Graduated but still not in full time work 2 years later

[UK345]

I am a hard working individual and always put 110% into everything I do. I graduated in 2013 with a 2:1 Honours degree in Business and felt that this would benefit me massively in the working world. 2 years on and I am still trying to get a full time job. Since leaving university I continued working for a supermarket part time for 11 months and then got myself a summer internship within a construction firm. This job ended in October 2014 and I was unemployed till February when I managed to get a one month temporary contract with a plant hire business. Now I am employed on a zero hour contract as an agency driver for a well known car auction earning national minimum wage.

I do apply to a lot of jobs but always seem to get rejections or dont hear back from anyone which is a little disheartening. Nevertheless I continue to apply for roles in the hope that one employer will take a liking to me.

If I'm honest I feel that I am down a hole and really want to get out of it. All my friends have been able to get full time work and all seem to be doing well for themselves whereas I've been left behind. Other people on my course have the same struggles and often end up in a not very good job like myself. I am at an age now (24) that I want to start my career and earn decent cash so that I can plan more things for the future (saving for mortgages etc).

Has anyone else been in this position and how long did it affect you ? Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks for your time

[Countdown]

Hi

What line of work do you want to go into?

[Gargamel]

I am only on the ad, so will be brief

PM me your CV, I will happily take a look. I am a recruiter.

Based on what you have said, you are now competing for grad jobs, with two additional years of grads out there.

You re cv has low paid, low status work on it, and that is where you are positioned.

Need to get a break or a professional training, a degree is a great start. mBut it isn't the automatic ticket it was 15 years ago.

[BenWRXSEi]

Where are you based, OP?

[Mighty Flex]

UK345 said:

I am a hard working individual and always put 110% into everything I do. I graduated in 2013 with a 2:1 Honours degree in Business and felt that this would benefit me massively in the working world. 2 years on and I am still trying to get a full time job. Since leaving university I continued working for a supermarket part time for 11 months and then got myself a summer internship within a construction firm. This job ended in October 2014 and I was unemployed till February when I managed to get a one month temporary contract with a plant hire business. Now I am employed on a zero hour contract as an agency driver for a well known car auction earning national minimum wage.

I do apply to a lot of jobs but always seem to get rejections or dont hear back from anyone which is a little disheartening. Nevertheless I continue to apply for roles in the hope that one employer will take a liking to me.

If I'm honest I feel that I am down a hole and really want to get out of it. All my friends have been able to get full time work and all seem to be doing well for themselves whereas I've been left behind. Other people on my course have the same struggles and often end up in a not very good job like myself. I am at an age now (24) that I want to start my career and earn decent cash so that I can plan more things for the future (saving for mortgages etc).

Has anyone else been in this position and how long did it affect you ? Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks for your time

Took me 18 miserable months (Same graduation year as you) to get a job in the right sort of industry. It's just about graduate level, but with potential to go somewhere. I enjoy it, and whilst it isn't really pushing me, I can show my ability and dedication. My biggest problem was feeling completely unprepared (even though I often was well prepared) at some point during interviews. Not something I got over, but managed to blag it somehow in the end by just remaining in contact, being persistent and enthusiastic. Is there a typical stage where you get too and get no further? If so I guess that's the place to focus, or find a way to make up for it.

Is there a particular Industry or job you are after?

It's no fun to sit around applying for things having not had any luck, but just keep going. People talk about other interests/experience - keeping them relevant or at least applicable to what you want to do is good - though it might just be that you share an interest with your interviewer and that gives you the edge.

Make sure you can get as much feedback as possible, anyone you know with an HR background is worth pestering. I'm sure your application technique is finely honed by now. A well presented CV, covering letter structure and well practised answers for situational questions.

Try asking about other roles within companies that interest you - how can you get to your chosen job indirectly by starting in another one etc. If you get through to the stage where you are having a correspondence with a real person, they can always be contacted if you are unsuccessful, and remain enthusiastic. They will be well placed to contact you about stuff before it is advertised. Definitely worth pestering uni mates too for anything they can find out.

This is the same old st I'm sure you keep on hearing, but it is just staying determined.

There is no great secret, but eventually you'll get there, possibly by some convoluted, roundabout way.

Felix

[groundcontrol]

BenWRXSEi said:

Where are you based, OP?

+1, sounds similar to what I went through following graduation but it boiled down to my area, which isn't to say it's particularly deprived. More like a retirement home.

Have your friends that have found employment moved elsewhere?

Unfortunately I graduated with a similar degree and it really isn't good for much. Have you considered going into something that doesn't require a degree? I'm lumbered with a BA and an MSc yet neither are relevant or necessary for my work, and I couldn't be happier (student debt aside).

