Getting a JOB.

Depressed4life

Depressed4life

Banned
Hello,i am 16 years old i just recently found out that i had social phobia by researching online and findind that i have almost all the signs and symptoms.I am terrified to get a job but i need one badly and my family constantly puts me down because i am the only one in the house that doesn't work.I get attack and they tell me that i am slow and that i will never be able to hold a job for a long time.
 
R

readytodie

Member
you need to see a psychiatrist / psychologist to help you overcome your fear of job interviews and working with people. GO NOW, it's not going to get any better by itself, trust me, i know firsthand.
 
X

xSleepy

Well-known member
well, no one probably hasnt replied because a lot of people (including myself) have posted topics about this.

i am in a very similar situation as you. but im 19. im in a situation were i really really need a job to pay bills and rent. and i have a fear of people just in general really.
and i really dont think i should be giving you advice, just because i recently got a job...tried it for one day...then quit! :roll:
but i really wanted to let you know that you are not the only one in this world having that problem. dont feel like you are alone and your weird, cause your not. i guess the only thing i can tell you is try not to get into fast food! cause you are gonna be in a very small place with little breathing room and around many people.
 
imlosttoo

imlosttoo

Member
hi ya...

~~45 views and no one answered.I thought this forum will be helpful but i guess i was wrong.~~

I don't get why this happens as well.

I was a social worker before I began to get panic attacks and became agoraphobic as well as becoming SP.

I am constantly looking for a job, but especially one that i can work from at home now.

I am 39, though, and on disability....don't let it get you.
~tony
 
Kat

Kat

Well-known member
Try and avoid cashier work if you can. I did that when I was 16 and those type of work places try and take advantage of the young ones. Although I guess it depends where you work at. I always wondered why the girls seemed down at Woolworths when we would shop there until my mum put my resume in as soon as I hit 16 and I got the job and found out why the workers weren’t happy. The main people that were in charge were HORRIBLE :twisted: :evil: and the training sucked but they still expected you to know things even if they hadn’t shown you how to do the things they required and with that type of job there isn’t much room for error with out someone breathing down your neck. Even the people with out social phobia had problems with dealing in that environment but hopefully you will have better support if not don’t feel too bad if it doesn’t work out. Maybe look for something a little less socially demanding if you find that one difficult. I am now 22 and on a disability pension and haven’t worked since the last job I had which was the one I was talking about. I would like something I can do from home but that’s very hard to find there is a lot of scams out there with those type of jobs. I have seen people do fruit picking and packing. That job doesn’t look too socially demanding but I could be wrong.
 
ljwwriter

ljwwriter

Well-known member
I have to agree with Kat. Please avoid cashier work at all costs if you can. I was cashier for a very short time and it was one of the most miserable times of my life. So bad that I wanted to die by the time I got home each night.

Remember, when you're a cashier you're the face of the store. Therefore it's like you're on a stage and you're always expected to be on. The weight of the store is on your shoulders and you're under a magnifying glass not only to the customers but to your manager as well. And believe me, they do watch closely.
Any little strange quality about your behavior is easily picked up on by others as you struggle to keep your nerves under control while at the same time trying to count out correct change, scanning products, asking for cards, and making small talk with a cheerful smile on your face. And if you forget any one of these things too many times it shows.
And then of course something always goes wrong. For instance, when I was a cashier a man came in and paid for a single popsicle with a hundred dollar bill just so he could get change. (Try a bank next time asshole). Anyway, the thing was that we didn't keep big bills in the register so I had to call up the manager to unlock a little safe to get out more money. I was a nervous wreck the entire time, and it was only made worse when the manager told me his pet peeve was having customer wait for change, as if it were my fault. And several other customer and co-workers watched this whole thing giving me odd looks.


Then there were the difficult customers who gave me odd looks. There was the woman who spent 15 or 20 minutes arguing with the cashiers about using a coupon that she either didn't actually have or had expired. And there was the stream of customers who came in asking for cigarettes and cigars which always sent me into a panic because the shelves behind me were lined with countless smoking brands and I had no idea what was what, which made me look like a complete idiot to the customers who would try to point out what they wanted in obvious annoyance. And of course there were those who were just plain rude who complained about anything they could while I stood there smiling falsely and praying that my face wouldn't break out with a cold sweat too noticably. Apparently my prayers went unanswered.
And God forbid I neglect to ask customers for their special in-store discount cards. If I did I'd get in trouble. There was even a list kept of all the employees and the percentage of times that they had scanned customer discount cards to remind us of our responsibility. And if the customer didn't have a card I'd have to ask if they'd like to sign up for one (which usually annoyed them) or I'd have to type in their phone number if they did have a card but didn't have it with them which took ages and won me plenty more annoyed glares from impatient customers. And I had to try to look calm under pressure the entire time.

