Getting over job-hunt anxiety?

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New here; self-diagnosed Aspie, my biggest Aspie-ness seems like it's with anything having to do with money - job hunting, spending, doing taxes... I was a software guy at Motorola for 18 years ago 'til I got laid off (lots of other people were being laid off as well, it wasn't discriminatory at all). That was 9 years ago; fortunately, I'd been putting money into the 401k all those years, so we have managed to get by... and I've been back to college most of that time, but my first two degrees were in audio production and interdisciplinary arts, both of which are "constantly on the lookout for that next job" careers. Fortunately, money has not been a big problem; we also inherited a bunch from my mom last year, but not enough to live out our golden years...

The past year or so I've been back in school, earning a certificate in "online course design," and now that I'm done with the internship it's time to start looking again - but at least "online course design" feels like a field where there are going to be jobs, I just need to get through to be able to find one. There is actually an opening at the school where I took my classes and did my internship (they know and love me) and it's STILL hard to put together the resume, cover letter, etc.

The Mrs. tries to help, but she's definitely an NT and her help mostly comes across to me as threatening, scary... and nobody seems to understand that. So I s'pose I'm here for some moral support and a place where I can tell some sympathetic ears "here's what I did, here's how it's working out..."

I attend a monthly Aspie support group (irregularly) and that's helped some; we also have a pretty good Grateful Dead tribute band here that plays once a week and that seems to cheer me up when I'm struggling... a couple friends from the Aspie group have mentioned WP, so here I am...

Well, pleased to report that I sent off an application last week and got a call today for an interview next Monday, so maybe there's hope. At the community colleges here (Phoenix Arizona USA), the online learning departments are big, they have lots of different kinds of positions, and this might be a good Aspie field - there are a lot of "deal with the computer and just one or two real people" jobs. And for me at least, all the courses I took to earn the certificate were online - there was one where we were supposed to work in "teams" and that didn't work out so well for me, but I got through.

In any case, an interview is an interview and a job is a job - this is a 9-month contract thing with no benefits, but it's a job where, by doing really well, I may be able to convince them they need me permanently, and for me, that's pretty much the only way I've ever landed jobs. Interviews are NOT my strong suit, I'm afraid...

Charles

Good luck Charles!

Job hunt anxiety affects me, but in a slightly different way than it does the OP.

First of all, I hate rejections....so if I don't apply for jobs, I can't get any

Also, I feel that whenever I look at job postings on-line, I'm terribly under- or over- qualified for 95% of them. That's right...I have to look at twenty job postings to find one that is suitable for me. That gets to be very discouraging.

So does anyone have any advice for dealing with the above issues?

I absolutely detest looking for work. It's the interviews; I hate being under a microscope like that.

I haven't got the education or skills for good jobs. I work menial jobs. Cleaner, dishwasher, light warehouse work. I've had a few interesting jobs, I worked as a stablehand once, another time, I worked setting up tombstones.

Ironically - I seem to be good at interviews, despite loathing them so much. If I get to the stage of having an interview, its about a 1 in 3 chance that I'll get the job. Part of this has to do with picking jobs that few people want to do. I am sure, in most interviews, I easily come across as the most sensible and intelligent candidate. I'm also a great worker - I show up early, work my ass off, and keep a good attitude - so if they do check my references, they get some very good testimonials. I work very fast and very efficiently and I seem to get others working faster too. I can honestly say I've been a big asset, everywhere I've worked.

That being said. I can't often stay at a job more than 2 years, because, despite some of them claiming otherwise, everyone seems to expect a personal relationship to develop after a time. I show up to work, only to work, and that doesn't change with time. At around the 2 year mark things start to get very uncomfortable for me. I've had some long stretches of unemployment and/or severe underemployment (less than 10 hours a week) because of this and because of my difficulty with the job hunt.

To the basic question of getting a job, if you're willing to do menial work, it's not that hard. You just have to know which jobs to apply to, and actually believe that you've got something to offer, which if you're really honest with yourself and commit to the job, you probably do. It's not hard to be above average in a below average job. The other thing is that you can safely ignore many of the job requirements for these jobs - experience, certain skills, things like "own transportation required", you just apply, if you get the interview, you make your case (I'm a fast learner and although I don't have a car, my previous employers can tell you I was never late, etc etc).