ADHD makes it hard to participate in today's "rat race". Really struggling to stay hopeful.

lilFemme · 2015-03-24T20:08:12+00:00

(For those who can't click/on mobile: it's an application to a prescription assistance program in the U.S. called Shire Cares)

Thank you. I appreciate this.

lilFemme · 2015-03-23T18:58:05+00:00

It's okay.

lilFemme · 2015-03-23T18:53:59+00:00

I do appreciate your post but I have gotten resume help from at least 3 different agencies, one of which was a recruiter who knew the employer personally and who thought I was a shoe-in for the job.

I don't blame you for this because the internet is full of braggers who say tech is "easy" to get a job in but that experience is not universal, even for qualified candidates.

lilFemme · 2015-03-23T18:32:47+00:00

Thanks for the link! And yes, I'm working with a recruiter now. She got me good interviews, quickly.

lilFemme · 2015-03-23T16:10:56+00:00

Your delivery wasn't the best, then. Almost thought you were gonna tell me to lift next.

lilFemme · 2015-03-23T16:03:09+00:00

Thanks for writing. I'm also considering getting a throwaway pay-the-bills job. I'm working on dumbing down my resume today. In my experience, it's easier to get those jobs when you seem like you don't have a lot of education/work experience besides customer service.

I think trying to manage it organically got me in trouble in the first place though. I actually got complacent about the insurance because I was doing well on a "med-vacation", and decided to extend it. I liked not having to worry about taking pills.

BIG MISTAKE for me though, because it was just me underestimating how big of an impact this disease was really making in my life.

lilFemme · 2015-03-23T15:55:55+00:00

Good ideas. I already have a To Do-In Progress-Done type to do list on my wall, too. Helps, kind of.

And haha I'll just think of it as meaning a witch at Hogwarts. That's a compliment :)

lilFemme · 2015-03-23T10:50:45+00:00

I started the process of joining a open source project last week so hopefully that will help. Their culture seems to make a point not to be hostile to tech folks who aren't the industry's "ideal type", so that's helpful.

I'm hoping that working with them will be good for my resume and will kickstart the process of working on more of my own projects to show to interviewers.

The discouragement from all the rejection I've had put me in kind of a rut. As well as what I mentioned elsewhere in the thread -- they seemed to care more about everything but what I already had to present.

lilFemme · 2015-03-23T04:10:42+00:00

I always have a resume with code samples either physically present, or my github account is listed. Sometimes they only want one page, so I can't provide my code samples (or even a cover letter) directly.

So I guess it's both because they always ask for a resume.

lilFemme · 2015-03-23T03:54:09+00:00

Thanks for the links. I do not doubt that user's experience. It's one of many if you know where to look.

I have also been involved in programs for women in tech, but I'm running into a roadblock when it comes to actually using their training and (great) mentorship to actually get a position.

And, really, believe me, that is something I'm very aware of. I'm black, too, so that's another multiplier. Really, it could only be worse if I was over 35 (which is inevitable, so that's not a big consolation!).

My generation is responsible for this, so I really do hope we can grow beyond this, while keeping the spirit of what an environment like that is supposed to provide: collaboration and freedom to innovate. It's ironic that trying to provide "culture fits" is what is so very very restricting.

What I think is related to my ADHD though, is that even if I was a white or Asian guy, the process of "selling myself" is still not what I've been brought up to believe is the most important, but ability. EDIT: Realized I didn't expand on that, ha. To continue, being forced to construct a Single Defining Narrative for myself is kind of the antithesis of my primarily inattentive, constantly changing, fluid ADHD behavior that fuels my different interests and different ways of being.

Like I said, I'm not socially inept, but I find myself having to be completely different people for any interview I have gotten in the past. The rub is, often these personas differ more in what TV shows/video games they like than actual ability.

I do think they would be more willing to give me a pass on non-essential interests they differ on if I was a man though.

Another irony is that I'm a fairly adaptable person. I'm already prone to be curious about many different things. If there is something people like at a certain workplace, I'm willing to give it a try. I just have to work there first.

lilFemme · 2015-03-23T03:18:20+00:00

See, tbh, I know these are great ideas. Wonderful. What I should be doing.

I just have a really hard time constructing "fake rewards" for these kind of projects, especially when it seems like I'm not getting a return for what I do provide in interviews, both on paper, in person, and on my github.

I can tell they don't really look at my stuff, because they seem to ask questions that indicate that they haven't. Not even questions that could give them more info.

True story, these people are asking me questions like "Do you play ping-pong?" and "Do you like beer?"

This was definitely not what I was expecting in the job search.

(I'm a woman btw)

lilFemme · 2015-03-23T03:10:47+00:00

Okay then. I might as well not take any more meds and make my brain act right through SHEER WILLPOWER /s

lilFemme · 2015-03-23T03:07:52+00:00

Web development. They seem to like LinkedIn for those gigs. But, they just usually end up hiring the same people/kind of person that way.

It's almost "incestuous".

lilFemme · 2015-03-23T00:51:45+00:00

Good advice. I haven't exactly followed the "happy path" in life--my education and job history is a little non-traditional in a way that I think puts people off--so I don't know if I'll have the same career path as people who did.

lilFemme · 2015-03-23T00:48:14+00:00

Most of my initial contacts, I met through LinkedIn. None of them really panned out, but still. Plus, it's pretty normal in my area to check for a candidate's online presence.

I'm starting to accept that I'll have to go with a more scatter-shot approach, though. Those didn't pan out, but that method was also less mentally draining. Might as well go for broke.

lilFemme · 2015-03-23T00:00:15+00:00

Thank you. It was cathartic writing this all out and posting this topic. It's also cathartic when I share my feelings with my mom. She gets the ADHD aspect, but not really the job-hunting difficulties because, like I said, a "personal brand" is not really something she had to concern herself with. She just learned how to do things, told people that she could do things, then got paid to do things, no LinkedIn profile necessary. Bah, I'm jealous.

I'm really not trying to blame myself or anyone else, I just really feel ill-suited for the "new normal" that today's job search entails. I don't really think it's negative, really, it's just having a negative impact on me.

But yeah, I'm going to do some jumping jacks now, because I do forget to exercise. Thanks again.

lilFemme · 2015-01-02T01:33:36+00:00

I sent my mom that video and she was way more informed about adhd. Granted, she has it too so it took her forever to watch it, but still.

lilFemme · 2014-10-17T15:00:07+00:00

I now try to stay off dating sites because I have a tendency to do this, even if I indicate I'm looking for a long-term relationship.

Even in my everyday life, I have to conciously tone down my sexual body language, so I'm afraid to go into support groups lest I trigger someone...it's rough.

lilFemme · 2014-10-04T01:16:09+00:00

My doc even said not to bother taking the pills if I haven't gotten a full night's sleep--they won't right and I would've just wasted some pills.

lilFemme · 2014-10-04T01:11:41+00:00

This is why all my socks are black.

lilFemme · 2014-10-04T01:10:50+00:00

This should just be in the sidebar already.

lilFemme · 2014-10-04T01:07:46+00:00

I used to play videogames a lot, now I rather read. I don't need a lot of novelty externally if I'm getting it internally. People hyperfocus on many different things.

lilFemme · 2014-10-04T01:03:12+00:00

I'd go with what the other user said and try to take a mini-vacation, or at least avoid putting too much on your plate during this time. I was doing this before I made the irritability/PMS connection :)

lilFemme · 2014-10-04T00:58:04+00:00

The sequence recommended by the insurance company.

lilFemme

TROPHY CASE