The whole thing was just torture for me. I know that some people have a easier time than others being a cashier, but I know I could never do it again. It may seem so simple to most, but definitely not for me. I can barely pay for things in the checkout line now without breaking out into a sweat.
 
Depressed4life

Depressed4life

Banned
ljwwriter said:
I have to agree with Kat. Please avoid cashier work at all costs if you can. I was cashier for a very short time and it was one of the most miserable times of my life. So bad that I wanted to die by the time I got home each night.

Remember, when you're a cashier you're the face of the store. Therefore it's like you're on a stage and you're always expected to be on. The weight of the store is on your shoulders and you're under a magnifying glass not only to the customers but to your manager as well. And believe me, they do watch closely.
Any little strange quality about your behavior is easily picked up on by others as you struggle to keep your nerves under control while at the same time trying to count out correct change, scanning products, asking for cards, and making small talk with a cheerful smile on your face. And if you forget any one of these things too many times it shows.
And then of course something always goes wrong. For instance, when I was a cashier a man came in and paid for a single popsicle with a hundred dollar bill just so he could get change. (Try a bank next time asshole). Anyway, the thing was that we didn't keep big bills in the register so I had to call up the manager to unlock a little safe to get out more money. I was a nervous wreck the entire time, and it was only made worse when the manager told me his pet peeve was having customer wait for change, as if it were my fault. And several other customer and co-workers watched this whole thing giving me odd looks.


Then there were the difficult customers who gave me odd looks. There was the woman who spent 15 or 20 minutes arguing with the cashiers about using a coupon that she either didn't actually have or had expired. And there was the stream of customers who came in asking for cigarettes and cigars which always sent me into a panic because the shelves behind me were lined with countless smoking brands and I had no idea what was what, which made me look like a complete idiot to the customers who would try to point out what they wanted in obvious annoyance. And of course there were those who were just plain rude who complained about anything they could while I stood there smiling falsely and praying that my face wouldn't break out with a cold sweat too noticably. Apparently my prayers went unanswered.
And God forbid I neglect to ask customers for their special in-store discount cards. If I did I'd get in trouble. There was even a list kept of all the employees and the percentage of times that they had scanned customer discount cards to remind us of our responsibility. And if the customer didn't have a card I'd have to ask if they'd like to sign up for one (which usually annoyed them) or I'd have to type in their phone number if they did have a card but didn't have it with them which took ages and won me plenty more annoyed glares from impatient customers. And I had to try to look calm under pressure the entire time.

The whole thing was just torture for me. I know that some people have a easier time than others being a cashier, but I know I could never do it again. It may seem so simple to most, but definitely not for me. I can barely pay for things in the checkout line now without breaking out into a sweat.
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well i already applied for cashier.... :( and you guys are scaring me.
 
X

xSleepy

Well-known member
crap, there scaring me too! i just got a job at gottschalks and ill be doing a little casheiring maybe...

But at Target you will probably do other things besides just doing the cash register. Theyll probably have you work all over the store. I think you'll do fine, you only have to talk to the customers for like 10 mintues at the most. Try to make it fun. but i think those people just had bad expereiences....it doesnt mean you will end up like that. if you dont like it then you can always quit....but dont think about that now. think of it as just being a minimum wage paying job, nothing special. its a stupid job, one that anyone can get!...

even though i applied there and i didnt get the job :( so i guess not EVERYONE can get it. and it isnt a stupid job, i was being sarcastic. thats just how you have to think of it really.

so anywhoo, you should be hearing from them soon. hope everything works out for you :)
 
ljwwriter

ljwwriter

Well-known member
Oh, I didn't mean to scare anyone! haha. I was just relating my experiences and telling others to be wary about taking a position as a cashier because personally it made me more aware of my social anxiety than just about anything in my life ever had before.
But that could be different for others. Some of you may actually find being a cashier easy enough to handle. It really depends on the person. The key thing to keep in mind is that being a cashier involves direct customer service first and foremost and there will usually be other people (including your boss) watching your interactions, at least for a while. If you get facial sweats easily or are often visibly and uncontrollably nervous like I was, being a cashier may be one of the worst entry-level job options out there. What sucks is the fact that it's also one of the most common. That and being a waiter, which I might reccommend even less.
 