[Timmy40]

OP, I don't think your degree is going to help you get a job on it's own, you need to look at further training, accounting qualification, Project management, etc. You need to add something to get you into a professional category. What area of work/profession are you interested in?

[Eric Mc]

From what I can see, you need a degree to get to the level A Levels used to be at 30 plus years ago. In other words,. people with degrees are still undereducated for the workplace and usually need more qualifications before they are fully up to speed in their chosen career.

What is shameful is that the universities don't seem to be honest with their graduates in telling them this.

[EnthusiastOwned]

I had a very similar issue. I graduated with a 2:1 in Business Information Systems. I couldn't get a 'proper' job although I was applying for countless every single week, grad roles, junior roles, basic roles to get my foot in the door etc - Every single one wanted experience, went to internal staff or recommendations or I was over qualified. Not one got back to me and I had to chase my applications. I wanted to be a project manager or business analyst.

After months and months of trying I became desperate and ended up in a 1 months temp role, on pathetic pay; for an engineering company filling out spreadsheets - I got this through a friend who worked there. I was still there 18 months later, the role grew responsibilities to the point I became an engineer but the company really took the piss with me and I left. Throughout this role I was still applying for positions in the IT/business sector. A few more months passed applying for roles and getting no where I ended up as another temp this time at an IT/Telecommunications company but as a installer (read fitter/install monkey) - This again was through a friend. I've been at this company 2 years now and on my 5th promotion, I'm now a Project Manager.

TL;DR - My experience shows it's not only what you know, it's who you know. Keep working hard, decide on a direction and stick with it - you'll get there. But you have to make it happen and make the best out of any situation.

[deckster]

Countdown said:

Hi

What line of work do you want to go into?

This is the critical question and any potential employer will want to see that you have given some thought as to why you want to work for them, and what you can bring to the company. They will also want to see some idea of short and mid-term personal goals, ie where you want to be in 5-10 years time. Having an aim of a 'career' and 'enough money for a mortgage' ain't going to cut it.

As others have said, a degree isn't enough on its own, and particularly with something as vague as 'Business' I personally would want to see what kind of skills it has given you that will benefit my organisation.

At the end of the day, getting a job is all about selling yourself. Fundamentally it's not "what your company is going to give to me" it's "what I'm going to bring to your company". If you can't articulate that then you're going to struggle to convince any hiring manager.

Finally: you don't give 110%. Ever. It's mathematically, logically, and physically impossible. I seriously hope that isn't what it says on your CV because I would instantly bin anything that came across my desk that did.

[ChasW]

OP, a couple of suggestions. Firstly you are not alone. One of my kids, the best qualified of the three with a Masters degree from a top uni, took well over year to get her first "career" job. Until then she worked on a farm. In order to supplement and enhance her CV she undertook voluntary work with Citizens Advice Bureau one day a week. This sends positive signals to prospective employers. Ultimately it was working the friends and family network that led to the breakthrough. I know some people frown on using or benefiting from connections. I don't and my attitude is that, in these tough times for graduates, you have to capitalise on whatever help is available. The chap that employed my daughter happens to be a mate of mine and the farm owner. He had seen how she had helped develop the farm's retail sales and was impressed. I have helped my friend's kids. One lad couldn't understand why he was falling at the final hurdle at interviews. His Dad asked if I'd meet him as a neutral 3rd party. We spent an hour together and I identified couple of traits in his demeanour that could be misinterpreted by an interviewer. He took the advice on board and the next job he applied for he got. Possibly no connection but the lad went into feeling a bit more confident. Finally don't view what you are doing now as a waste of time because you are learning how a certain type of business works albeit you might be doing low level work. You can also observe the characteristics of the good supervisors and managers, so there is always something to learn.

[DMN]

Are you signed up with any temp agencies?

They may open a back door into a full time job, also it looks better on your CV than being unemployed. After graduating it took me 18 months to find a permanent full time job, you've just got to keep plugging away. Also do spend too long looking for the perfect job. Instead take any job that comes along, one it'll get some money coming in and two, I've always found the saying "its easyier to find a job when you have a job" to be true. I was made redundant two years after I got my first full time job, I took the first thing that came along, even though its wage was 50% of the job I'd just left. It kept the wolves at bay whilst I looked for something better, which as it turned out came along just three months later.

[Frio3535]

Eric Mc said:

From what I can see, you need a degree to get to the level A Levels used to be at 30 plus years ago. In other words,. people with degrees are still undereducated for the workplace and usually need more qualifications before they are fully up to speed in their chosen career.

