Careers for people with not so great people/communication/team work skills

[Daxter]

I'm sort of job hunting, sort of looking for long-term career ideas, and I don't think that I've seen a single job advert for anything that doesn't mention excellent people/communication/team work skills. Usually all three.

I'm polite, I get on with people on a really superficial level and I write pretty well. But I'm always the one standing next to The Team never quite part of it, I suck at eye contact, I'm a fidget and my speech can be a bit unclear in both in terms of how I talk and because I can't explain myself very well. I'm also completely incapable of lying that I'm awesome with people in an interview.

I've got all of my previous jobs through knowing somebody and I've have never had a skilled job but there must be people in the world who have weak social skills and have still managed to build a career so if that's you, what do you do for a living?

I'm going to lurk on this thread in the hope that someone in the know will reply! I have terrible social skills but would love a job above minimum wage one day.

What kind of things are you good at? Numbers? Spotting mistakes like grammatical errors or similar? (People with ASD often tend to focus on details rather than the bigger picture).
What jobs have you done in the past? Do you have a degree or other qualifications?

I know this sounds like a lot of questions but it could be useful for you to write them down, or put them on here so we could help you with ideas.

I have ASD and graduated last year, still not had a job yet, mainly because I have no clue! I’ve volunteered in a charity shop for six months, which isn’t too bad as it just involves basic customer interaction that you quickly get used to.

I work in a supermarket at the moment and I've done admin work. Nothing skilled. The watching photocopiers, typing stuff, making tea, bottom of the ladder tasks.

I've just done AAT and I thought I'd found what I want to do (I'm good with numbers, logic, working methodically, attention to detail, technology... working in accounts would play to loads of my strengths) but it turns out there's a lot more people skills in it than I thought there was. Plus you have to get some experience to get into it in the first place and then impress to get anywhere. I don't have the skills or confidence.

Unfortunately, I think the realistic answer is probably that it's very difficult to build a career with weak people skills and not many people manage to do it.

Can you do some volunteering to gain some experience maybe?

I've got a friend who is high up in a firm in the city. We asked her ( for dd who has autism) about job adverts saying they need dynamic types with people skills who are ambitious etc etc. She said that they just put that, but actually really want people who follow instructions and generally do as they are told. Which is good in some ways but not very useful for autistic applicants who will be put off by the advert, and take it literally. Especially if they have low self esteem.

I wish the National Autistic Society would be able to help with this; creating schemes for people with asd who often have a lot to offer. I get the impression they are overwhelmed though. Their website is a bit full of platitudes and not much specific help.

@Daxter

I wish they wouldn't put things that they don't really mean but it's good to hear that it's not truly what all employers are looking for. As you say low self-esteem, and also taking things quite literally, I won't apply for anything unless I'm 100% sure I meet all requirements.

I've been looking for volunteering opportunities for a while but in my area, it's pretty much all charity shops or citizens advice advisors, which I definitely don't have the confidence for.

I've seen an advert for an attention to detail person to do data input/processing stuff that looks like something I'd like to do. It's only minimum wage and the essential requirements are very light but the dreaded 'strong communication skills with good telephone manner' is there as usual. But then the job description makes it sound like it's just answering queries as a small part of the job. I don't know.

When I asked a question on this board to encourage my dd when she was leaving university someone recommended being a compliance officer. Maybe you could look into that? I think attention to detail is requisite and numeracy. It's also an expanding area apparently.

You are similar to dd as she doesn't want to risk applying for jobs that aren't exactly right. Instead of perfectionism it's a case of not wanting to fail.

I wish there was some charity or company that specialised in bridging the gap between autistic people and employers. To reassure autistic people that jobs and careers are very much suited to them and to show employers how they could understand what they are potentially missing out on.

Hi Daxter, you could apply for the job that sounds good and find out more. Don't forget that interviews are a two way process and you can always turn down any job offer if you don't think it would be a good fit for you. If it is just basic enquiries on the phone it might be ok. I hate making phone calls and yet I have worked in a call centre and it ended up improving my confidence. It is the same kind of questions over again and you have all the information to hand to find an answer. Perhaps this role is similar and/or that part of the role is small.

I agree that it is hard to think about a whole career path but it sounds like you know your strengths, which is great. Try to focus on those and what you can bring to an organisation. It sounds like you have a lot to offer in the tasks that matter.

My friend is a medical copywriter she is a health care professional who did a course to qualify as a copywriter. She works from home on her computer and everything is done online. Lots of attention to detail, ability to follow complex terminology, correcting as necessary she loves it. Freelance pay for full time is approximately £30kpa

I didn't get an interview for the job that I liked the look of, which is fine but I'm a bit upset that they sent me a personalised rejection email telling me that I don't have the required skills. I've never come across a company that sends personal feedback to people unsuccessful before interview. I explained how my skills meet every single point of the person specification so it feels a bit like 'you said you have the skills but we just had to tell you that you don't...'

Medical copywriting sounds interesting but it's another one closed to people who don't have a science degree/significant experience in healthcare. I wasted my student finance entitlement not getting a degree at 18 so anything graduate/retraining that requires a degree isn't an option for me unfortunately. My 'if I won the lottery' not going to happen because I don't buy a ticket dream is to go back to university and get multiple science degrees.

Op, you are right that attention to detail type roles might work.
The new GDPR rules that came in to force in May mean that every company has to be a lot more detailed about what information they hold, keeping it accurate, and so on.
There are quite a few short term roles at the moment to help companies get their data sorted, which might allow you to get some data officer type experience.
You could search in your area for GDPR consultancies and see what turns up. or try local councils.
Don’t worry about not having reams of experience, because it is a fairly new requirement, no-one has.