My Job History

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLsEvtZl1d5vDuCudMXfhEjbo8IRofyxyU&v=GrJXSpeDI8o

Hi, I am EmKay Archlink. I am the author of the book Unseen Powers and the TikToker

NinjaGalEmKay. Welcome to RAW-tism, a podcast about my autistic experience and my

opinions on the world. On this podcast, I will be raw and unfiltered. You are always welcome to

disagree with me as long as you do so respectfully and with no name-calling. Any usage of the

r-slur will get you immediately blocked.

For those of you who don’t know, I am a full-time nanny. For forty-five hours a week, I get paid

$18 an hour to be screamed at by a three- and one-year-old. Somehow, this has been the best job

I have ever had. In an earlier episode, I dive into my experience being a nanny and helping raise

small children, so this week, I want to discuss some of the jobs I’ve had since I turned sixteen.

In the last eight years, I have had over ten jobs. You heard that right. Having undiagnosed autism

enabled me to jump around when I was younger. I had a tough time finding my first job. I

applied to what seemed like a bajillion places before my first interview at Chipotle. I did not get

hired, but my mom made a huge deal of my first interview on Facebook, which helped my

confidence.

My first job was at a resale shop in my hometown called Savers. This job was very stressful for

me because of the over-stimulating environment. The sound of hangers, multiple groups of

people talking, and the beeping of the registers was too much. I was constantly on edge, and it

didn’t help that the store manager was extremely pushy about wanting more availability from me

and became verbally abusive when I asked for time off for school. In just under a year, I quit

because I was consistently crying from the stress. Little did I know that the next job would be

even worse.

My second job was with East Coast Custard, a local frozen treat shop with cute snacks like

pretzels and hotdogs. This was the shortest time I spent at a job before voluntarily quitting. There

have been a few jobs where I couldn’t make it through my first shift because of panic attacks, but

they won’t be included in today’s episode. What drove me away from East Coast Custard was the

lack of rule-following among employees, and the manager did not attempt to solve it. It was too

lackadaisical for me, and they did not follow health code standards. A few months after I quit,

they overturned the management and are now a safe place to eat, but I can’t go back without

being reminded of the environment I was thrust into.

I was hired at Panera Bread while already employed by East Coast Custard. My mom convinced

me to still go to my scheduled interview for the practice even though I had already been hired at

another company, and then Panera hired me on the spot. It worked out in my favor. I stayed with

Panera for nearly a year before quitting toward the end of my senior year. I had applied to be a

cashier and was promised I would be trained in it over and over again, but I was stuck as a busser

and dishwasher. The final straw was when they denied me time off for my last school musical.

That summer, I spent a month at Five Guys and loved it, but I had to quit because I kept coming

home with cuts and burns on my hands. So, I moved on to the Cleveland Metropark Golf Course.

This job was a sitcom-level disaster. I got hives, trapped a golf cart on a curb somehow, and

learned after I got my license that my temps did not qualify me to have been driving the golf

carts. Whoops. My end-of-summer review labeled me “very easily distracted” but “a joy for the

volunteers to have around.” I was unsurprised when they did not hire me back the following

summer.

I got the job at the Freshëns on campus because the recruiter thought I had a beautiful smile. He

was later fired for being inappropriate to some of the other staff members, so I take the fact that I

was hired without an interview with a grain of salt—sort of complimentary but also creepy. This

job led me to one of the most excellent store managers in the universe, Bobbie. Bobbie accepted

me as I was and never let anyone give me shit for needing to take breaks when I got

overstimulated. Freshëns was the only job I’ve had where I was given accommodations for my

panic attacks and allowed me to chill until I was ready to get back out there. My coworkers were

accepting for the most part. One guy didn’t like me because I wouldn’t keep my mouth shut

about the fact that he stole and was constantly making out with his boyfriend over the counter.

He tried to complain that I was homophobic to save his job, but that excuse didn’t work,

thankfully. It probably helped that when I reported him to management, I was crying because I

felt guilty about getting him in trouble.

