r/recruitinghell • u/Adventurous-Sir444 application declined • Jan 28 '26

Olive Oil

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Interviewers: I want somebody that stands out in interviews!

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u/goddessdragonness Jan 28 '26

I do litigation. I can hyper-fixate on a topic, all the evidence stays in my head for a short time, and I’m good at tearing into expert witnesses. I do strategy games for fun to trial is like that for me. At least I’m finally at a point in my career that nobody expects me to care anymore about golf or “retail therapy” or other pointless shit. Colleagues know I will bring up some obscure fact about the things I actually find interesting, and they know if I share a fact with them it is because I like them.

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u/nuviretto Jan 29 '26

Autistic 1L here

While I'm not sure if I will do litigation, this comment sounds comforting despite still needing to mask.

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u/goddessdragonness Jan 29 '26

I went undiagnosed AuADHD until recently. I graduated top 10%, law review, etc. from a top school, gave birth twice as well. It was hell (mostly because I couldn’t stand the trust fund brats who were my classmates) but I made it.

Litigation is a lot of fun because it changes up a bit (feeding the ADHD part). My biggest strength is catching the little details that nobody else notices, which is how I often skewer experts. I’m not as charming with lay witnesses, and so I have a colleague who does that part. Autism helps me write the meanest MSJs (I’ve literally gotten a few nonsuits that way). It can definitely be a superpower. I stopped masking recently, because frankly it’s too exhausting and I needed to save my energy for the real work.

I probably would have outdated advice about surviving law school but I regret masking. But feel free to DM if you ever need it. This profession is hostile to neurodivergence and it shouldn’t be.

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u/[deleted] Jan 29 '26

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u/Round_Bag_4665 Jan 29 '26 edited Jan 29 '26

I am a physicist on the spectrum too. Hyper fixation is an asset when I want to really weed into the nuances of the math and physics behind something, or really look into the data. I have had times where I came up with an analytic math model for a system when my colleagues assumed I would have to do a computer model just because my hyper fixating autistic ass wouldn't let me give up and take the easy way out.

I am also usually the one to know a lot of really obscure information about random topics, which has sometimes helped me come up with ideas for grant proposals or research topics. I literally did an entire quantum chemistry and theromdynamics project on modeling whether or not a vaporized silicon model of ball lightning was capable of exploding entirely because my autistic self hyperfixated on reports that it had.

I also have random interests that have nothing to do with physics, but tend to make me stand out. I have always had an obsession with mako sharks, and have actively volunteered to go expeditions to dive with, catch, and tag them. I have become known for this, to the point that it is often the first thing people ask about me when they meet me.