As someone who suffers from schizophrenia how do I improve my interview skills so I can get a job?

I probably have all the negative schizophrenic symptoms although none of the positive ones anymore.

This is feedback I got from my latest unsuccessful interview:

"[...] your response to this question was very brief and was a distinct example of what we felt was a difficulty in getting you to speak. Often your answers to questions appeared confined to the briefest of points; we felt we had to coax further parts of answers from you and it was difficult at times to obtain eye contact with you. Overall the panels felt fairly satisfied regarding the relevance of your analytical experience and abilities, but you appeared to demonstrate less in the way of communication and other "soft" skills. It was also difficult to work out the extent to which you were enthusiastic about the prospect of a job with us. [..] we felt that other candidates demonstrated a greater ability to enter into dialogue with us and provide evidence of skills beyond the data-led/technical side."

Speaking takes a lot of effort for me, particularly answering questions that are a bit abstract like "What are your career goals" or "Describe a situation where you worked in a team".

It was very kind of them to be honest with you about their reasons, in a helpful way. I am schizophrenic too and have the exactly the same problem with negative symptoms and abstract questions.There is no drug to help you with negative symptoms and miraculously make you a better communicator and give you ability to show your emotions and enthusiasm. Do you think maybe you are aiming too high for a job you are trained for but which you are unable to do because of your illness?, does the job you are trained for require good communication skills and teamwork? and would you do any other job that wasn't as reliant on these skills, where the interviewer didn't see them as too important? Or could you use your training and talents in a voluntary capacity anywhere to show you can still do it, which will give you more of a chance of a paid job in the future. I am qualified in accounts, but after my illness I found I couldn't handle the abstractness of the job and talk on the phones, i get easily confused with stress. I have now got a job in a warehouse which requires less brain power and concentration and less communication. I can just about handle it but I cannot join in the chit chat, my brain is really slow when it comes to that. I feel alienated and that brings on the suspiciousness but I plug on everyday with it.

PS - Though its nothing to do with work there is a really good book on how to cope with your negative symptoms called "living with schizophrenia" by John Watkins

I think the feedback you got is very helpful and indicative of what needs to be improved - your communication skills. The interviewers did not feel that you built any sort of rapport with them. You seemed a bit distant and clammed up. If you want to improve communication skills, you need to go out there and socialise more and get into more situations where you have to talk, observe how other people interact with each other, and participate in the interactions... You probably need to gain more confidence in opening yourself up to others...

find the 1 voice inside u that is confident and use it. i hate interviews too,but they are a nessercary tool.i am no good at any sort of public speaking and answereing questions like that is difficult for most people who want to work but lack the social skills in speaking to others. all u can do is try your best and dont let the buggers put you off getting the jojb u want to do. goodluck in the future. hope u get the next 1.

don't be discouraged by your unsuccessful interview. i am sure you will be able to find a job that you really enjoy, it may just take a few tries.

good luck!

Sorry, I can't help anyone of you. I feel crowded just speaking to you!

If you have a diagnosed mental illness which is a continuing health problem, I would say that you have a disability under the terms of the disability legislation.
When you fill out the application forms, you should be ticking the box that says 'do you consider yourself to have a disability' or similar wording. If there is a section asking if you need any special arrangements for interview you should say that your disability affects your communication skills in interview situations. You can prepare for the very broad questions you described by writing your answers out and then reading from your script.
Without knowing what sort of job you are going for, it is difficult to advise further. But I would say that if your job is predominantly requiring a technical expertise which you can demonstrate that you have and can perform well, then the employer could make 'reasonable adjustments' to cope with your difficulty in social skills. It would also help if you have thought about some of the difficulties and what could be done to overcome them. It may be that by being more 'up-front' about your disabilities, how they would affect you in the job and how that could be managed you may be more successful. It would certainly put employers in a position where they are risking discrimination if they turn you down because of a disability, unless they could show that it would make it impossible for you to fulfil the role of the job.
This is a very difficult situation for you and I do empathise. Is there anyone at your local mental health services who could help you? Good luck with your job hunting, post again on the forum if you have any specific issues you want advice about.

First of all, don't be discouraged by unsuccessful interviews. It is true that eye contact and expression of emotions (affect) are important for interviews, but they are not the only factors involved. Try to max out on your strong points. Alternatively, try to get a job through someone you know and can explain your condition to your employer. If you still can't get a job, and depending on where you live, you can get a certificate of discapacity. I don't suggest you live on government money, but it can help you get a job in some places since some companies are required to have handicapped people on staff, or get tax returns for having them. As someone who works with mental patients, I can tell you that in my experience people with scizophrenia find themselves much more comfortable, perform much better and do much better for themselves at manual labor than at jobs that require abstract thinking.