Career Doubts

I went to a workshop on interviewing at the Career Center on Tuesday. I did this because I have a suspicion I'm doing something wrong in interviews because I tried to get office jobs - ones I was qualified for - and ended up working at a grocery store for about ~14k a year (but with great health benefits). The points made in it were good, though I was so busy trying to write everything down I wasn't really paying as much attention as I should've been.

Last night, I leafed through the "Career Guide" I got at this workshop. It was discouraging, because I realized I'm not doing any of the things they mention, except maybe dressing nice for an interview. I was particularly bothered that one of the things employers said is bad for interviewees is lack of eye contact with the interviewer during the interview, since I've always had problems with eye contact (as any teacher I had to do a speech for can tell you).

I wonder if my Asperger's Syndrome makes interviews difficult. I think I read somewhere that it does. Yet during the workshop when I asked if I should mention my autism during an interview, the lady running it said she didn't think I should.

Obviously, I could get help getting a job from organizations that help people with such conditions, something like the group that my friend and coworker Adam (who also has Asperger's) gets help from. They provide him with this guy who shadows him on the job and makes sure everything's going ok. But I think Adam's condition is a little more obvious; Lisa (a coworker of ours) asked me once if he was "autistic or something." Also the CSRs and other front end people seem to have more problems with him than with me (though I'm no angel myself...I've been talked to more than once about not talking so much when I'm bagging, and just recently Augie, our store manager, told me to focus more on the task at hand). I have heard autism is harder to spot in girls than in boys (similar to ADD), and at any rate, it's less common in girls.

I'm actually doubting whether I am going to continue with my web design certificate. I like doing it and it's a marketable skill, but after almost 8 years I'm a bit tired of school, and finishing the certificate would require more school after my BA.

I may go talk to a career counselor too (even though I did do this at Mira Costa, as well as researching careers almost ad nauseam). Maybe it will help. Hard to know. *sigh*


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