What is shameful is that the universities don't seem to be honest with their graduates in telling them this.

Graduates aren't honest with themselves.

[ChasW]

Frio3535 said:

Eric Mc said:

From what I can see, you need a degree to get to the level A Levels used to be at 30 plus years ago. In other words,. people with degrees are still undereducated for the workplace and usually need more qualifications before they are fully up to speed in their chosen career.

What is shameful is that the universities don't seem to be honest with their graduates in telling them this.

Graduates aren't honest with themselves.

As an ex-employer it's a bit of both. Many universities just don't get it and some of these will fail eventually in, what is now, a truly competitive market. From my personal experience the extremes of graduate output are "just not ready for the workplace", which is a combination of inadequate skills and/or poor attitude, or "too high an expectation level" which translates into not being prepared to learn the basics and then progressing upwards in the company. Some universities, many middle ranking, understand this and their graduate employment rates are commendably high, partly because they work with large employers who on are the same wavelength. In other words they know what employers are looking for and do their best to shape their students accordingly.

[Dave350]

Out of curiosity, how many jobs are you applying to a week?

Experience and relevant skill sets are crucial, so tailoring your CV to demonstrate these things goes a long way when applying!

[UK345]

Thanks for the replies. I am looking at office based work as thats the only jobs i can get with my experience. It is a shame but it appears that firms these days demand you have experience before they even look at your CV. I have approached a number of recruitment agencies and aside from my auction work these have been fruitless. What i am also finding is that the majority of jobs being posted are offering a terrible salary almost like slave labor. I value my time more than that hence why i am holding out for a better paid role.

I suppose one way to motivate myself is that i am currently stuck in a rut and need to find a way out of it. This is what keeps me going and hopefully in the not so distant future i can get a proper job role.

[h0b0]

UK345 said:

Thanks for the replies. I am looking at office based work as thats the only jobs i can get with my experience. It is a shame but it appears that firms these days demand you have experience before they even look at your CV. I have approached a number of recruitment agencies and aside from my auction work these have been fruitless. What i am also finding is that the majority of jobs being posted are offering a terrible salary almost like slave labor. I value my time more than that hence why i am holding out for a better paid role.

I suppose one way to motivate myself is that i am currently stuck in a rut and need to find a way out of it. This is what keeps me going and hopefully in the not so distant future i can get a proper job role.

Since the beginning of time people have spoken about the experience vicious circle. You get obsessed with gaining specific experience and don't realize you need relavant experience. Typically, when I'm hiring a graduate it's not an interview it's an interrogation to find out what they have done that is applicable. If you work the tills at Tesco, you have customer facing experience. If you have lead a scouts team you have leadership experience. If you are going for graduate positions we don't expect you to have been a CEO.

With this in mind, and absolutely not embellishing my cv, I was invited to every interview I applied to.

[RWD cossie wil]

Silly question, but what is the point of a business degree? Not an attack on the OP, but I just don't see what it actually gives a graduate to offer an employer except " I understand how a business system works"... Engineering, sciences, maths, medicine , vetinary studies etc & degrees of a technical background actually equip someone to START learning about their career choice...

Having worked with many people who have a degree, some are undoubtedly very academically clever, but lots of whom have not got any work ethic, common sense or any real world useful skills. A few people I have worked with also seem to think that having a degree (regardless of it being a scraped 2.2 in a useless subject) makes them better than years of experience & technical training, & somehow entities them to shortcut laid down requirements to be considered for a role....

It's a harsh situation, but there are so many "useless" degrees around that it has devalued them to the point that lots of employers look for experience & skill first, paper education second.

[GT03ROB]

RWD cossie wil said:

Silly question, but what is the point of a business degree?

Even sillier what is a business degree? What sort of things does it teach you, what are the modules? If I knew I might be able to give some concrete advice rather than ask silly questions!

[Gargamel]

UK345 said:

Thanks for the replies. I am looking at office based work as thats the only jobs i can get with my experience. It is a shame but it appears that firms these days demand you have experience before they even look at your CV. I have approached a number of recruitment agencies and aside from my auction work these have been fruitless. What i am also finding is that the majority of jobs being posted are offering a terrible salary almost like slave labor. I value my time more than that hence why i am holding out for a better paid role.

I suppose one way to motivate myself is that i am currently stuck in a rut and need to find a way out of it. This is what keeps me going and hopefully in the not so distant future i can get a proper job role.

And yet, I have made you a decent offer to PM me and possibly even share your CV, and nothing ?

last year my team hired around 150 people for one of the UK's largest businesses.....