ABA interviews are usually shorter and more practical than corporate ones. Many happen over the phone or video, and the person interviewing you is often a BCBA or clinical director, the person who would supervise you. They are hiring for reliability and temperament, so your answers should show both.
Questions you will almost certainly be asked
- Why do you want to work with children with autism?
- What is your availability, and can you do afternoons and early evenings?
- Tell me about a time you stayed calm with someone who was upset
- Do you have reliable transportation, and how far will you travel?
- Are you certified, in training, or do you need the 40-hour course provided?
- How do you take feedback? (Expect a lot of it in this field, that is normal)
Questions worth asking them
- How many hours a week are guaranteed, not just offered?
- Do I get paid when a client cancels or is absent?
- Is drive time or mileage paid for in-home work?
- Who pays for the 40-hour training, the exam fee, and annual renewal?
- How much supervision will I get, and from whom?
- What does a caseload ramp-up look like in the first month?
How to stand out with no experience
Name your transferable experience plainly, childcare, camp, caregiving, retail, food service, and connect it to what the job needs: patience, consistency, following a plan exactly, and recording what happened. Showing up on time and responding to messages quickly before the interview says more than anything you say during it.
A red flag worth remembering: if a company cannot tell you the hourly pay, the guaranteed hours, or the cancellation policy before you accept, keep looking. Good employers answer those questions directly.