I'm 21 and I still don't have a paying job

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I don't know what to do. I've done everything right, but I NEVER get passed the interview stage in job hunting. What am I doing wrong?

It might not be you. It might be the area where you live (if the economy is not good there).

Where are you located, and what sort of job are you looking for?

Are you in college?

You need to elaborate a little more. What type of jobs are you going for? Are you applying to enough jobs? Are you qualified for anything in particular? If you are just starting out in the work force and are looking for something that is entry level, I would suggest for you to go down to an employment agency and see if they can help you out. They can do a lot for you, help you with your resume and find assignments that fit what you're looking for. You would start out by doing temp assignments and if you prove yourself or there happens to be an opening, you can get hired on at a company permanently. Temp agencies are the perfectly way to gain job experience if you need it and many temp assignments don't even require an interview unless it's for an extended period of time or if it is a temp/perm job right off the the bat.

Job coaching through vocational rehab, perhaps?

Can you get someone to do a mock interview with you and look at your resume for you? This can be one of your parents, a friend of a parent, a former teacher, or really anyone who has experience on the other end of an interview. You'll be nervous because it's embarrassing having a pretend interview, but the other person should be able to see through that and tell you what it is.

If there's nothing wrong, it could be just the economy where you live, like KraftieKortie said. But I think your instincts are probably right and something is out of place. BECAUSE, at your age, you're a "resource" that is easy to train and doesn't cost much. You're probably too young to have a family to support, you're probably healthy, and you're probably young enough so that you'd do your job without telling other people what to do (meaning, you wouldn't cause problems). People usually like to hire 21 year olds as low level employees.

So get someone to look at your resume, and/or sit with you when you fill out an application, and do a pretend interview with them.

Don't feel too bad. I'm 23 and haven't had a job in almost five years. The first and only job I had was an intern position at a hospital and I hated it. The floor I worked on was boring, the workers were dull and the doctors were arrogant. Now, I'm just trying to become self-employed and earn enough to sustain myself. It's a hard goal to reach, but it can be done. The last interview I did I bombed miserably and they didn't even bother to tell me that I wasn't what they were looking for...they emailed me instead. I also tried looking for a job with a local agency known as JCS and the counselor I had kept giving me positions that were either filled or unavailable. Totally unreliable. Besides, the main counselor there said that it was gonna be hard for me to get a job because I don't have much experience and he wasn't the first one to tell me this. So, I decided to be self-employed. That's just my decision mainly because I was tired of the discouragement.

In your case, if working for yourself is not what you wanna do, I'd suggest you go down to a temp agency and see if they can try to find short-term work available as others already said. I hope everything works out for you in the end.

Job hunting is a pain in the ass in my experience, especially if you don't have much of an education and you're limited in the type of work you're able to do. :X

I didn't get my first job until I was 22. The important thing is to keep looking and not give up. And make sure to follow up on your applications, or else they likely won't even notice you.

I'd apply for a few and when I want to contact them, they either have no contact details from what to contact or the details do not exist because the job itself doesn't exist.

I do wonder if it's just a waste of time going through all these agency websites, applying, putting effort into cover letters and CV, trying to find ones that have contact details such as phone number or email, not once have I got a reply especially when trying to reach them.

From my experience I only ever got a job or rather work experience from my jobcentre and I didn't have to do anything to get it, I just had to wait. It would seem like self-employment is my only hope at this point. I might just brush up my programming skills and earn money online.

I'm almost 26 and I still don't have a paying job.

From my perspective, the seven scariest words in the English language are the following:

"The ability to work within a team"

The last time I had a paying job was when I was 20. I'm 22 now, and my career prospects are looking nonexistent. When I went off my meds for a while I came up with this idea of being a freelance writer... but sadly my writing talents have diminished ever since I have gone back on my medication. It's a shame, when I'm off my meds I am sharper and more creative, but I also engage in manic behaviours. On my meds, I'm not nearly as manic, but I have problems with brain fog, I downright lack creativity, and I just feel like a depressed sonuvabitch. Ironically, I was prescribed my medication for OCD, but it seems the only obsessive-compulsive traits I've lost have been the positive ones.

Ugh. Is there a drug that can sedate me and make me feel more easygoing, whilst preserving my creativity and other mental faculties?

So far, no one has mentioned having a university degree. Anyone?

Anyone?

My dad's an undiagnosed aspie, and he graduated from the University of Alberta.

If he is undiagnosed, then how do know if he is an aspie?

I am diagnosed, I earned my degrees at universities in the American Midwest, and I've been employed almost continuously for over a quarter-century.

I am 26 and don't have a paying job...I am actually on SSI/Disability currently, I have always struggled with the aspergers as well as anxiety and depression and also have PTSD(but based on recent treatment I had it might be the complex PTSD like from multiple traumas building up but initially I thought it was just one trauma that caused it). That plus I made the mistake of going straight to college away from home...which just burnt me out and made it all worse. I probably needed some form of support network or something but left to my own devices it really made my condition even worse.

But now I am starting to do better with all those issues, and may be able to look at employment in the next couple years. Of course having no job history except a couple jobs that lasted a month or two before I got fired and being on disability could make finding work even harder. I mean a 26 year old with aspergers and mental issues that sometimes escalate pretty bad who's been on disability isn't exactly the ideal job candidate probably. I think I could have a chance at manufacturing jobs, entry level stuff, data entry or just kind of low level work that doesn't involve a lot of people interaction. I would like to get into the cannabis industry but I know you have to get a licence which is about 150 dollars and then that I don't drive so might be problematic since sometimes you have to go to various locations and such.

Anyways I am rambling.....if you're 21 and able to function well enough for work there is certainly hope. Not sure what to say about interviews, not my strong area either. But it could also depend on the kind of jobs you are applying for....like if you're applying for customer service and don't come off as a people person that could effect the interview badly.