X

xSleepy

Well-known member
ya thats actually a fear of mine...having the boss lady stand there and watch me!!!! But im only gonna be at my job for a month....its a short seasonal thing. So they cant expect me to become a pro at this job cause im not gonna be there for long!

But i was wondering if working the actual cash register is hard to learn?? I got a big instruction manuel to read and it looks really difficult. And how long did you work as a casheir??...sorry if you already said in a previous post...
 
Kat

Kat

Well-known member
I did mine for six months. They considered my training to be standing next to a girl and watching what she did. I only did this once and she had left for a toilet break while I was doing my suppose training and the next day I was straight on my own. They didn’t give me a training manual. I must admit they have revamped those places since I was last doing this .It looks like they have pictures for all the different items so if it is unlabeled all you have to do is press on the picture. We use to have to remember codes you could look them up but it wasn’t always clear what category the item came under making it more time consuming and like ljwwriter said if the customer had to wait it would cause them to be annoyed so it was better to remember but that is a hard thing for a sp person to do. My mind tends to go blank when I am nervous and the things I normally know if I am around people I will forget. I was ok on the register if it was just scanning and putting items in bags was the easy part but there’s other things involved that made it tough and not the ideal job for a sp person but it may not be the same for yours and hopefully you guys will have a much better experience a month of it might not be so bad.
 
mein

mein

New member
im 18 and never worked. i finally decided to see a psychiatrist to get some help with my SA. it was really hard at first and still is, having to go to all the appointments, but its gotten a little easier. my psychiatrist referred me to Occupational Vocation Rehabilitation (OVR). I got an appointment a week later. They put me in a supported employment program to help me get a job. I guess theyll set up interviews and tell my employers about my social anxiety. Im hoping I can do something like forklifting or stocking. they said they'll pay for any training although ill have to pay it back. ive had to take some applitude/personality tests. im still waiting to see the results. i hope this works and if it does ill let you guys know and tell you what its all about.
 
Depressed4life

Depressed4life

Banned
mmm

SleepingBeauty said:
crap, there scaring me too! i just got a job at gottschalks and ill be doing a little casheiring maybe...

But at Target you will probably do other things besides just doing the cash register. Theyll probably have you work all over the store. I think you'll do fine, you only have to talk to the customers for like 10 mintues at the most. Try to make it fun. but i think those people just had bad expereiences....it doesnt mean you will end up like that. if you dont like it then you can always quit....but dont think about that now. think of it as just being a minimum wage paying job, nothing special. its a stupid job, one that anyone can get!...

even though i applied there and i didnt get the job :( so i guess not EVERYONE can get it. and it isnt a stupid job, i was being sarcastic. thats just how you have to think of it really.

so anywhoo, you should be hearing from them soon. hope everything works out for you :)
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THey didn't call. Now i have to hear crap from my mom telling me to get a job. I am only 16!!!!!!!! i wish my mom can leave me alone seriously. I need to see a psychiatrist fast b/c i can't take it anymore.
 
X

xSleepy

Well-known member
oh man that sucks. sorry to hear that. but its good that you want to get help. thats a really good first step. will your mom let you go to the psychiatrist? talk to her about it.

but let me tell you. i worked at that retail store for 3 weeks (saturday was my last day) at it wasnt that bad. and i worked the cash register bascially the whole time. and i had to deal with customers ALL DAY LONG. Even rude ones. One almost made me cry. First day i was a nervous wreck and i didnt know what the hell i was doing. but i eventually caught on and i began to relax. i actually enjoyed myself a little, kinda wish i could stay longer! LOL. i really cant beleive i survived it and liked it. its strange but great at the same time.

but i know exactly how your feeling and i know it sucks and its depressing and its hard. just try to keep positive dont be too hard on yourself. i know things will work out for you :)
 
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