I needed a job in my hometown that following summer, so I worked at the local Macy’s. It was

fun doing odd jobs, and I did not purposely quit. It was submitted that I was quitting when I went

back to school instead of granting time off, so I accidentally lost that job.

Entering another summer meant I needed another summer job. I cried when offered the job with

Famous Footwear, the only store where I felt comfortable getting shoes because they always had

wide sizes available. I was only there a few weeks before the COVID-19 worldwide shutdown

caused a company-wide layoff. I was down for quite a while, but it drove me to apply to the

Dunkin’ Donuts down the street from my parent’s house. That job was terrific for my confidence

and helped me stop blindly interpreting my parents’ opinions as facts. I am still in contact with

some of the friends I made there.

Freshëns is connected to little convenience stores called Zee’s on my college campus. Knowing

how much I loved stocking shelves and how I thrived in a calmer environment, my manager

transferred me to Zee’s. She would plan deliveries to arrive on my shifts because I had a blast

organizing them all. I usually completed my assignments within my shift, but if anything were

left over for the next person, I would give them a step-by-step method to finish it quickly and

easily. Things got done a lot better because of me, and I felt needed more than I did anywhere

else at the time. Being able to do homework in the free moments didn’t hurt my love for the job

either. A good portion of my book, Unseen Powers, was written while working at Zee’s.

The following summer, I was saving furiously for a car, so I worked 40 hours a week at Dunkin’

and grabbed a hostess job at Olive Garden for 10 hours a week. I overworked myself for a month

until I was found hysterically sobbing in the Olive Garden bathroom. I was rocking back and

forth while whispering that the jazz was too loud on repeat. I was sent home from that shift and,

later, stopped by to personally extend my resignation. It was overstimulating. They understood

but were sad to see me go. My manager at Dunkin’ was delighted that I left Olive Garden and

finally gave myself time to rest. I still overworked myself, but at least she could dictate my hours

and force me to take breaks while I was there. I will forever be thankful to her for helping me

learn work-life balance and to stand up for myself.

After getting my first apartment, my first non-campus job was at Edwin Shaw, a Cleveland

Clinic Inpatient Rehabilitation Hospital. I love being a receptionist and still pick up shifts here

and there.

Feeling a spur of independence, I transferred from Edwin Shaw to NovaCare Rehabilitation for a

full-time job with benefits. A little after I started working there, I got my autism diagnosis. This

gave me the mental freedom to truly be myself. Unfortunately, the job I held with NovaCare was

too much for me as I was nearing graduation, and I decided to transfer back to Edwin Shaw. I

realized I would rather be in a calm environment on my parents' insurance than in a disorderly

workplace for the benefits. I’m still friends with my coworkers from there and am glad that I

tried it so I could meet them. This was the point where I started my full-time job as a nanny.

No one in my life was surprised when I decided to get a part-time side job at Spirit Halloween

this past year. I have always been a big fan of horror, thrillers, and everything related to

Halloween and Dia de Los Muertos, my favorite holiday. Before receiving my autism spectrum

disorder diagnosis, this job would have ended with me quitting after a long shift that sent me to

tears from overstimulation. Thankfully, I knew what accommodations I’d need, and management

worked with me so I could hang out in the back and work primarily on backstock and fixing

broken merchandise. I absolutely loved it and will definitely apply again when spooky season

comes around.

Overall, these job experiences formed me into the person I am today, so I am thankful for every

moment, even the bad ones. There are things I wish the younger me had known, but that’s all

part of growing up.

Regardless of your thoughts and feelings toward me, I love every one of you. You are wanted

and loved by many, and so many want you to stay in this world. I am one of these “many” and

always will be.

I hope you enjoyed this episode, and thank you for listening to RAW-tism. If you’d like to support this podcast, the description includes links with referral codes to Cirkul’s water bottles, Pair Eyewear’s customizable glasses, and my favorite Amazon products. The transcript for this episode can be found for free on my Patreon, which is also linked below. 

Would you like to see more of me? In that case, visit emkayarchlink.com for links to my TikTok,

Instagram, and YouTube. My book Unseen Powers is available in hardback, paperback, or

digitally through Amazon. Remember to drink water, eat some nummies, and have your best life.

Bye!!