R9990/2026-03-31/C001/SRC01/E01¶
Professional coach identifies STAR format assumptions that disadvantage neurodivergent candidates.
Extract¶
Audrey Lessard, professional coach with 25 years in customer service and a decade in management conducting interviews, states:
- "The STAR model assumes sequential thinking, which doesn't work for everyone."
- For ADHD candidates: "organizing their thinking in real time is already a full cognitive task in itself, before they've even answered the first question."
- For individuals with Dys profiles (dyslexia, dyspraxia, dysphasia): "what the interview demands often bears no relation to what the role will require day-to-day."
- For autistic candidates: they face "a demand that the standard interview simply does not recognize" while "simultaneously managing the load of non-verbal communication, decoding subtext and formulating an adequate response."
- Many neurodivergent candidates "answer the literal question, when the interviewer is actually looking for a demonstration of a specific competency."
Relevance to Hypotheses¶
| Hypothesis | Relationship | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| H1 | Supports | Directly identifies STAR's sequential thinking assumption as a barrier for ADHD, dyslexia, and autism — practitioner observation from interview experience |
| H2 | Supports | Identifies specific conditions and mechanisms, suggesting the problem is real but varies by condition type |
| H3 | Contradicts | Practitioner with decade of interview experience reports systematic disadvantages, not neutrality |
Context¶
This is practitioner testimony, not peer-reviewed research. The author's observations come from coaching neurodivergent candidates and conducting interviews professionally. No empirical data or formal studies are cited.
Notes¶
The article was published on the same date as this research run (2026-03-31), making it very current. The practitioner perspective is valuable for identifying real-world barriers but lacks empirical rigor.