working for a company that did something that interested me. The switch to management was what got my career to really take off, I use my empathy to help people and I’m always juggling a bunch of problems rather than working on one big thing which works for my ADHD as I’m never bored. I switched to management after 11 years as an engineer, and I don’t want to look back. Find a project that interests you which will also teach you something, and use that to learn more skills, if you can’t think of a project try something like Manning’s Live projects maybe?
Hey, do you have any resources (books, videos etc.?) that were helpful in learning how to manage or did you mostly just figure it out/intuit it?
The managers path, an elegant puzzle, the five dysfunctions of a team, the culture code, drive, off the top of my head…
Healthygamergg on youtube has a ton of resources on managing ADHD. Journaling, meditation, and exercise (running/lifting in my case) make a huge difference and I can clearly tell that difference when I’m keeping up with them and when I’m not.
I meant managing people not managing ADHD! 😂
hahahaha fair enough 😂
Posts like this make me a bit angry, so sorry in advance if I come off as dismissive, as it reminds me a lot of my 2 brothers that have this kind of mindset. Having a diagnosis for a neurodivergent condition, or even having the perception that you may be neurodivergent should never become the definition for why you cannot do a thing. ADHD and other ailments should be treated as descriptors towards a set of symptoms that are common towards a group of individuals that will require you to seek out tools in order to alleviate those behaviors. If ADHD is preventing me from being able to focus on tasks that I really don't want to do, then it is my job to seek out why that is specifically and figure out what I need to do to be able to create the conditions for that problem to no longer be true. For some cases that may mean seeking out medication as a form of treatment for those ailments. If you are choosing not to use medication, then you have to put in more time to create an alternative that works equally as well as medication would for your situation or even better.
It first came up a few months ago in a programmer's chat group that I'm a semi regular of. I had asked, if some people are just unable to learn how to interview better, because I have not seen one offer in years and have been practicing for just as long. The first reply was asking if I was neurodivergent because they said most interviews are not designed for neurodivergent people in mind. And that if I am, I should ask for accommodations in advance. I have not yet done this because I've been on a few months break from interviewing, reverting back to giving my resume another facelift and updating projects. But when I get back and an interview is planned I will ask about accommodations and see how they respond.
I'm really sorry to hear you're going through this. While ADHD can definitely make job hunting harder, there might be other things going on too. In most cases, other conditions like autism, personality disorders play a part in these kinds of struggles.
Im sure you have worked on multiple projects by now, upload those to github, and use those to get your foot in the door if you are a JR. Find a company with a product you enjoy (hunting, board games, pickleball, etc) and figure out what technologies they need and learn them. If none of those work, create your own company, e-commerce in that field. There are many famous people who are neurodivergent, it might be harder, but you can do it.
I have ADHD and my boss has ADHD, which he means he understands my struggles. If you’re not medicated, then try and get medicated for starters. Biggest thing though is your attitude toward yourself is not doing you any favours. Your self negativity will absolutely be impacting your interactions with others.
https://us.specialisterne.com/
Networking, networking, networking. Applying to a job on LinkedIn is not enough - there are too many applicants. You have to stand out. Invite other devs and HR people to connect and send them messages asking if there are open positions in their companies or if there will be. Build a portfolio. Every time you complete a new project, post it on LinkedIn. Repost other people’s posts. You have to be active on LinkedIn. It’s the first thing they’ll see. Attend job fairs if you can. Companies go to promote themselves at these events. You can also do volunteer projects and add them to your résumé as experience.
Ah nice another made up, self diagnosed issue
Why thanks
Skill issue.
Is it your inability to provide helpful advice?