Really depressed over lack of jobs to apply for..

starsinmycrown

Oh.. just a moan, i wondered if anybody else was in the same crappy position...

I've recently graduated with a 2:1 from a good uni, I have good A-levels and all As and Bs at GCSE, but cannot find work!

I keep looking but there is hardly anything suitable for me. My main issues are that I have a lot of experience in schools/childcare. But in the 4 years I've been away from this, now everything is suddenly NVQ crazy, and I can hardly apply for entry level jobs with kids now. My second issue is that I haven't passed my driving test, and have no car and am in a rural location. When looking for jobs its these three barriers I hit - driving licence, NVQs, and my lack of experience in any office/profit environment. I've been out of work since december and (hopefully) will have a place on a nursing course to go to in september, but I really need work now to save up and get those student o/ds and CCs down. I've had a few interviews but what I've applied for has been good old fashioned " can you do this? are you this sort of person with a good education" stuff. I saw a job for data entry today that asked for NVQ2 in admin! Argh! And a job i'd really love to do with young people said car drivers only!

I'm feeling really frustrated now at the lack of things to apply for. The jobs paper near me are really scraping the barrel with adverts stating "must love working with chickens" (battery farm egg collector) "Are you an attractive female looking for work in personal services?" and "EARN £400PW!!" erm, yeah...

The saddest thing i saw was a 46 year old bookkeeper advertising for work saying she will work for six weeks for free. What is it coming to? Talk about bad time to be having a bad time...

~Beanie~

Surely job ads specify NVQ Level whatever or equivalent? You have the equivalent which is only 4 or 5 GCSE's at grade C or above?

The not being able to drive and living in a rural location will always be a problem. How do you expect to get to work and back? If there is a pretty decent bus service then ignore me but generally, rural locations don't have good service.

Seriously though, I have an NVQ 2 in Admin (done in the last 5 years, I am 40) and it was like teaching my grandmother to suck eggs. I had to write essays almost on how I started the PC in the mornings, or what action I took if the printer had a paper jam - I kid you not. Unfortunately it is one of those qualifications that you can't achieve unless you are working as you need to gather evidence that proves that you know how to clear a paper jam!

Keep your chin up, hard times are upon up (even the job I have got could disappear in the next month or so) but things will definately get better x

JoolzS

Do universities remove common sense?

A job ad asking for an NVQ in whatever means they are looking for someone who is intelligent enough to pass the NVQ in whatever (unless it is something that has other particular requirements such as childcare or food hygiene).

The car driving thing is possibly going to be a big problem. I've had quite a few office jobs that have included me taking one of the company cars to go and collect documents from elsewhere. The needing to drive requirement of the job wasn't about me getting to work - it was about me being able to do the job. It might be worth you learning to drive.

Julie

HO87

Your lucky that there were actually any jobs at all to apply for. In our local paper this evening there were precisely - zero - job adverts and the page was full of "Would you like your advert to fill this space?" and one advert for a voluntary worker in a charity shop.

piggeh

If you're going for more basic jobs, maybe remove your degree. I guess you seem overqualified otherwise. Maybe look at Council jobs as well, as I know when I was at the council they often ran car sharing schemes and there were a few people near me that drove and we would share car journies.

maninthestreet

starsinmycrown wrote: »

Oh.. just a moan, i wondered if anybody else was in the same crappy position...

I've recently graduated with a 2:1 from a good uni, I have good A-levels and all As and Bs at GCSE, but cannot find work!

I keep looking but there is hardly anything suitable for me. My main issues are that I have a lot of experience in schools/childcare. But in the 4 years I've been away from this, now everything is suddenly NVQ crazy, and I can hardly apply for entry level jobs with kids now. My second issue is that I haven't passed my driving test, and have no car and am in a rural location. When looking for jobs its these three barriers I hit - driving licence, NVQs, and my lack of experience in any office/profit environment. I've been out of work since december and (hopefully) will have a place on a nursing course to go to in september, but I really need work now to save up and get those student o/ds and CCs down. I've had a few interviews but what I've applied for has been good old fashioned " can you do this? are you this sort of person with a good education" stuff. I saw a job for data entry today that asked for NVQ2 in admin! Argh! And a job i'd really love to do with young people said car drivers only!

I'm feeling really frustrated now at the lack of things to apply for. The jobs paper near me are really scraping the barrel with adverts stating "must love working with chickens" (battery farm egg collector) "Are you an attractive female looking for work in personal services?" and "EARN £400PW!!" erm, yeah...

The saddest thing i saw was a 46 year old bookkeeper advertising for work saying she will work for six weeks for free. What is it coming to? Talk about bad time to be having a bad time...

What is your university degree in?

Liz_the_Whizz

hi simc,

I know it will add to your debt, but while you have some time;) , book a course of driving lessons and pass your test - a driving licence will extend your range of options not just now but in the future, and not just for jobs.

Hope you find something soon. x

daisy482

I was in the same situation when i left uni a few years ago (all though there were more jobs around then). When you've got the qualifications, everyone wants experience. I found a good recruitment agency and took on a lot of short term temp jobs, although these were limited due to not being able to drive, and then used all of my money that didn't go on rent/bills/food into learning to drive, which opened up a lot more prospects. Learning to drive is important but will take a few months so if you're moving into a nursing course in September, it might be worth getting any local temp jobs you can to build up some money and clear you debts before then, rather than learning now.

Good luck with the search.

welshmoneylover

I know quite a few graduates removed their degrees to get their foot in the door - it worked!
Not all managers have formal qualifications in anything and are frightened of being shown up by someone younger and cleverer.

starsinmycrown

maninthestreet wrote: »

What is your university degree in?

English and French. I did it with the intention of becoming a teacher, but I've applied this year to sept 09 teaching and nursing, but its been no joy jobswise ever since leaving uni!

Thank you for all of your kind comments. I've been taking driving lessons and hopefully not long to go until my test now!

starsinmycrown

JoolzS wrote: »

Do universities remove common sense?

A job ad asking for an NVQ in whatever means they are looking for someone who is intelligent enough to pass the NVQ in whatever (unless it is something that has other particular requirements such as childcare or food hygiene).

The car driving thing is possibly going to be a big problem. I've had quite a few office jobs that have included me taking one of the company cars to go and collect documents from elsewhere. The needing to drive requirement of the job wasn't about me getting to work - it was about me being able to do the job. It might be worth you learning to drive.

Julie

When a job explicitly says: "you must hold NVQ3 in Working with Children and families" I don't read that as them saying you will have an equivalent. I wouldn't apply for a job as an engineer and say "well, my degree is not in engineering, but I've got an equivalent." That's what is hard now, that employers can be so specific.

And yeah HO87, I know what you mean about advertising in the jobs page- yesterday, there was a half page ad for a jobs fair, I read through it and it was aimed at businesses buying stand space, not employees! ggrr! Half of our pages are filled up with retraining opportunities or situations wanted. Sod it, I might become a bricklayer or a sparky!