Always offered jobs/placements in call centres

I Sperg said:

It doesn't matter how much lipstick it''s wearing. it's still a pig.

But if that pig is what is keeping a roof over your head and keeping you fed, learn to love its soft, pink oinkiness. It it wears lipstick then that is just a bonus ;)

The point here is - it is often the only way into IT jobs so rather than hating it and letting it ruin your life, find ways to live with it to make it less unpleasant. You should be able to use it as a springboard to a better job over time that you would otherwise not be able to access.

Changing that relationship conciously can make a world of difference and stop you hating having to go to work each day. It won't make you skip merrily into the office but by removing that darkness you face every day it does make a big difference.

I've been there more than once so can speak from experience.

I hate job coaches.  I've been fortunate and only had to deal with them once in my life but dear God, they were patronising.  Some one one with fewer qualification experience than I have and with no knowledge of my sector or how to find jobs within it, constantly threatening to cease benefits it I didn;t apply for jobs she thought were appropriate (they weren't) in the way she thought I ought to be doing it.  

Mercifully, I did find the right job, doing it my way, before she really stressed me out.  She even sat  there scowling and finger waging as she talked to "clients" wearing raindeer horns at Christmas time, which I thought was very unprofessional and insensitive when half her "clients" might not be able to afford Christmas dinner.  Empathy is clearly not one of their job pre-requisites.  

It doesn't matter how much lipstick it''s wearing. it's still a pig.

TheCatWoman said:

I don't think it's just you they try and force into call centres, but that there are always vacancies at call centres and they shove people towards them

Exactly - unless you have a marketable skill on your CV but you want to work in IT then this is pretty much the entry point. Once into this sector you can always fall back on it if needed.

I used to really have this aspect of the job but I developed a change in perspective to think on it as helping the person on the other end of the line - this quickly build positive feedback from the customers and gets you noticed for promotions.

For me a key part was to find the worst aspect of the job and focus on making it into a positive. Hate the need to respond within 5 rings then make it a personal challenge to do it faster. Management love a go-get attitude when most of the staff there are just slogging through the day.

Hate having to speak to the customers. Take an interest in them and ask them how they are (read up on how to do small talk if this is hard for you) and recall them when they call back so you can ask about how their holiday was, how the project went, if they are feeling better etc. this is a great way to develop your social skills without committing to spending time outside work hours.

Hate having to log tickets? Turn it into a way to document the procedure to help others

It ultimately is down to a change of mindset - you have to feel positive and want to make it a part of your life. The alternative is to feel it is a slog and it builds up the pressure and negativity until it makes you meltdown.

It isn't easy but there are resources to help on how to do these things and the upside is feeling good about yourself and what you achieve each day.

Once you go home you can do what you want, but this gets you though the 8 hours of what would otherwise be a special circle of hell, so what is there to lose?

This is a scathing indictment of the modern work landscape...

So much wrong I don't know where to start. 

yeah... if they see on your cv/resume that you done one line of work they force you into that and dont stray from it.

i went to go for a fitness instructing thing, my cv had admin work on it though, they kept ignoring my request for the fitness instructing position and kept trying to thrust a admin job on me and telling me they have a admin job, trying to force me on that when i wanted the fitness instructing position. ignoring my words and thrusting the admin job application i didnt want into my hands when i was there for the fitness position.

Ah, yes, the call centres experience.  Difficult one (I feel for you - been there more times than I enjoyed).  While not all call centre employment settings are the same as each other.

From 3 years ago there is another good thread on this topic with lots of people sharing a good range ot tips on how they navigated this employment situation / role type:

https://community.autism.org.uk/f/adults-on-the-autistic-spectrum/23959/i-don-t-know-how-to-cope-with-employment 

For what it's worth, my own adaption which helped me perform better in such roles (I know it sounds counter-intuitive - if you are a sighted person why not have a try and see if it might work for you too) is to put a cheap plastic mirror where you can see your face in it - then when you are talking on calls you can use your own facial expressions / smiles etc. to help your voice to "come alive" more over the telephone.  The bonus for me: it made a call seem a little less impersonal / soul-less. 

Hope you find some techniques to make your role more bearable. 

I don't think it's just you they try and force into call centres, but that there are always vacancies at call centres and they shove people towards them so as they can fulfill the back to work targets they're given.

Hi, my experience in a call center was similar as yours. How can someone force you to do some certain type of job? There are many options. Maybe you can consider changing the coach if possible? Or try searching yourself (if you didn’t yet) or with help of someone from your family/friend whoever you trust if you have such trusted person? I dont know what is your education level, but here it does not even matter much because still with or without a degree you can start somewhere else. 
maybe you can search some other agencies, charities that help with this kind of stuff. 
In the country I’m living in - Germany, there is the job agency and they are just lazy, dumb and totally unhelpful. I graduated from logistics and all they had to offer me was… a truck driver! Where I don’t even have any driver license and it’s not what I was looking for. I also explained them that call center is not an option because of my mental health and next offer they sent me was call center in language which I don’t even speak. But I found a charity that helps with searching jobs. 
Maybe they would offer you some courses, further education if possible. It’s hard to advice anything here, these are just my ideas.