Do you blame your AS for not having a career?

Post Reply New Topic

There are "job coaches" that will do a mock interview and critique how you handle yourself, but I'm not sure if there are any that do this for free or next to no cost. A good friend who is honest with you could probably tell you what you are doing wrong because they know how you project yourself normally.

^ I've done all the 'job-prep' I can find. Career Services (offered through my school), professionals I know, friends, the works.

But I can't ever really be sure.

I don't deny my AS plays a part in it, but since it's part of my personality it would be more accurate to blame my lack of motivation to be actively part of this society and my distate of the state of our world.

I think that in a way, my AS has gotten in the way of getting interviews, but I have had some temporary jobs that ended as soon as the contract was over, or the company I was temping at finished the project ahead of schedule. The other reason why I'm not working right now is that the economy still sucks, and it's now been a year since I was laid off from my last job.

I spent twenty or more years doing contract work, software startups, more contract work, and so on. Then I stuck around for a while - managed three years. Changed companies, managed four years and an MBA before I was redundant.

That was the year I turned fifty, and sat around applying for jobs for four months before finally landing a three week contract. That was seven years ago. I've gotten through the aspergers diagnosis and getting used to it phases, and of course I still deliver results.

Last time I had to apply for the job I was doing, I was asked in the interview about my response to the must communicate well essential criterion - I spoke of aspergers then. Today I had to submit an application for the job I was doing, and talked of aspergers in the application. My feeling is that this organisation has been selecting for aspie techs for a long time, because the percentage of odd individuals approaches 50 in the areas around me. There's a significant OHS&W liability in that, I'm starting to suspect. Problem is, none of them know about it. Except me, and I can't keep my mouth shut.

My AS plays a part in me not being able to get a job. Also, there's the social anxiety and a lack of experience. But really if I didn't have AS then my mum would have let me get a job at 14, instead of saying 'I just don't know how you'll cope with it.' She still says the same thing to me. I tell her about a job I want to apply for and she'll say I won't be any good at it.
A lot of the reasons why people think I won't be good at a job does come down to my AS symptoms.

And I'm not using it as a crutch. I have to apply for a few jobs before June 15, which is only a week away. If I don't I'll have to tell my case worker why I haven't held my end of the agreement which I signed for.

Now now, don't start this up again.