The COVID-19 pandemic has brought large disruption to the work. So, however are you able to future-proof your career going forward?
The good news is that you can upskill on your own time and in your way, with online courses from leading universities and institutions.
Example 2. Write a one-paragraph summary of the following text.
In the mid-90s, it was not uncommon to see advertisements in newspapers for “work from home” jobs. These were invariably scams, promising huge salaries for doing nothing much at all. The scam was that you paid for the privilege of working for them (for example by buying their “business kit”). Then you had to recruit other people into the scheme and make them pay to work for the company. Of course, these jobs never existed – it was a pyramid selling scam.
These days there are still plenty of scams around but they are a lot more sophisticated and harder to spot, especially if you don’t know what to look out for. One example is “work from home” jobs like mystery shopping where you pay a fee upfront to get access to an online database of shops where you take photos or notes about customer service or product quality. You then submit these as part of your job application and hope that you get paid a small amount per store visit… which is probably not going to happen because chances are there will be hundreds of other people submitting applications as well, meaning that there will be no money left over at all! Another example is “work from home” jobs like mystery shopping where you pay a fee upfront to get access to an online database of shops where you take photos or notes about customer service or product quality. You then submit these as part of your job application and hope that you get paid a small amount per store visit… which is probably not going to happen because chances are there will be hundreds of other people submitting applications as well, meaning that there will be no money left over at all!
- Do you ever have any problems with your employment? What are they?
I’ve been very lucky in that I haven’t had any major problems with my employment, but I think this is partly because I know what to look out for and how to avoid the scams. I suppose one problem is that some people don’t want to work in an office environment, and prefer working from home on their own, which might not suit everyone. Another problem can be if you aren’t good at networking – it can be very useful to have friends in high places so it helps if you’re able to make friends with managers or senior people who might be able to help you out down the line.
- Are there any jobs that could become too much for someone with Asperger Syndrome? What would these jobs be?
I think it depends on the person – some people might find certain jobs overwhelming if they have trouble coping with lots of social interaction or noise. It’s not just the job that could become too much, but the environment and culture of the company as well.
- What are some of your interests outside work?
I like to read and write, I play tennis and I love music. I also love to travel – when I was younger we used to go on holiday abroad every year, but now that we have two small children it’s a bit more difficult. We still manage to go away for a weekend once or twice a year, which is lovely!
As well as working full time in my own business, I also help out with my husband’s business on a part-time basis. We both have our own businesses so we can be flexible about when and where we work, which is good because it means we can spend more time with our children!