My 19-year-old son seems to have developed a phobia of interviews and refuses to apply for any job that involves one. This means he is restricted to either not working or doing contract labourer jobs where he is self-employed, the rates are terrible and the work day is long and hard.
He is introverted and not a great talker. He left school with six GCSE’s at C grade, including maths, English language and science, which we thought was pretty good, considering he never liked school and struggled with most subjects (I think he is dyslexic).
He started a BTec in engineering but dropped out without completing the course.
The problems seemed to start when he was 16, when he applied for weekend work at two big supermarkets. He did his best at the interviews, but was asked at one to give a two-minute presentation, which frightened the life out of him. He didn’t get any offers of work and has interpreted this as meaning he is useless and that he “can’t do interviews”.
He is a big, strong lad and I know there is nothing wrong with being a labourer for a while, but he is capable of so much more. An apprenticeship in a trade would be ideal in my opinion, but he refuses to consider any roles that I show him as he says he won’t get through the interview.
How can I support him to overcome this fear – even if it is to back off and just leave him to work it out for himself?
