Why do I keep making excuses for every job opportunity?

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I am on job-seekers and I am finding it rather stressful, but I find I keep backing out of most job opportunities I see by making excuses. I know it is not due to any kind of laziness because I do want to work, I want to come off this job-seekers thing and earn my own money and have a nice routine going and feel more secure and heave a sigh of relief that I don't have to look for work any more. I know that is IS due to lack of confidence. I do have social phobia and an anxiety disorder as co-morbids to AS, which makes life twice as hard. A job did actually come up a few weeks ago what I went for an interview for, it was an easy job that suited my needs and I didn't have to deal with the public at all, and it was good hours that coincided perfectly with the bus and it was only a 10-minute busride on my favourite bus, and the pay was not bad either, and this has been the only job that I have not made excuses for and that I desperately want. It's 5 weeks later and I still haven't heard, although the interviewer did say it would take 4 to 6 weeks to get back to me so I will give it another week and if I still haven't heard anything then I will have to find out what's going on, although not letting me know after 6 weeks can imply that I have not got the job.

Does anyone else get panic attacks when applying for a job and back out when job opportunities come up? It's going to make things worse if I don't get this job what I wanted because I'm back to being anxious about what job I'm going to end up in again.

Could it be that you're anxious about the prospect of change (even positive change)?

You are really supposed to check in with jobs that you interviewed for and are still interested in at least every two weeks, or even once a week. This lets them know that you are really interested in the job.--The squecky wheel gets the grease. Those who've interviewed, and show an interest in getting the job by following up with a phone call every week or two, are more likely to get the job. Please don't wait any longer. It's possible they may have already filled the position, but there's no way to know until you call, so call them now!

Hope you get the job!

Definitely! This is totally what I was going to say-down to the squeaky wheel. You need to keep calling them at least once a week-especially if you really want the job. You can even tell them that " I am sorry for calling much, but I REALLY want this job". It can make a big difference. There have probably been times when I have gotten jobs that I wasn't really even qualified for, just to get me off their back.

The only other thing I would add is that you shouldn't be too hard on yourself. Applying for a job is extremely stressful for ANYBODY-no less someone on the spectrum. So know what your going through is normal-magnified, but normal.

Good luck!

It's called avoidance. I'm doing the same thing as well, spending way too much time on internet forums.

Anyway do follow questor's advice and follow up on your job interviews. If you get rejected, try not to read into it by thinking you're no good. Other people applied and maybe one of the first interviewees got the job. So keep trying.

And remember that your ability to converse on WP demonstrates your ability to converse in real life. You're no dummy, Joe90. For sure, re-read some of your previous posts if you need to convince yourself that you're bright and articulate. If you can converse here, you can do so in real life too.

The other thing is that, if you're unlucky enough not to have got the job, you must ask for feedback on your application and interview. If they say No initially, say really persuasively (practise this with someone you know if necessary) that it would be hugely beneficial for you and that you'd really value even 10 minutes if the lead interviewer could spare the time. Sometimes just one thing, that you could have changed if you'd been aware of it, marks you down in the eyes of the panel – I've been really surprised by a couple of quite minor things that they'd focused on in my past interviews.

It's very hard listening to things you didn't do as well as some of the other candidates, but if you can face up to that and be prepared to learn from it, making an application the next time a convenient job comes up is going to be much easier.

But...I hope you can disregard all this entirely because you did get the job!