Graduation is a milestone for most students. For many young people on the autism spectrum, it also marks the start of the hardest stretch. Justin Nelson, a managing director at JP Morgan, says the move from education to employment is where neurodiverse individuals face their greatest obstacles.

Support Before the Job Search

Nelson has seen this firsthand through Adelphi University’s Bridges Program, which provides support systems for high-functioning students on the spectrum. Such programs help during college, but the job market presents a new set of tests, starting with the interview.

“Interviews can be hard for them, so an employer has to think differently about the hiring process,” Justin Nelson JP Morgan explains. Communication, he notes, is usually the biggest difficulty, and a standard interview is built almost entirely around it.

That mismatch hides talent. Many neurodiverse candidates have strong creative and computational abilities, which are well suited to finance. Nelson leads the Asset Management and Financial Principals Coverage Team at J.P. Morgan Private Bank in Connecticut, overseeing more than $15 billion in assets, and he sees clear value in those analytical skills.

Bridging the Gap With Employers

Broad Futures is the second organization Nelson supports. The charity focuses on matching neurodiverse candidates with employers, and it does so by teaching companies about neurodiversity and helping them run selection programs. That model puts some of the work on employers, which is where Justin Nelson believes it belongs.

Once new hires arrive, he recommends clear structure. Managers should break assignments into specific tasks and make sure employees understand how their work connects to a larger plan or set of rules. Employees who receive that clarity, Nelson says, can turn into some of a company’s best performers.

The JP Morgan executive’s framework comes down to three moves: rethink interviews, organize tasks with care, and lean on specialized partners. For students leaving programs like Bridges, those changes could make the first job far easier to reach. Refer to this article for related information.

More about Justin Nelson JP Morgan on https://tfn.tufts.edu/blog/news/2011/10/01/member-spotlight-justin-nelson-a98-opening-doors-to-students-at-jp-morgan/