This Week in Talent (8th December)

Oh my god hiiiiiiiiiii!!!

Weird – I haven’t written a TWIT since January 2023, and oh boy have I GROWN into my big girl pants. I’m an adult now: I bought a house, I’m kicking some serious work goals, I’ve integrated ChatGPT into my everyday working life, I got my Certificate in Service Design and … I got diagnosed with ADHD. It’s been a year.

In the spirit of International Day of People with a Disability (which was Sunday 3rd December), I thought I would expand a bit on my new found friend … ADHD. I was only diagnosed earlier this year, but I have suspected I might have it for a while and have struggled with the symptoms my entire life. It’s nice to be able to put a name to my weirdness, and know that I’m not alone – there are plenty more Weird Jody’s out there.

I’ve learned that I am attracted to stressful jobs. Yes … horrifying, right?! I love fast paced, exciting,  reactive work – and that is how I have managed to stay in the recruitment field this long. I am the person you want on your team in a crisis – my brain operates at 100 miles an hour, 24/7 so I can come up with a plan at the drop of a hat, make decisions on the fly and take the risks that others might veer away from. I also get VERY passionate about fairness and justice; which is why I spent most of this year working on a Recruitment Reboot to further strengthen our recruitment process and make the candidate assessment tools more robust and equitable.

Unfortunately, it also means I am susceptible to surprise burn out. I have no awareness of my bodily cues, so I end up working and buzzing around until I literally collapse. SURPRISE – you’re sick now.

To combat this surprise burn out, I have been testing out some workplace adjustments. This is still a work in progress; it’s hard to change 36 years worth of habits in an instant, and so it will take time for me to figure out what is right for me.

The typical adjustments that people think of for neurodiverse people are things like:

• noise cancelling headphones for the office – these end up putting me into hyperfocus and I lose track of all time and awareness of surroundings. Plus I don’t want to wear them in the office because the office is for socialising!
• extended time on task deadlines – this is a terrible idea for me. I will still leave it until the night before, every time.
• changing up flexible working arrangements – still a work in progress as I don’t know how my brain is going to feel on any given day. One day I might be on FIRE, the next I am a distracted mess.

I’m still testing out different ways of working and keeping my brain busy, but I would love to connect with anyone reading this that also has an ADHD diagnosis. There is a wave of women receiving late ADHD diagnosises currently, so there is hardly ANY information or research out there for how we are meant to cope with the news. As such, I have been rallying the troops myself and connecting with others to share tips, tricks and support – and it has worked a treat.

Anyway, enough about me – I’ve curated some recruitment articles and handy reads in the spirit of disability awareness! Enjoy!

How To Help Employees With Disability Thrive

PODCAST – How can employers tap into every worker’s skills and gifts, regardless of their abilities? This podcast has the GOODS! Listen and learn how we can make workplaces more welcoming, accessible and equitable for people with a disability.

A LinkedIn Post About Accessible Interviews

O.G Jody TWIT readers will know how passionate I am about this. If someone asks for the interview questions up front as an accessibility adjustment … we are obliged to provide them. So why not just do it anyway?

How some Australian companies are supporting neurodiverse employees

A peek into the life of someone late-diagnosed with Autism, how that affected her in the workplace, and how her company has bent over backwards to support her to produce her best work. Love this!

Unlocking The Power Of Neurodiversity

There are heaps of shit things about having ADHD, but there are also heaps of great things. This article covers some of the good bits 🙂

Sam’s Story: International Day of People with Disability

WATCH: A sweet story about an employer that took a chance on someone with a disability, and the impact meaningful employment can have on someone’s life.