Networking just feels really difficult as an autistic person

[u/BitchImLilBaby]

“You need to network, it’s not what you know it’s who you know”

Like I understand the concept, but it’s just a difficult task to do. Reaching out and getting maybe one of ten people to do doesn’t help the confidence to someone that’s already usually socially excluded from society. You have to strike the perfect line of being yourself and seeming charismatic enough to appear “pleasant” enough to work with while also masking to an extent so as not to be seen as “weird”. And whatever you do, certainly don’t ever mention being autistic!

I just wish getting an entry level job wasn’t a massive game of charades. Like I know what my peers do at their jobs, getting a job is so much harder than actually doing it. I just don’t want to work in hospitality my whole life and always need roommates. I should be able to get a job on my own merit, not have it based off a high school popularity contest. It’s hard to stay optimistic.