Hard time finding work due to aspergers?
angelofdarkness
Deinonychus
Joined: 16 Apr 2012
Age: 27
Gender: Female
Posts: 346
Location: punxsutawney, pennslyvannia
Am I the only one who may be having a hard time finding a actual job due to aspergers? I had a job at walmart two summers ago, that I didn't last a month as a cashier since I couldn't get the hang of everything and had to be let go, so I started the process with ovr, on finding employment. They ended up doing a work experience program, where they sent me to a goodwill plant, for temporary work training, i ended up getting hired there but its only two days a week and like 11 hours a week since it has to be at times when the bus can take me and other disabled individuals to and from work. I can't even get another day or two since they have so many people working there, its really aggravating since by the time I pay bus fares, buy stuff to take in my lunch and any hygiene stuff I need I only have like 50 bucks to save or spend on whatever. I also got rejected for disability, as well. I started up a case with ovr where they're gonna get me a job coach to help with my interview skills and things like that related to a job search. I do believe when I even manage to get interviews, i come off as awkward due to my aspergers, plus maybe how I have gaps in my resume. Does anyone have tips or advice they could give me to improve my chances of finding a better job?
_________________
never give up even if the odds are against you
I think this isxa common problem among those on the spectrum. I think the issue is, if we get past the interview process, that many of us take longer to acclimate than others but out perfomr others when we come up to speed, but NTs are unfamiliar with us or become impatient so we have difficulty finding an environment where we can demonstrate our actual talents.
I think people on the spectrum do best in professions and unconventional jobs.
angelofdarkness
Deinonychus
Joined: 16 Apr 2012
Age: 27
Gender: Female
Posts: 346
Location: punxsutawney, pennslyvannia
I've been working at goodwill for about 1 1/2 yeara now
_________________
never give up even if the odds are against you
Not due to aspergers / related conditions but haven't really had the chance to show what I can do, in theory I can work at a social capacity for only so long, but i haven't had that long in a job to have my performance affected by my aspie traits, i would guess that volunteering or work experience would make you less of a target in the workplace than if you were a paid employee where you might be under more scrutiny.
I would have rewritten it as 'Hard time keeping a job due to [difficulties]' as your aspie traits only really apply if you're going in for an interview and you are experiencing more anxiety than usual or you find it really hard to maintain eye contact or come across as shy which myself I can't help.
Getting a job is easy.
Pretending to be friends with work colleagues is trouble.
I don't do gossip and share very little about myself.
Don't socialise or go to work parties.
I don't suck up to the boss either.
Good thing is I only stay in jobs for less than two years, so it doesn't get too bad.
Ironically I've taught myself to be good at customer service, which is very similar. However I don't have to see the customers all day, every day, and pretend to be their friend. The interaction is much more honest, they want good service they're paying for it.
You also need to keep trying to get a job. One often cannot succeed without failing a lot. Own the failures, and keep plugging away. It was my wife's idea to apply for the job that I am in now, and I am enjoying it (the company is young, is doubling in size from 500 to 1,000 this year, has growing pains, it seems to have lots of problems that I get to point out, and so I get to help out in my own way).
I think this isxa common problem among those on the spectrum. I think the issue is, if we get past the interview process, that many of us take longer to acclimate than others but out perfomr others when we come up to speed, but NTs are unfamiliar with us or become impatient so we have difficulty finding an environment where we can demonstrate our actual talents.
I think people on the spectrum do best in professions and unconventional jobs.
This. It always takes me longer to get up to speed and nobody seems to have the patience. And that's IF they provide the training and orientation I need. I need the whole context for me to understand my role. I find that NTs are perfectly ok with only knowing their "cog" role where I need to understand what the whole machine is doing...which obviously takes longer.
If an interviewer puts me on the spot to demonstrate my knowledge I freeze up even if I have the skills. My last interview was a disaster. It was a phone interview and the interviewer expected me to tell him SQL code over the phone. This caught me off guard and I was like a deer in headlights. I told him I wouldn't be able to do that over the phone and he insisted. It was painful and definitely killed any chance I had at getting the job even though I probably would have done good at the actual job had I gotten it.
At this point, I feel like even if I manage to get my foot in the door somewhere that I'm not going to hit the ground running like they expect and I'm going to be right back out the door. I am really discouraged and looking at job postings just makes me more discouraged....when I'm supposed to be promoting myself.
And that's a big part of my problem right now. I'm just so outside of all this business world stuff that I'm supposed to be happily participating in. My now former company put me into this transition service program to help me find something else but it's all so removed from who I am and what I want. I could care less about personal branding and networking with people on LinkedIn. It just all seems so circular... we work to pay for the things we need to be able to work... I keep thinking my disillusionment will pass, maybe I need to be inspired or at least make sure I'm getting enough sleep, but so far it hasn't.
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