Summer Jobs...

[InfinityRose]

So, I've been having a hard time finding a job for a while now, or at least, a "real job." I've worked on campus before and currently have a work study job, but other than that I've never been able to find a job off-campus. And from what I told, that looks really bad when that's all you have.

I'd like to apply this summer again, but I'm not getting my hopes up. (I can only work outside campus during the summer as I don't have a car or driver's license) But not only am I worried about finding a job, I'm worried about being terrible with it. I'm someone who doesn't have the best motor skills, I need very specific instructions otherwise I get lost, and if I'm under high-stress or need a good working memory, that makes things very difficult for me. Also, being in my early twenties, I'm afraid that my coworkers will look down on me for only having on-campus work experience.

At basically all the jobs I've had so far, I've been known as the "stupid slow girl," even getting yelled at by one of my first bosses for being too slow in front of my coworkers, most of who already hated me. Do you have any suggestions on which jobs to apply for which are not too fast paced or with easily irritable coworkers? I was thinking maybe an ice cream shop or small store?

(Note: Please don't just tell me "don't care what they think." I've been told that many times and it never works.)

 

[Sarah S]

You defenetly have the ods against you on this work capability based on youre described "problems " dear BUT i will also ad that i share many of youre described "iccues " and i managed to with ALOT of HARD work and COUNTLESS trials and errors reach my dream job (only to later do to have to step down due to WAY to long and stressful and LONG work weeks as my body shut down compleatly ) BUT the point here is i DID it dear and so can you.

Reg youre sugestions :

Ice cream shop NO it would stress the living day light of you when to many customers are coming in and youre coworkers would take offence not knowing youe diagnosis and ...........

small store YES BUT i would also suggest you are OPEN with youre employer about youre disability so they can then decide if they are willing to help and accept and give you the time you need and guidance (why not try a grocery store ?)

 

[Judge]

Unfortunately in the world of retail and service jobs many of them tend to have both peak seasons and daily peak hours. Times of the year and more importantly, specific times of day when you can expect the pace of a job to pick up dramatically. Where anyone working slower than others may stand out.

It's the sort of thing that "tests one's mettle" whether they like it or not.

In this respect the only logical suggestion I can make is to search for retail or service jobs that don't appear to have peak hours or operation, or peak season considerations. Ice cream shops on a hot summer day can draw crowds. Turning even the simplest job with happy customers into a sudden nightmare.

Anything involving food preparation will always have the stress of breakfast, lunch and dinner considerations. Where the bulk of retail transactions takes place in short intervals of time. Also to consider the clientele. You don't want to work anywhere that for whatever reason in the summer is patronized predominantly by students out of school either. And above all, stay away from anything involving production and assembly of things. Where time is always of the essence.

So you look for jobs that may have no apparent or immediate pressing issues based on time alone.

Even then, you have to always consider that the weekend may draw crowds no matter what goods or services are offered. And just understand that such job opportunities may be in short supply. Given most part time jobs likely involve time sensitivity and a rush to produce goods or services in a specified amount of time.

 

[Peter Morrison]

I agree with Judge. Don't work in customer service if you are seriously slow. Try to work in some capacity associated with your education degree. Speak with career placement counselors or an employment agency. No matter what is offered, you will probably have to learn some new skills. Learning new skills will make future employment easier. Outline for yourself what the requirements of a perfect job for you would entail. A good job should challenge you, but not push you over the edge. Get professional assistance. Many employers use agencies to screen applicants to find a proper fit. Stay positive.

 

[tducey]

I've done retail, I enjoyed it but not sure it's not something I would enjoy as a long term career.

 

[InfinityRose]

You defenetly have the ods against you on this work capability based on youre described "problems " dear BUT i will also ad that i share many of youre described "iccues " and i managed to with ALOT of HARD work and COUNTLESS trials and errors reach my dream job (only to later do to have to step down due to WAY to long and stressful and LONG work weeks as my body shut down compleatly ) BUT the point here is i DID it dear and so can you.

Reg youre sugestions :

Ice cream shop NO it would stress the living day light of you when to many customers are coming in and youre coworkers would take offence not knowing youe diagnosis and ...........

small store YES BUT i would also suggest you are OPEN with youre employer about youre disability so they can then decide if they are willing to help and accept and give you the time you need and guidance (why not try a grocery store ?)

Thank you for your reply. I'm not quite sure about grocery stores as the ones in my area are all fairly big and if someone asks me where something is I might have trouble finding it. But thank you, I'm definitely going to look into small stores specifically. There's one really close to my house that would be perfect but for the life of me I can never find anything that indicates they're hiring, nor do they have any place on their website to apply.

 

[InfinityRose]

Unfortunately in the world of retail and service jobs many of them tend to have both peak seasons and daily peak hours. Times of the year and more importantly, specific times of day when you can expect the pace of a job to pick up dramatically. Where anyone working slower than others may stand out.

It's the sort of thing that "tests one's mettle" whether they like it or not.

In this respect the only logical suggestion I can make is to search for retail or service jobs that don't appear to have peak hours or operation, or peak season considerations. Ice cream shops on a hot summer day can draw crowds. Turning even the simplest job with happy customers into a sudden nightmare.

Anything involving food preparation will always have the stress of breakfast, lunch and dinner considerations. Where the bulk of retail transactions takes place in short intervals of time. Also to consider the clientele. You don't want to work anywhere that for whatever reason in the summer is patronized predominantly by students out of school either. And above all, stay away from anything involving production and assembly of things. Where time is always of the essence.

So you look for jobs that may have no apparent or immediate pressing issues based on time alone.

Even then, you have to always consider that the weekend may draw crowds no matter what goods or services are offered. And just understand that such job opportunities may be in short supply. Given most part time jobs likely involve time sensitivity and a rush to produce goods or services in a specified amount of time.

Peak hours are something I haven't even considered, but a very good point. The ice cream shop I was thinking about seems pretty empty most of the time, at least from the couple times I've been, but I should probably look further into it.

I wouldn't say I'm super slow, but I'm slower than average, especially if it's a new skill I don't have down yet. I'm really not good with things that just kind of throw me in there with only brief explanation. Because of this, I'm kind of intimidated by cash registers but if I'm taught by someone how to use it and they don't just assume it's all common sense, I think I should be fine.

Yeah, they really are unfortunately. I have a friend who's a lifeguard and I've been considering that since I really like the water, but I'm terrified that if an actual emergency was to occur I'd freeze up. Which is... not good when people's lives are on the line.