Finding Your ADHD Friendly Job

[down0000001]

Originally Posted by buggie

...And to add, I have all but lost the ability to day dream. I'm a female ADDer, and up until sometime in my 20s, I was a non-stop daydreamer. Now, I can't even make myself. I actually try to force myself to think about things I'd like for myself in bed at night, but I end up just crying because I can't think of anything. If it doesn't seem practical, I can't force it into my mind.

this sounds like a very meaningful post to me....i've had intense long-term interests that have disappeared when really difficult personal things have happened to me. i've just started to get back into some things that i used to like; things that people figured were a part of me. it's hard. if you're figuring things out, sometimes you need a jumpstart.

[geoffc]

Two good books: "Life's a *****: Then You Change Careers" and "Do What You Are". The first is a systematic approach to discovering your values, favored environments and people, then organizing your search around them. The second is based on an interesting psychological test and theory of personality types. It can be very revealing.

[EddieParcels]

Thanks to my awful time management and inability to remember when im working, having a job has been nothing less than a massive issue for me.
Though last september (a few months before I was diagnosed with ADHD), I got into stand up comedy. Its not neccisarily a 'proper' job, but it brings in some money and being given 10 minutes on stage to ramble utter rubbish and make people laugh has been great for me. Funnily enough, I never forget when I have a gig.

[angelstain]

I personally think that I am better off working for myself. I had nothing but bad luck working for employers. They had no regard for my ADHD even when I was upfront and told them about it. :/

[christo34]

I had the same bad experience. My employer, (who was actually a pediatric physician!) acted fine but then slowly but surely he started taking projects away from me. I finally quit. My advice is NEVER tell your employer. They may even act like they understand but will probably work to get rid of you behind your back.

Originally Posted by angelstain

I personally think that I am better off working for myself. I had nothing but bad luck working for employers. They had no regard for my ADHD even when I was upfront and told them about it. :/

[anonymouslyadd]

Sometimes I think I am better off working alone. I can work in group settings, but I struggle with having decisions not being within my grasp or my influence.

[Peripheral]

=anonymouslyadd;1075463]Sometimes I think I am better off working alone. I can work in group settings, but I struggle with having decisions not being

within my grasp or my influence

.



Nice way to describe the situation.

GB

[Dantrez]

I am so very lucky to have found a great job. I work in a hospital scheduling over 400 nurses & CNA's. Very fast-paced gig which helps my brain stay stimulated. I have ritical care nurses come down and watch me work & tell me they wouldn't want my job, cuz it is too crazy. It is great in that I work a bit later (11-7), but can adapt back to a normal schedule if need be. Love my nurses!

[spaceytracy91]

Originally Posted by Keppig

This isn't just for ADDers

Source: http://content.msn.monster.com/articles/born/

Discover the Work You Were Born to Do
by James C. Gonyea

Here's what I ask clients to help them find their core. Ask yourself these questions and record your answers.

1. What subjects do you most enjoy reading about?
2. What television or radio programs do you most enjoy?
3. What are your favorite types of movies?

Uhhhh, if I answered these questions honestly I'd either be a meth manufacturer or Rhoda Morgenstern!!

[RedHairedWitch]

http://www.trainingmag.com/article/l...e-bit-pregnant

This is actually about job interviews.

[GuinnessTV]

I think I was very fortunate/lucky. Using no insight or planning, I decided to change my major just "out of the blue" one morning when I was in college. I had been studying to be a music teacher, and since I had a strong passion for music, I was doing fine. I had been hanging out with some of the Mass Comm people and it seemed to me that their class-load was far more relaxed than mine. At a party one night, one of them said that if I switched my major over to Mass Comm, I could party like that every night. On the following Monday morning, I woke up and changed it...much to the dismay of my advisers. Within 6 months, I was working in live television and have been working in the industry ever since (23 years). It was/is the only thing I can imagine doing. Live TV is one hell of a rush. Anything can and will happen at any time. Television is a great ADD environment so long as you learn to use all the pent up restlessness, multiple-thoughts issues and the needs for adrenalin rushes in your favor instead of having them work against you.

