What are the best jobs for people with social anxiety?

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I really need a job. My life is currently stalled, but I'm terrified of having a job that forces me to do a lot of face to face interaction, or worse, phone calls. I've put this off for so long because if a trip the grocery store makes me anxious I can only imagine how I would feel if I worked at the grocery store. I do apply for jobs but I've only had one interview in 4 years and that was only because an employee kindly allowed me to use them as a reference. Pretty sure I don't know how to pass the personality tests that come with applying at corporate retail stores.

What are the best jobs for people with social anxiety? I'll gladly sit at a desk for 8 hours doing something repetitive, but I don't know how to find those kind of jobs. I just don't think I can handle a steady flow of customers or co-workers in any setting.

I work shelving books at the library. It's good, nobody really bothers me. I just take my cart and head into the stacks.

I would love that job. I tried to get one but I think the libraries around me are losing funding. Definitely on my list though.

First, stay away from retail, as that involves a lot of people contact, both with the public, and with co-workers. My first job was working part time shelving books in a public library, while I was in high school, but libraries are non profit organizations, so they don't have to pay the minimum wage, and paid me less than that. They had a policy of reserving the position for high schoolers, but by the time I graduated, they were having problems getting other teens to take such a low wage. I was looking for a full time job at normal wage when the library offered me a raise to stay on, but the raise was still under the minimum wage! So, when I found another job, I left. I did like the library job, even though I did sometimes have to interact with the public. Sometimes people needed help finding stuff, or needed to see stuff that was locked in the room where we kept old magazines, old newspapers, and old newsletters. So I had to get the materials out for them. Other times I had to help them get set up to use the microfilm viewers. We had some old newspapers and magazines on microfilm. Even decades later, I still miss the job, but not the ridiculously low rate of pay.

Before going on any more interviews, first go down to the local state job/employment office and ask to take an aptitude test. It's not like a school test--you don't get graded A through F. What it does is ask you a lot of questions about your interests and abilities. Then the results are reviewed and evaluated to give you an idea of where your job strenghts and interests might be. This will help you in your job hunting.

Then sign up with all the employment agencies. You can sign up for a permanent placement, or temp to perm job, or just as a temp. You can also specify full or part time. Most jobs are full time, though. As for jobs that don't involve too much contact with the public, or phone work, many office jobs are like that. There are also factory jobs, and ware house jobs. The employment agencies will also give you some tests--ones that are more specific than the aptitude tests. They will probably want to give you typing and data entry tests, basic math tests, and tests that see if you can manage filing work among others. It's best to sign up with every general employment agency in your area, as this will generate more job leads. Read any paper work the agencies ask you to sign. Some agencies may want you to sign something where you agree to have an exclusive arrangement with them--that you won't be free to sign with other agencies. NEVER sign such an agreement. It is perfectly legal to register with every agency in your area, to increase your chances of getting a job. If a particular agency insists that you sign an exclusive deal with them, don't sign, just leave. There are plenty of other agencies out there you can register with, without signing away your right to cast as wide a net as possible, to get a job.

Night shift and grave yard shift at factories and ware houses pays more per hour, as they are less desirable times to work, but I've done some of both. I did some part time grave yard shift work a few times at UPS places. They paid a little more than the usual rate for grave yard shift for those jobs, because it was part time and temp (no benefits), so they need to sweeten the deal with a little more money per hour.

Besides my library job, I've done retail--absolutely hated it, office, factory, and ware house jobs. I also had an occasional part time job helping a doctor who did doctor temp work. She had Executive Function Disorder far worse than mine. There were huge piles of mail and other papers covering every square inch of floor space, and every furniture surface in her home. She paid me to help her go through the work, but she really wasn't going about it right. She would turn on the TV and watch the shows instead of going through the mess with me. She would also have me come into the kitchen with her to help her make healthy drinks by putting fruits and veggies in her food processor. It was usually the only way to eat the stuff, as she would buy tons of it, and then let it rot in the fridge until deciding to juice it. I hated my occasional days there, as I was always worried about taking a bad fall while trying to walk around in her house, and I also didn't like how we weren't really getting any work done. I also didn't like having to sit on her sink in sofa that was so hard to get up out of. I only kept going there because that was all the work I was able to get at the time. I was finally able to move out of state, when my parents bought the trailer I am living in now, so I no longer work for that doctor.

You really need to take the aptitude test at the job center. You also need to figure out what sort of stuff you like to do, and see if you can find work related to it.

Good luck!

Chapters/Indigo bookstores hire what they call "taskers" who are responsible for stocking shelves and creating displays. They go in before the store opens, so there is minimal customer contact. I don't know if they have this chain where you live though.

Shipping/Receiving might be something to consider too.

Maybe you would like being a projectionist at a movie theatre, or making donuts at a gas station or donut shop early in the am before there are other people there.

Additionally, a program called Vocational Rehabilitation is something you can apply for, if you have been seeing a dr or therapist for your social anxiety or depression you can qualify for it based on that whether or not you have an ASD diagnosis yet. They can help you evaluate your skills, and see if you would like to go to school to get further training, or if you would like to try to work part time or full time. If you want to work, they can connect you with Employment Services places that specialize in helping people get back into work and find a suitable environment that will be supportive of any issues. I had no idea this existed, and it took a very long time to be accepted into the program, but now it is worth the effort because they have ideas for things that I never would have thought of on my own.

good luck

I'm in Vocational Rehabilitation, in my state, and it hasn't been too helpful so far but it's payed a very little bit of college for me, and set me up with a job coach.

Liquor Auditor?

Bars often pay people to come and inventory the product. They usually work in the AM when no one is in the bar.

Libraries or quieter offices. Perhaps a quieter, smaller office, such as an art gallery, dentist, or something.

Wine shop.

Movie theater (in the back).

Stockroom (at least it's quieter than around tons of customers).

Stocking retail before the stores open.

Some IT offices are quiet.

I did that before as a volunteer......It would be cool to do it for a job though, but I am not sure how often libraries actually hire for work and not just volunteering. But yeah it is certainly a quiet job that does not require too much interaction other than occasional someone might inquire about where certain books are or movies or whatever they are looking for.

Waa... I would like this job too.

I'm 31 and i'm still searching for the answer to this one! I've tried it all - Office Jobs, Call Centres and Retail! I'm working in a hotel now and it's certainly a step up from the previous three in that it's just a shade below bearable! All the jobs I see listed are always just the usual generic bulls**t! None of the above can be recommended at all! I'll be keeping an eye on this post, maybe get some ideas myself!