Employers asking why I haven't done anything with my degree

Employers asking why I haven't done anything with my degree

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UK345

Original Poster:

441 posts

157 months

Monday 31st August 2015
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I'm going for a couple of job interviews this week and at a few I've been to previously they have asked why I haven't done anything with my degree. I graduated in 2013 with a good grade on a business course. How would you answer this question ? It gets me everytime and I think that it puts me at a slight disadvantage.

Defcon5

6,159 posts

190 months

Monday 31st August 2015
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What jobs have you done since graduating?

davepoth

29,395 posts

198 months

Monday 31st August 2015
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It's a reasonable question IMO - if you're applying for jobs that are "beneath" the perceived level you could achieve, there will be a nagging feeling in their mind that you see this potential job as a stopgap until something better fitting your education comes along.

Did you apply for graduate schemes after you finished at Uni? What happened there?

UK345

Original Poster:

441 posts

157 months

Monday 31st August 2015
quotequote all
That's a fair point Dave never looked at it from that angle. I did apply to many graduate schemes but rarely heard back. The problem is most people seem to think because you have a degree you will walk into a graduate job but it often doesn't work that way. One of the jobs I am going for is a good job which in a way is related to my degree so I don't think they will be too fussy about. Since leaving I continued to work in my part time role as a Sales Assistant for a large supermarket and left that for a summer internship with a well known engineering company. Since finished that I have worked at the British Car Auction as a stop gap.

marshalla

15,902 posts

200 months

Monday 31st August 2015
quotequote all
So - how has the knowledge gained during your studies helped with the jobs you have done ?

(i.e. make it a positive, show the prospective employer how you can adapt to different situations and bring something relevant to a job that seems to be irrelevant to your chosen field of study. "Transferable skills" used to be the mantra).

Foppo

2,344 posts

123 months

Monday 31st August 2015
quotequote all
Why not try to starting your own business? You have a degree in the subject so you must be smart.