Published on 12, July, 2020
For a long time I´ve tried to figure out why I got my diagnosis (PDD-NOS) and I´m going to get a second opinion. But one thing that could be seen as a form of "disability" is perhaps that I´m been unemployed for a long time, I´m 37 years old, and I I´ve worked only for shorter periods of time. I´ve studied at university and completed two exams. For two years I´ve been diagnosed with depression and anxiety and I´m not sure what´s what and what has contributed moslyt to my unemployment. I have only positive job credentials but I didn´t find the jobs to be interesting or stimulating enough. Now, after several years of unemployment this becomes a problem and I risk having to engage in unemployment activities that´ll only make me feel worse.
I don´t know if I would manage to have a full time job for a longer period of time, like several years or if my diagnosis is the reason why I don´t feel any job is interesting enough. I easily feel "trapped" and bored by office work even if I don´t mean I would want to work on a farm or similar.
I want to ask others if longer periods of unemployment are significant for people on the spectrum?
If you were the hiring manager for a role, and you needed to whittle down 100 applicants to the one person to get the job, how would you do this?
typically you end up with:
1) an initial CV scrub where you weed out candidates based on some criteria. Typically this includes lots of suspiciously short jobs, and/or unexplained gaps in employment history. Employers are looking for a continuous story from the time you left full time education. You don't need to have been employed, but you do need to account convincingly for the time...
2) a telephone "screening" interview. If you insist on using the internet to help you through this, please try to ensure that your keystrokes into Google are not audible to the interviewer.
3) a F2f interview, perhaps with an earlier "homework" exercise.
Well, I have lots of gaps. Which are difficult to explain. And different truthful explanations for them.
Even employment experts have almost given up. And I have had 4 advisors helping me over the last year.
My strength is maths.
Robert124, if writing and English are your weak points (and I agree with Former Member that you don't actually have any issues there), what are your strengths like?
Robert - Your post shows an excellent command of writing and English. Take heart. You're much better than you think you are
Take it from a writer with an English degree - but who still struggles with grammar!
My life is a complete mess. Writing and English is one of my weak points. In fact at the moment I'm working through an English grammar textbook, trying to improve those weak points.
I've had many short term jobs in my past and that's just one of my problems.
My family life was complete insanity. My parents were refugees/immigrants, who never learnt to read/write or speak adequate English. And relied on me and my sister to do all the translating in later years. This lead to all kind of ridiculous behaviour such as reverse psychology, avoidance of situations, making all kinds of excuses and just general insanity, to try to cover up what was really happening.
Where most people are told by their families to get off their arses and go out to look for work. I was pressured to stay at home 24 hours a day.
Even signing on for job seekers allowance was difficult. Once on my way to sign on, my mother demanded to know where I was going. I explained to her very logically, that I had to sign on, look for work and the government in return gave me money to live on. She responded just as logically, " Don't be silly, you can't work, you don't speak any English". After that I arranged my shopping trips to coincide with signing on days, to avoid arguments.
Even when I was working there were constant arguments about why I was leaving the house.
My father was openly terrified that nobody must discover that I even existed. When people started asking embarrassing questions about why an adult son was living with his parents. His usual response was along the lines that I was severely disabled/retarded and unable to communicate verbally. His actual words were, "He just makes stupid noises, pretending to speak". Then he went of into hysterical laughter.
My lack of working experience led the job centre to encourage me to undertake further training and education. To improve my employment prospects and get me off the unemployment register. This led me to more qualifications and short term temporary jobs.
So my CV had lots and lots of gaps. No stable employment history.
I'm not surprised. Clearly, "the game" is very much loaded against your circumstances.
Since it seems unlikely you can win the game as-is, what could you do to twist the rules of the game to your benefit? I.e. Play a different game, by your rules?
Former Member could probably make money from writing... do you have an angle you could work? Make something that people can't get anywhere else?
what do you enjoy doing, and what are you most skilled at?