[RisuNeko]

I am 26, and have worked as a caregiver for elderly people with dementia and other ailments for 3 years, have a B.A. in Philosophy, and am almost done with a graduate certificate in Gerontology (the field of aging). I am on summer break right now so I have free time when I'm not at work, and I figured I should start volunteering somewhere like a senior center or something to get my food in a door or two for when I graduate and need to find a career.

Anyway, I recently emailed the director of my city's Successful Aging Institute to ask about volunteering opportunities and also career ideas. And her answer scared the bajeezuz out of me! She told me about these biweekly meetings where people in the field get together and network and such and that I should go to the meetings wearing business clothes and bring business cards and prepare a 1 minute spiel about myself and my qualifications and what I have to offer.

First off, I don't own any business clothes, or anything even remotely fancy. Second, I don't have business cards and wouldn't even know what to put on them. What am I? "Gerontology Enthusiast"? I'm not really officially anything. I think I could come up with a spiel about myself if I had to, but getting the words out in a large group of people is another matter entirely. It all just seems so impossible. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm trying to break it down into small pieces that I can manage, like first go to good will and get some business clothes, then design a business card on photoshop (I'm a digital artist, and photoshop is my program of choice, so that should be do-able), buy card stock and print and cut 20 or so cards, then write the spiel, then practice the spiel...then the hardest part...go to the actual meeting. I just can't imagine myself doing that part. I don't feel like I can do it. It's too intimidating.

I'm the kind of person who sucks at job interviews and never gets the job because I both don't know how to, and don't want to, sell myself. My self-confidence is very low, so how am I supposed to convince anybody that I'm great?

But I need to do something. After I graduate in December all my student loans will come due, and my part time janitorial job will simply not pay the bills. Not to mention I want to be able to afford to move out of my parents' house at some point. I need a decent paying job, and in order to not commit suicide, I need it to be one that, well...doesn't make me want to kill myself. I don't know what I'm supposed to do here.

Could the director go with you and introduce you to people?

Sounds terrifying! For the social anxiety, can you see your GP / PDOC for a beta blocker or benzo just to take the edge off the anxiety?

Maybe you don't have to put an official sounding title, just your qualifications:

Risu Neko
B.A Philosophy, Graduate Diploma (Gerontology)

[Yzen]

I don't know anything about your career area., but that seems like advice that would be given to someone trying to get hired at a high level instead of someone starting out. Maybe there is someone else you can email to get a second opinion of what it takes to get started in your career. How about someone at your school or someone at a center in another city?

[dancinglady]

Go to your therapist and they can help you. You would not give a spiel to a whole crowd just when one person asks about yourself and your career plans.