I remember it vividly: we had a highly anticipated on-site interview with a Senior Software Engineer. Let’s call him Alex. Eighty-five percent of candidates failed the screens before the onsite, while Alex aced them. The timing was right and so were his motivations. Green lights all the way.
When he arrived, our Office Manager messaged me right away to let me know that Alex checked-in wearing large headphones and didn’t seem to have any plans to take them off. She didn’t have to say more. I read the subtext clearly: she wasn’t worried that the headphones were a problem, she was making sure they wouldn’t be one. Alex sailed through the on-site interview and got an offer from us the next day. Post-offer, Alex volunteered that he is neurodivergent. What would have been a conventionally awkward start had a happy ending.
Like Alex, most candidates do not disclose that they’re neurodivergent during the interview stage. We were hiring too fast to build a formal program, so we took a grassroots approach to make our interview process more inclusive for neurodivergent candidates. Many of our 200+ high-performing engineers disclosed being autistic and/or ADHD after they were hired. That made the problem clear: we needed an interview process that worked for neurotypical and neurodivergent candidates alike, or we’d keep missing great talent.
First, the stakes. Autism, ADHD, and dyslexia are among the most familiar forms of neurodivergence. Current estimates suggest that one in five or six people in the general population are neurodivergent, closer to one in four in engineering. Most of the data comes from self-reporting, so the real numbers are likely higher. Even with these conservative estimates, that’s one out of four candidates you risk losing.
No matter the size of your organization, here are small, easy changes that make an outsized difference in how inclusive your interview process is. No committee required.
Before the interview: Reduce ambiguity
Avoid missing or turning off qualified candidates, and set the live interview up to go well.
- Back the buzzwords in your job description. “Is comfortable with context-switching” paints a less clear picture than “has productively switched between working on PRs and answering questions from teammates and customers.”
- Separate core from optional requirements. Be explicit about which requirements are “essential” and which are “nice to have.” Neurodivergent candidates may take requirements literally and self-select out if they don’t think they qualify.
- Outline the interview process, in detail. Send candidates the interview timeline, interviewers, and focus areas in advance. When every candidate walks in prepared, the playing field levels out.
During the interview: Keep the same clarity
Let interviews reveal a candidate’s potential and abilities, not how well they handle performance anxiety.
- Asking questions one at a time > stacking. Ditch multi-pronged prompts (“Tell me about the most complex product you had to tackle, what everyone did about it, and what you did specifically”) and ask each part on its own (“What was the most complex product you’ve worked on?”; “How did your team tackle it?”; “What ideas did you come up with or champion?”). For all candidates and especially for neurodivergent ones, this cuts cognitive load and rambling, and gets you the information you need faster.
- Specific > open to interpretation. Improve on textbook behavioral questions (“Tell me about a time you handled conflict”) by using situations most relevant to your team (“When you disagree with another engineer during code review, how do you handle it?”). Better examples, better data points for evals.
- Normalize processing time. Make the interview feel more like working together than like a test. Tell candidates, “Feel free to ask me to repeat or clarify my question, take a moment to think before answering, or ask for a break if you need one.” This way, you don’t mistake quick thinking for critical thinking.
After the interview: close the loop clearly
Don’t spook a good candidate or yourself during the “afters” and “in-betweens.”
- Mean what you say. Neurodivergent candidates are more likely to take you literally. If you say, “I will reach out to you in a few days regarding next steps,” don’t expect them to do anything but wait. You’ve basically held up a sign saying “don’t call me, I’ll call you.” So don’t be surprised or suspicious if they don’t reach out first. If you want them to follow up when they haven’t heard from you, say so.
- Outline the post-interview process in detail. Just as you had provided a roadmap ahead of the interview, spell out what happens next. It keeps good candidates motivated and engaged.
- Ask specific questions, get specific answers. Asking “Do you have any questions or concerns about the team?” is the kind of open-ended question that gets you soft-ball answers or often, no answer. Instead, ask “How do you feel about the team’s size?” followed by, “How much of a change would that be compared to the team you work with now?”
Interviews are meant to give both candidates and companies the signals they need to evaluate a mutual fit. What I’ve given you are simple, practical tactics you can apply to improve your hiring process universally while being more inclusive to neurodivergent candidates. After all, better interviews produce better signals, no matter on which side of the table you sit.
I’ve helped engineering teams of 3 to 3,000 improve their interview processes. Get in touch with me if you’re interested in learning more or adding to the conversation.
