Fast Food

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I have an interview with a fast food place. If I get through the interview it will be my first job and I'm having very extreme anxiety to the point I can't sleep. I'm extremely clumsy and I'm a very slow learner so I'm extremely afraid that if I get the job I'll screw up and get yelled at or fired. I'm also very bad under pressure and shut down I'm stressful situations sometimes. Should I just cancel the interview and look for another job? I don't know what to do and any help or advice would be very greatly appreciated.

Fast food joints are notorious for being aspie-unfriendly: they are always short-staffed, always in a hurry and noisy, especially in the kitchens (the ordering desks are not as bad, but they usually rotate shifts).

That said; i do reccomend you go to the interview. if nothing else, you'd have had a job interview, making you less nervous on the next one

yeah i agree with the above poster.
its fast-paced, you have to deal with rude customers, and there is a lot of pressure to perform which can be a learning curve. but most of my co-workers were really nice and helped me through the learning process even though it wasn't their job to.

again i'm gonna agree that it would be good to go to the interview and give it your best shot. every interview i have gotten better at it, and so even if you don't do so well this time it will be worth it for next time. plus, if you start and decide its not working you can always quit, fast food employee turnover rates are super fast anyway. and then you would have some experience which will help you get a new job. btw my interview for the fast food place i worked at was really simple. the woman asked me basic questions about my school+job history (which was still in high school and no experience), my strengths and weaknesses, why i wanted to work there, and then she gave me her pen and asked me to convince her to buy it. i think i said something really stupid like "you need it to finish recording this interview" but i still got the job.

i hope it goes well! please update us on the outcome

Hi, Lazershow

New member here, first post. I spent 5 - 6 years working in fine-dining kitchens. Recently got my Asperger's diagnosis and realised why I found it so stressful and difficult. Basically it's the worst career decision I could possibly have made. I strongly recommend staying away from kitchens in general. I listed some of the things that bothered me below. If you're anything like me these are some of the things you might experience:


The background noise is going to make it very difficult for you to focus on orders being called.

Any sudden rush of orders (which you'll get a LOT of in fast food kitchens) will likely make you shut-down and stare into space, trying to figure out what exactly you were supposed to be doing, while your supervisor is looking at you like you're stupid, making your anxiety worse.

The erratic shift patterns will destroy any comfort you might find in routine, as well as being called in on your days off and holidays when a member of the small team is sick.


Now that I realise what was wrong I wish I could go back and not take the job I found myself stuck in for so many years. I had to drink constantly (and I mean constantly; straight out of bed until the end of my shift), and I took ADD medication like Ritalin and Adderall to better handle the multi-tasking.

If you really want the job, I can't tell you not to go for it. You should do what you think is best. This is just friendly advice, I wouldn't want anyone to feel trapped like I did in kitchen work for so long.

Hope this helps!

Naw, that work is easy. It is all broken into steps. Just follow the steps and you will do fine.

You might consider getting a job in an industrial park if you don't like that job.

I am going to be straight with you only because it's for your own good. Fast food jobs are the worst possible fit for both people with Aspergers. You just need to realize fast food requires that your brain takes in a lot of information incredibly quickly in a short amount of time. On top of that, it's all non-verbal and most people with Aspergers struggle with non-verbal(meaning getting instructions verbally without being shown how to do anything).

The thing people need to realize about fast food jobs is while they are labeled as low skilled jobs, it doesn't mean everyone can do them, that they are easy, and everyone will be good at them. I never did them because I would have done terribly. I can't remember a lot of information given to me in a short time, I cannot multi-task, and if I had to take people's orders, I surely wouldn't be able to remember what they said within 10 seconds or if I got distracted, I would probably forget what they said and mess the order up. Not to mention running around with a ton of people in a small space would have drove me crazy. This is just my personal opinion on those jobs.

Not all is lost. There are plenty of jobs that can pertain to our strengths. Jobs where we can learn at a slower pace that don't require a ton information thrown at us verbally while being around a ton of people. It just needs to be in a better environment.

The following jobs that I would recommend to people with Aspergers who are just starting out in the workforce.

Grocery stocking: You get to work by yourself and fill shelves in an aisle without having to worry about people constantly being thrown at you. Nighttime grocery is even better because there are no customers in the stores.

Warehouse jobs: (such as loading, picking, and packing): Again you are in an environment without customers and it's another type of job that is repetitive and is easy to learn. They also often have set hours (ex: 9-5 Mon-Fri).

Custodial jobs: It's often a solitary job that involves cleaning.

Dishwasher: If you want to work in a fast food or restaurant type of an environment, this position maybe the best fit.

So I ended up getting the job and its probably the worst mistake I've ever made in my life. I just started and its ready affecting my mental health. Even when I'm not working I'm thinking of work. I want to quit already but don't know if that will affect my chances of getting a job in the future. The stress is going to eat me alive I know it is.

First of all: congrats on getting the job; this is a good step forwards, job interviews ain't easy for us.

Second: there is no shame in admitting a job isn't for you. If you can provide a reason for quitting, it will not affect your future chances, and you have a reason: sensory overstimulation.

Can't sleep it's already 3 and my next shift is at 11. I think ill quit today.

If you can't do it you can't do it. Don't stress yourself out about it. At least you tried, a lot of people wouldn't have even made it to the interview. It's not worth working a job that makes you miserable, especially if you're stressed about it when you're not even there - you only live once.

Seriously you should be proud of yourself though, don't beat yourself up over quitting.

well i quit and i feel so much better for it. Im planning on looking for work thats more suited to my strengths and weaknesses and maybe even doing volunteer work for a while.

Try not to burn yourself on the fryer.