I don't do any small talk at work. In fact I don't even hang out with my work colleagues. They are all 55+ in age I am 20 years younger. We have nothing in common. We only talk work.

The other people in my office that are my age I jsut say high to when I walk past them and that is it. Lunch time I do what I want  lol.

I live in one of the hardest places in the world to get a job. Despite having qualifications, speaking English fluently, I was unable to even secure low level jobs that are way beneath me. I know if I moved to Europe, US, Canada or any other country in this world, I would have a much better chance of obtaining employment. I could not afford to travel to another country so that was never an option. Wrong place at the wrong time and bad luck in life. I would not wish long term unemployment or becoming unemployable onto anyone.

Having a purpose, direction and identity in life is strongly connected to having employment and being a contributing member of society. Most jobs are through family and friends, with no social network it is nearly impossible to obtain work in my country. It is hard not being bitter when you did everything you could and it was all for nothing but long term unemployment and unemployable and stuck going nowhere in life.

"Perth is too hard to find a job. I have applied for 5000 jobs all on seek.com.au in 5 years and not even a single job interview. Perth job market must be rigged.

Jobs are apparently easier to find in the UK and the US than in Perth. Perth is one of the hardest places to find a job in the world, not just Australia. I have applied for 5000 jobs on Seek.com.au over 5 years and could not get a job in any field. I do not have a car or car license- must be why I can not find a job in Perth.

5000 job applications and not one single job offer. I have applied for some of the same jobs advertisements over and over, they keep the same job ads with no change for ages. Just send your resume and you should get an interview for a job. No interview either. No wonder I hate seek.com.au in regards to finding work in Perth. Applied for 5000 jobs in 5 years in Perth and not one job. My resume is perfect. Just never get a phone call for a job interview. Nothing. No response at all." 

https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1377089

Is that all a copy from a post on another forum of someone with the same Mindset as you? is it a post you've made during the last ten years? What's the relevance of the paste here? To show you're not the only one who believes finding a job is literally impossible for you and that everyone else has their job because of luck or family connections?

@Dark_Lord_2008 I know where you are coming from. I used to have a lot of these thoughts that you have shared. It is a toxic mindset.

"You can be more literate and educated but miss out on jobs because you do not fit into the simpleton culture......"

Something I learned is that it doesn't matter how educated or intelligent you are - being diligent and hard working is all that counts really. No one is gonna magically recognise your "brilliance" and give you an easy ride - you have to go out and do something, even if you think it is beneath you. Build some motivation and work ethic and you will naturally gravitate towards something that makes you happy. 

Forgive me for referring to myself again, but I feel there are some parallels here: I was always the smart guy growing up, everyone told me how smart I was and it did me no favours. Did crap in the HSC and bludged on WoW for 4 years after that, sinking into despair (at least my fury warrior was l33t). Then I went to tafe and studied building, came first in the diploma and it boosted my confidence again. I entered the workforce at the lowest level, at a tiny wage, at a fairly old age (22) and bloody hated it. I thought that the system was corrupt, I spent my time reading and engaging in anarchist crap that propelled this mentality, only spoke to people that shared these thoughts and basically was miserable again. I jumped from job to job for years after that, always hating the very concept of work. "Capitalism is modern day slavery, except people whip themselves (i.e. caffeine)". I continued like this into marriage too, which made life hell sometimes. A switch in my brain finally clicked when I had my son. It felt selfish to hop around between jobs, waiting for the right thing - I had to go out with whatever skills I had and provide for my little man. I started my degree (still going) and have been freelancing since with not one hint of depression (2 years now).

I am not saying go out and have a kid (though I'd never advise against it ^_^) but you need to find something that will motivate you and drive you towards productivity. You must realise that you are an adult now, no one has your back except you (and God, if your heart is so inclined). Also, develop some humility. Yes I find small talk petty but no people that engage in it are not beneath you. You need to make some radical changes now. Seek out a psychiatrist if you must. The path you are on is not a happy one mate.

If your retort is to say "I understand, whatever, but there ARE no jobs!!!11!", then you have completely misunderstood. Go out and do something that YOU WOULDN'T DO. That is the only way you will go forward.

As an aside, I know many blokes who left Sydney to work in Perth (mines), raking in some cash and coming back. Not an option? Leave Perth! I can get you a job tomorrow as a labourer. Labouring is beneath you? All good, wallow in your sorrow. I am not usually harsh but this mental slump you are in can not be stoked and gently prodded, everything must be radical.

Change radically.

I graduated on the best school in the country, on the most disputed STEM course there, have an MBA in business administration and I can talk small talk or intelectual subject for a long time with 0 issue. I would say that the more educated you are and with world living, easier you can change from different subjects and mindsets.

This is true, however I have also found that if you go in with the attitude that you do not care if you get rejected, the pressure is not the same. It just feels like a normal conversation lol.

This is a good point.

One of the best and smartest people we had (he retired) didn't know how to do small talk.

All he ever talked about was work, work and more work. He used that as his way to do small talk. This in a way was good because it showed he was always thinking of solutions and was even helping you find them for your problems. Never once did he look down on people like an arrogant arsehole.

Before he retired I managed to get him to open up a little bit. I found out he rides bikes, so I would talk to him about his bike riding.

So in 8 years of working with this person, all we ever talked about is work and bike riding lol. Try to change the subject and he just clam down and not talk, or sometimes run off lol. So not a bad way to get rid of someone when you don't want to talk no more lol. Find their weakness haha.

The moral of this story is in the end it did not matter that he couldn't talk about sports or whatever other BS we talk about to kill time as he basically was able to demonstrate that he was the "go to guy" for challenging work issues. Not everyone is built for the whispers that happen in the kitchen, so work on what you are good at and own it. 

I agree with what you posted. I just wanted to point that being smart or reading a lot of high level material doesn't make you unable or even unwilling to do small talk. Nor as you said it prevent you from finding a job, but sure some positions have a need for a person to be flexible to talk work in one environment then small talk to break ice in a fair to after introduced get it back to work.

There is a difference between not linking or being able to do small talk to think people that do it or are capable off are less intelligent than yourself. And also as you put on the case of your coworker he just didn't like to talk about anything outside work and bike (perhaps he had some bad experience opening up in the past, who knows) but didn't look down on others because of it.

You're a good guy, i bet he appreciated that he had someone like you around.

I may have been able to find work if I had the right support and guidance that may have helped me before the rot set in. On my own I just could not handle it and the negative mindset set it and I got stuck in a rut. It is hard to break habits, change attitude and mindset, without support. It is easier to blame others, shift blame and make excuses. I chose the path of least resistance and I accepted rejection from every job I applied for as normal.