The outside-the-box thinking and variability of the Silicon Valley lends itself to building a diverse workforce, though intentionality in hiring by businesses is often necessary to ensure inclusivity. This purpose is boosted by organizations like Autism Advantage – a team of people dedicated to improving awareness of the specific needs of autistic individuals.
In pursuit of this goal, on May 16th our HR teams hosted students from the Autism Advantage program at our Mountain View headquarters for a day of informative presentations and professional skills sessions.
The data analytics-driven Autism Advantage program centers in a 6-week training session for autistic students. Following the initial training, the staff of Autism Advantage help prepare students for interviews and place them in roles at industry leading technology companies.
A mutually beneficial learning opportunity
The introduction of our event with Autism Advantage focused on insights on autism shared with Veritas HR professionals, including research by the Center for Disease Control. The Center recently released statistics stating that 1 in 59 individuals is impacted by autism in the U.S., with 4x more prevalence of autism in males vs. females.
With these numbers in mind, those of us on Veritas HR teams were able to see clearly: employers like Veritas must be aware of traits of autistic individuals.
John Marble from the Autism Advantage program then discussed how autistic individuals sometimes have mental quirks, like hyper-focused interests, explaining, “They have a different way of approaching things in the world. There are many strengths, like their attention to detail, deep focus and ability to concentrate and retain information.”
Following John’s presentation, Ranga Jayaraman poignantly asked our audience, “What are some ingredients that create innovation?” The answer: “Diversity, innovation, and creation.”
When it comes to employment it’s meaningful to keep in mind there are some barriers for autistic professionals, including:
- Employers may be unfamiliar with autistic traits and may misinterpret an interaction;
- Differences in thinking;
- Navigating social dynamics within the company;
During the second half of the event, Autism Advantage students and Veritas HR staff discussed challenges in resume writing and interviewing, with guidance provided by Senior HR Partner, Sinead Borgensen, or @QueenBorg on VOX. Sinead outlined reasons why behavioral interviewing can be a challenge for autistic individuals, including tips for improved engagement for all parties.
To close the day’s presentations, Data Scientist, Marcello Tomasini, offered highlights on his role at Veritas, explaining, “Data is the most important value in the company.” He discussed his daily tasks and emphasized the significance of the work of a Data Scientist role at Veritas and within the technology industry, broadly.
The day provided meaningful learnings by both Autism Advantage students and Veritas HR staff. As an advocate for individuals with developmental disabilities and the parent of an autistic young adult son, I am proud Veritas has chosen to collaborate with Autism Advantage to support our shared charge of being good corporate citizens building and building a diverse, inclusive professional environment.
Click here to listen to a podcast on the Autism Advantage program.
Learn more about Veritas Corporate Responsibility here, and please check out the Autism Advantage program at http://expandability.org/autism-advantage/.
