Why does every job require PEOPLE SKILLS?

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I design server systems for other companies (through my dad) and the only way I can do it is by having the people you are working for know what you are talking about. The best thing is getting a job with people who understand what you are saying.

This is one of the strangest things I've read in a while. Being a receptionist is pretty intense in terms of dealing with people, because you are answering calls and questions from people all the time. Yes, angry people are a nuisance, especially the ones who expect you to break rules when it is not appropriate (and knowing when it's okay to break rules is not a great strength of mine anyway), but that's something you have to deal with in a customer-focussed job. I have had jobs which required constant social interaction, which is great because I am very sociable, however the job I have now is the best yet.

I transcribe Court cases for the government. This calls for a high level of accuracy, and little interaction with the people who need the transcripts (at least for now). Essentially, the only people I have to handle are my coworkers and bosses. Additionally, it helps that almost everyone in the office is very unconventional in some way, which makes it a much better fit for me than many of the jobs out there. I have had problems though. Until Christmas (and I've been working there for a year) my boss was receiving complaints that I was being defensive. I actually had to ask him for examples of this and how I could handle it better, because I simply did not know when and how I was being defensive, or making others feel that they were being attacked with their back up against a wall. People didn't tell me (for obvious reasons) and I suppose I must have missed a few cues, but mostly it was totally unintentional and unconscious. My instant response was that this was a complete misinterpretation of what happened, but I had to prevent myself from saying so and just accept that is how other people saw me. Now I've made an attempt to fix it and he's had no complaints. I've been very fortunate to have a boss who is kind and so willing to help his team.

I'd say finding the right job for you is mostly luck, especially during the current recession, but there is a certain amount you can do to improve the odds. Good luck!

I once answered the question "what are your feelings about teamwork?" with a long rant about F.A. Hayek's argument for distributive knowledge, Leonard Read's I, Pencil, the open source software movement, and the Aumann Agreement Theorem.

This was an interview for a fast food job. I actually got the job.

Later on, I asked my managers why on earth they hired me.

"Everyone else was boring. You were weird, but interesting. You're also the fastest and most efficient worker I've ever seen. Maybe we should only hire weird people."

On the basis of that, I wouldn't be too pessimistic. Somewhere, there is a job which not only fits you, but in which whatever quirks you have are accepted.

Getting that job is the hard part, but it's not impossible.