Networking = Death

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A grant I work under seems to be ending soon. I am terrified. I'm a little older, and have poor social skills to begin with.

Everyone says to just network.

I've never gotten a job from "networking" - only through applying to people I don't know.

Also are there any trusted resume writing services you can recommend? If it helps I am in IT.

So sorry. You can "network" online virtually. Start with LinkedIn, it's created for that purpose and it will help you build a resume. Just start "connecting" to people in the field where you want to work - start with people you know and have worked with. Link any existing social media (make sure you have privacy settings appropriate to business) to your account.

Start a blog. Write about what you do; what kind of problems you have solved in your work in IT. Link it to your LinkedIn account.

Before you go live with either, check at your local public library: they frequently have resources for jobhunters and can either help you write a resume or can direct you to someone who can.

Hang in there! The economy is tough, but you are in a field where there is a lot of need!

I've been doing all of the above for the past three years and never landed formal employment. I did earn a few hundred dollars by doing odd jobs (online marketing, number crunching for desperate college students) which have no career track, though. LinkedIn is good for establishing trust because there is a legal name attached to the avatar and messages of each user. It makes arriving at and enforcing a contract much easier. Everyone -- especially those with AS -- should use contracts due to the potential for exploitation in such business situations.

So, for me it produced minor supplemental income here and there. I worked it out with my parents where I can be their tax deduction until I'm 30, 33, whenever so long as I help with the handful of chores and occasional maintenance (easy) and go to their church every week (against my agnostic, non-ritualistic beliefs, but it's like being paid $100 for that week's room and board every Sunday and "obligation day" I attend with them).

Do you have a Degree? Try using resources from the college you went to.

I hope Camelia's college has better resources than my university -- University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, which I have since referred to in recent months as "Palooka University" because of all the low-income metro-area people who enroll there to live within one-day driving distance of their folks while in college. I would have transferred except my folks would have stopped sending me rent checks; I worked two jobs while in college and had student loans but couldn't afford rent when my room mates kept moving out every semester while I was the lease holder.

Palooka University had -- and still only has -- the same Experience.com jobs board used by almost every other state university, segmented by urban area. The Alumni Foundation exists only to raise money for itself and the university, not to help anyone find jobs. (Personnel were politely dodging the issue until I pulled some last-resort AS tactics on them, at which point they finally gave up the act and told me bluntly.)

I'm researching trade school programs -- already have a Bachelor's and a Master's but will ignore this in my trade school courses to reduce discrimination based on "poor fit" and such. Although the ease of student loan liquidity has worsened the surplus of highly educated laborers, the same permits me to take out even more student loans for trade school rather than fish for minimum-wage jobs and save up for five or six years to afford it.

I enjoy reading about others' challenges and lessons learned in the occupational world. Camelia and others, let us know how the occupational resources at your educational institutions compare.

Camelia, the following articles might be of some interest:

"Zack Scores With 'Networking for People Who Hate Networking'"
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Zack-S ... 1-533.html

"The Schmooze-Hater’s Guide to Better Networking"
http://www.bnet.com/blog/smb-sales-advi ... orking/257

Also, I believe there are web sites were people post jobs they need done, and what they are willing to pay, so you might be able to find some IT work that way (although I suspect the pay will be rather low).

I don't know about resume writing services, because I haven't used them personally. But there's a ton of information available about how to go about writing your own resume. You can search for it online, or find books at the library. It helps me to remember that I have to make a resume that explains what I can do for a company, not what I have done in the past. At any rate, I feel like writing your own resume has a ton of advantages over paying someone else to do it.

Networking for People Who Hate Networking: REQUIRED READING for all Aspies, introverts, geeks, nerds and anyone else who thinks that extroversion, small talk and large numbers of friends are overrated! I am SO getting that! Probably "Self-Promotion for Introverts" too.

The one "introvert trait" described that I (and most AS people) don't have is the ability to catch non-verbal cues. My guess is that I'm OK at tone of voice, but pretty bad at body language.

The thing I really dislike about networking is that you need to actually build a long-term relationship BEFORE you can convince someone to refer you. It is otherwise akin to cold selling, even if you do have a lead such as, "So-and-so referred me to you." With a million different things which can offend a neurotypical, that is easier hypothesized than realized.

On the other hand, it was hilarious when one such contact became audibly angry when I called again following the neurotypical acquiescence "sure" when I asked whether I could call again in a month. I guess my asking about his progress on using his film degree really set him off...

But what a dummy to lie to spare someone's feelings, when all it did in the end was tick him off. That was just like this NT girl from high school who made a similar miscommunication but refused to say, "Please leave me alone," until I had sent a few snail mail letters and left several messages with her parents -- AFTER she had said, "Stay in touch."

See if your employment center in town can help. I have used them and they are gold.

Perhaps meditating and getting in touch with what type of job you most want to be in would help. Writing down your best skills and what you most love to do might help as well. There may be someone local who you could work for one on one who needs your help. Ever thought of posting your service in the local newspapers? This may help as well.