I’m in tech and working with a guy on a very small project, but I’m definitely not able to make ends meet (thankfully family & friends have pulled me out several months lately). I’ve also been looking for a stop-gap job until I find a tech company that actually knows how to hire. But even that seems to be really difficult.
Like most ADHDers, I have a processing disorder. Grocery stores trigger panic attacks. Monotony also triggers it. I’m also not good with detail-oriented tasks (so that leaves something like electronics manufacturing off the table).
But I am a hard worker. No matter the pay, I will go above and beyond for my team to get a job done.
I’m scouring indeed and Craigslist trying to find something I can get in the interim.
For other ADHDers, what has your experience been doing a receptionist job? Is it ADHD hell? Or am I over-blowing the mistakes I’d probably make into major catastrophes? I realize it all depends on the employer. But what stories do people have (positive or negative) who have been receptionists?
I’ve been a receptionist, and I’ve been an office manager - if you have the choice, go for office manager! Depending on the size of the office you basically still are the receptionist you just have a lot more responsibility. For me, the hardest part of being a receptionist were the days where I had basically nothing to do but still had to sit there and look pleasant. If you work in an office where you can wear a Bluetooth piece in your ear, you can listen to podcasts which takes care of the monotony aspect.
The other hardest hurdle for me is not letting details fall through the cracks. I have come up with some checks and balances systems to make sure nothing gets forgotten, and obviously I write every single thing down as it’s asked of me. I cannot rely on my brain to just remember a task someone asked me to do. I make a lot of lists.
You can also fill downtime with stuff like an online typing class which just looks like you’re sending emails or whatever from the outside. Sitting and doing nothing is just too hard.
For what it’s worth, I know they’re the same in the DSM now, but I’m not hyperactive. If you are, being a receptionist might not be for you.
Thanks! Valuable insight.
I’m definitely a proponent of using my downtime to find ways of making the job better, but I realize I need to be careful. During a fulfillment job I had during quiet times I usually cracked open the Windows PowerShell to see if I could improve processes with any programming scripts. Not sure if it’s what got me fired, but I’d imagine it didn’t help things. 😆