Needing some support to get off the ground

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I am 27 and have only ever worked sporadically at entry-level jobs. I have a high school diploma and some college (administratively disenrolled with 5 classes left to get my ABA online, long story). I have gotten fired for things I didn't do, and even once just for being Autistic (seriously, I need to post about that sometime, it's crazy). I have decent enough social and executive functioning skills, but I do get exhausted easily and need short breaks pretty frequently (at least every 2 hours or so, for say 10 minutes). I am receiving disability, but I really want to work. I applied a couple places but still need to follow through. I'm cleaning houses a few days a week for extra cash, but it isn't much.

I am not very good at interviews because I don't have very confident body language, and I'm not really sure how to answer their questions sometimes. What can I do at interviews to better my chances of getting a job? It's really hard for me.

http://au.askmen.com/grooming/project/t ... guage.html

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsm ... questions/

Research the questions.
Act confident. You do have control over your body movements, right?

I went through a very tough interview once, I didn't land the job, but I learned a lot from there. After that I landed the first job I was interviewed for, so here's my advice:

1) The best way to act confidently is to feel confident. Apply for a job you know you'll be good at. The thing about being an aspie is that often you're passionate about the things you do. Interviewers actually like to see that passion.

2) Be honest. I don't know about you, but in my case I am a terrible liar. So I tried to be honest and straightforward with the interviewer. I don't know if it is the best strategy, but it will be a lot easier that way. Telling lies is not really something you want to do if you feel you lack confidence, because it will only make things worse and more awkward.

3) Dont' give up and learn from all your mistakes. Don't get discouraged if you don't get called.

Thanks for the help. Yeah, I have control over my body movements, but I have a tendency to stim without noticing I'm doing it. I have had some weird requests in interviews (that made sense for the job, but I wasn't expecting) such as making funny noises that would get a baby to smile (for a portrait studio, it was still really awkward doing baby talk with no baby present, lol!) and pushups (for a medical transport job).

I am trying to find a job within 2 miles of my house so I can ride my bike there easily if I need to (I don't have a car, but my boyfriend does, but he is looking for work too. We have a bus system, so I can take the bus if I need to). I'm really hoping for a job that pays over minimum wage (A lot of places in my neighborhood do). If I work just 25 hours a week for $10/hr (minimum wage is $7.90 here) I will be able to afford everything I need plus save up for a car.

Also, what do I say if an interviewer asks how I'm getting by right now? This is what happened last time, and I said I was receiving disability. Next thing you know they are asking me to list my meds, what are my disabilities, etc. then they fired me after 2 days of incident-free work because, basically, "I don't know what this Ass-burgers thang is, but I don't like the sound of it." I know now that they are only allowed to ask if reasonable accommodations are necessary, and can't ask about diagnosis or meds (I take my meds before bed, so they do not affect my ability to work).

When I was hunting for a job near my apartment, I had a lot of luck with searching Craigslist job listings using the map view. Here's the link for Tucson; just zoom the map in on your neighborhood.
http://tucson.craigslist.org/search/jjj ... y=&excats=

It might also be to your benefit to sign up with a temp agency. You only really have to pass one "interview" (with the agency itself )that way, and you can request to only be sent on assignments within your geographical range. If you stay with one agency for a year or two, your resume will look like you have had one continuous period of employment rather than a bunch of short gigs.

I am registered with a temp agency here, only problem is that work is very sporadic and being on disability I have to report all income and I am already having problems with Social Security because they cut my payments saying I am receiving VA benefits and I'm not even a veteran. I've been trying to get in contact with them. I have a paper from the VA stating that I am not receiving any benefits from them. I faxed it but I never got it. I am also missing over $200 in payments because my former Payee (I have been my own Payee since November) withheld money from me when I moved, because I got one month free rent and only paid move-in costs. Now both the Payee and Social Security are saying they know nothing of it and I am not owed any money.