[GSummers]

I have definitely found my ADHD friendly job, and it was quite by accident as well. After 5 years of college & 2 Bachelor's degrees, I was job hunting. I did food service, retail (commission sales), and worked as a personal trainer at a gym. The job at the gym was actually great for my ADHD but unfortunately due to lack of decent pay/benefits, I ended up leaving to be a manager at a sporting goods store managing a 20,000 sq ft store and 15 employees. Being back in retail about killed me. It allowed me to roam the sales floor all day and do projects that needed high energy like merchandising and whatnot, but it just wasn't a challenge for me.

I left that job and went without work for about 6-8 months. I was preparing for my wedding at the time and basically hung out with my stepson (then 6) every day and bonded with him. When he went back to school in the fall and the wedding was behind me, I was bored, bored, bored.

So I took to an ad asking for people to apply as a pre-k teacher. Now I get paid to chase kids around all day. They're all 3 years old so yes, they have a shorter attention span than I do! I am actually encouraged to run and play with them on the playground, and get on the floor and interact with them when they play inside. We are a very hands-on school so I am always into whatever they're doing. We also have an open floor plan, so I'm not stuck in one room bouncing off the walls all day. It is seriously the best fit I could ever hope to have. I have been there 3 years come February, have had numerous promotions, and I work with another girl who has ADHD and is also excelling. So I truly believe that there are jobs out there for you no matter your symptoms, keep at it and you may find the perfect fit.

[PuprleBroa]

I do not like to work as I would have to be supervised all the time to complete a task or it would take me forever to do it, yet when somebody supervises me I just feel like punching that person out.

[deeinsun]

Ace sonia your list is a bit like mine... I manage the office/shop which honestly the admin/accounting I dislike & battle with, peole interaction like, finding new products like, the web design like... Stuck here for now!! Worked in bars, did a flight attendance couse & the list of questions above i am going to do as at 37 I am still clueless what I ahould be doing 😃

Originally Posted by Sonja

I wrote that I liked:
- serving all kinds of people
- feeling of pride or belonging to a group or culture
- spontaneous, sudden minitasks to be accomplished, always with much variety

I disliked:
- adminstrative/secretary work
- long-term or repetitive responsibilities

So maybe I should think of careers like:
- travel/tourism information officer or guide
- nurse or radiology technician
- bartender
- flight attendant

[TurquoiseWind]

i am currently trying to get a job, unlike most people here i have never had one and i am 20 (21 this December) i really need a job as it is the only way i will ever be able to see a doctor about my ADD, i am getting NO support from my parents who i currently live with.

i will definitely try both making a list of things like in the first post and answering the questions in the second hopefully that will help give me some insight on what kind of job i would like. i do kinda already know though sorta.

i have innatentive type, i actually am hypoactive but i will motivate myself if i need to i guess. i need structure, schedules, and know exactly what has to be done and when to do it. unlike most i do not do well under pressure, i crumble, my mind shuts off under pressure, deadlines can help me keep structure but i have to get things done LONG before the deadline or else i will start panicking and rush though it probably making a ton of mistakes (not to mention it does nothing for my nerves) so i need structure but less pressure. also i would prefer to work alone. i don't care if the job is monotonous as long as its simple.

no this isn't something i would like spending the rest of my life with, but i need something NOW. for an actual career though most of what i mentioned above applies except for the monotony part, and it would need to be something i enjoy. but i have been told that i may never find a job i enjoy so i should just take whatever i can, its too hard to find a job these days. well yeah i agree but it should be at least a job i can manage

is anyone else like me? any advice for finding a job based on what i have written? i have been kinda afraid to start looking for a job because of my fear of failure, what if im fired? actually that kinda terrifies me, i am afraid i won't be able to do the job right and will get on people's nerves.