Late-diagnosed with ADHD (inattentive type). I work with college/university students, creative folks, and life-long learners of any age. We hold a space of compassionate curiosity where you can uncover your deep strengths and tell a new story of yourself defined by your best moments, not your inner critic.
What jobs are best for ADHDers?
Happy New Year my friend!
The new year often prompts us to imagine transitions and fresh starts.
A question that I frequently hear is “what jobs are best suited to ADHDers?” Are you thinking about a change in your job? Are you wondering how other ADHDers and neurodiverse folks have found employment that suited them?
I’ve been listening to the podcast How’d You Get THAT Job?! from Understood.org.
So far they’ve interviewed 38 different neurodiverse folks about their jobs and career paths (freelance photographer, ship captain, chef, podcaster, comedian, fashion designer, wastewater engineer, and more!). Better yet, they gathered the best bits of those interviews into one comprehensive episode.
My biggest takeaway from these interviews is that an ADHDer’s ideal job is as varied as our uniquely-wired brains. Some of us thrive in fast adrenaline-driven environments (the adrenaline helps us focus). For others, the best job is one where we can work at our own pace, following the ebb and flow of our energy.
Most — if not all — of us have had negative experiences in our employment histories. I have dreaded job interviews and performance evaluations. I have put in extra (unpaid) hours to try to reach productivity targets. After my diagnosis, I wrestled with whether or not to talk about ADHD and neurodiversity in my workplace. Part of why I became an ADHD coach is so that I can be honest and straightforward about my own neurodiversity.
The interviewees talk about their challenges and setbacks, about asking for accommodations, about trying new things, and about finding the type of work that fits their strengths. This podcast is worth a listen, whether you are considering changing jobs or if you are trying to make your current employment more ADHD-friendly.
If you know somebody who is struggling in an ableist workplace that is unwilling to adjust for their neurodiversity, please share this resource with them so they can see examples of positives and successes. It is so much easier to imagine what change is possible when we can see what others have done ahead of us, and how they got there.
While this email has been very work-centric, I also want to remind you that we aren’t defined by our productivity or our ability to “contribute to society”. Our value is intrinsic and we have the right to exist — to be healthy, to find joy, and to rest — regardless of what job we do.
For more resources, please visit my website at https://www.randyhendersonadhdcoach.com/.
What would you like to see in future newsletters? What topics would you like covered in more detail? Please drop me a note at randy@randyhendersonadhdcoach.com.
With gratitude,
Randy
p.s. Did you know that the punctuation “?!” is called an interrobang? It can also be shown as “‽”
Randy Henderson ADHD Coach
Late-diagnosed with ADHD (inattentive type). I work with college/university students, creative folks, and life-long learners of any age. We hold a space of compassionate curiosity where you can uncover your deep strengths and tell a new story of yourself defined by your best moments, not your inner critic.
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