I wanted to reach out to formally request some interview accommodations under the ADA. I have a disability that affects processing speed and working memory, particularly under time pressure, and my brain processes information differently than the norm. I'm a fantastic engineer, but interviews that require real-time narration of my thought process create artificial barriers that don't reflect real-world work.
Here are the specific accommodations I'm requesting:
1. For live coding and system design interviews (anything that requires solving a defined problem in a set amount of time), I request 50% additional time, which is standard for my disability on major tests like the LSAT and MCAT. While I rarely use that much extra time, it gives me the ability to slow down and "translate" from my internal world to one that is accessible to interviewers, so that I demonstrate my actual capabilities within the constraints of the interview process.. Tell the engineers my code needs time to compile and they'll understand. ;)
2. For all interviews, I need to be able to see the question in text form before answering. Usually the interviewer can paste the text of the question in the video chat and that works great. For problem-solving interviews, this means letting me read the prompt on my own, rather than the interviewer narrating it to me.
3. For conversational interviews, I don't always pick up context clues well, so I request that the interviewer is proactive and direct about what signal they are looking for. When this information is provided as part of the initial prompt, not as a follow up, it allows me to structure my answer appropriately from the start, rather than guessing what angle you're evaluating and potentially spending time on irrelevant details. For example, "Tell me about a complex project you led. I'm most interested in how you handled roadblocks and made decisions under pressure" vs "I'm most interested on how you influenced technical direction on a project with multiple engineers" vs "I'm most interested how you solidified ambiguous requirements."
I'm really proud of this email I sent recently:
I wanted to reach out to formally request some interview accommodations under the ADA. I have a disability that affects processing speed and working memory, particularly under time pressure, and my brain processes information differently than the norm. I'm a fantastic engineer, but interviews that require real-time narration of my thought process create artificial barriers that don't reflect real-world work.
Here are the specific accommodations I'm requesting:
1. For live coding and system design interviews (anything that requires solving a defined problem in a set amount of time), I request 50% additional time, which is standard for my disability on major tests like the LSAT and MCAT. While I rarely use that much extra time, it gives me the ability to slow down and "translate" from my internal world to one that is accessible to interviewers, so that I demonstrate my actual capabilities within the constraints of the interview process.. Tell the engineers my code needs time to compile and they'll understand. ;)
2. For all interviews, I need to be able to see the question in text form before answering. Usually the interviewer can paste the text of the question in the video chat and that works great. For problem-solving interviews, this means letting me read the prompt on my own, rather than the interviewer narrating it to me.
3. For conversational interviews, I don't always pick up context clues well, so I request that the interviewer is proactive and direct about what signal they are looking for. When this information is provided as part of the initial prompt, not as a follow up, it allows me to structure my answer appropriately from the start, rather than guessing what angle you're evaluating and potentially spending time on irrelevant details. For example, "Tell me about a complex project you led. I'm most interested in how you handled roadblocks and made decisions under pressure" vs "I'm most interested on how you influenced technical direction on a project with multiple engineers" vs "I'm most interested how you solidified ambiguous requirements."
Thank you for sharing!!! This is great.