Two years ago, Microsoft announced their Autism Hiring Program, and since then the firm has been thinking about new ways to encourage people who have autism to join the company.
April is National Autism Awareness Month in the United States, and April 2 was World Autism Day. Along with sponsoring the Autism @ Work Summit this month, which will be held in Palo Alto California, Microsoft will also launch the world"s first free Autism @ Work Virtual Career Fair on April 13 between 12 PM and 2 PM PST. The virtual fair is free and anyone can register here.
The event is hosted in the hope that the virtual platform will give people who are on the autistic spectrum a unique opportunity to show off their skills. The virtual career fair will have several virtual booths staffed by actual people from companies including AT&T, EY, Ford, HPE Dandelion, JP Morgan Chase, NCR, and SAP.
In order to maximize the gain for potential attendees to this fair, LinkedIn will also hold two virtual sessions that will explain best practices at the fair, how it all works, and how to create an appealing profile for the potential employers.
Microsoft boasts a week long hiring academy for successful candidates who have autism, giving them a chance to engage with various managers and teams. This again is done so that potential candidates have the maximum amount of freedom to showcase their abilities, as Microsoft says such candidates have contributed massively to all of their major products in the past.
Source and image: Microsoft