I feel really embarrassed to say this but I am 20 years old and have never had a job.
That's nothing to be embarrassed about. You're still young and not everyone has had a job by the age of 20.
Everything about getting a job scares me...applying, the interview, getting the actual job! It just seems like such a big step, such a new experience...you have to talk to new people everyday, learn how to do so many things. I'm just so scared of messing up, looking stupid, or embarrassing myself.
Although I worked thought my teens and in my early twenties, I faced the same fears that you are now facing. It's scary, but the only way of overcoming this is facing those fears and going through the application process, the interview etc...Eventually you will see that it's not as scary as it seemed at first.
You're going to make mistakes when you're new to a job. Even more seasoned employees make mistakes sometimes. It's part of being human and although it's normal for us to fear error, it's not something that should bring us shame. I worry about making mistakes, but I only let it work for me in that I try harder to learn and ask questions.
Also, I feel like I should have had a job by now...most kids get jobs at like 15 years old, and I'm 20 with NO job experience! I feel like such a loser! How do I explain this to the interviewer? I really want to get a job though. I want to make some friends, make money, and move out of my parents house. I think getting a job would increase my confidence too, because then I wouldn't feel so down on myself. But I'm just so scared.
I somehow doubt that an interviewer will ask you why you haven't had a job yet. Believe me when I tell you that it's really not as bad as you think it is. Not all teenagers have jobs.
If you want to get a job, make friends, make money and move out of your parent's home, you have to face your fears. There really is no other way of doing this other than doing it and not give up as soon as you get scared. The more time you give yourself to think about it, the more time you'll have to talk yourself out of going through with your plan.
If you let your fears keep you from achieving your goals, it becomes easier and easier to avoid things that make you afraid. Eventually this turns into a nasty cycle which can be very difficult to break. It's best to break it now before you
allow it continue for God knows how long. I emphasized "allow" because you have to realize that just as you allow yourself to be held back, you could allow yourself to push forward. The latter just seems foreign and scary, but it's something that you are capable of. Do you really want to look back one day and realize that you could have done this or could have had that and the reason why you don't is because you allowed your fear to paralyze you?
I'm sure a lot of you have jobs. Did you have anxiety about it? Can you give me some advice, or some words to calm me down about it?
You should have seen me during my interview. I was a mess and my anxiety was through the roof, but it turns out that they liked me and I got hired.
Remember to take deep breaths whenever you start to worry. Try and shut out all your negative thoughts and concentrate on the matter at hand.
Think of the goals you have stated above. How bad do you want to achieve those goals? Maybe it will help to keep these goals in mind every time you become afraid or anxious or feel like giving up. I believe that if we want something bad enough, we can find a way to get it. We may have social anxiety or various other issues, but that doesn't mean we're not as capable as every other person out there.
I never imagined that I would enjoy this job, that I would enjoy the challenge or that I would enjoy being very talkative with people. Know that having a job and having to interact with people can help you learn social skills, and it can help you open up more. I've met some very interesting people so far. Some of them were total *******s too, but I enjoyed meeting them as well. lol Who knows the kind of people you could meet? While you're achieving your goals, you could gain a lot of experience and even make friends. Think about it. What do you have to lose?