Summer looming...graduated...no work...no money...

Torby

Don't mean to spread doom and gloom, but with this recession...What are you going to do as a graduating student, what's out there?

Blimey, its getting close...all about to go pear shaped....

no job, no money, no home AND loads of debt...

options?.......

Job Seekers allowance....is that it?
What about rent/taxes?
What about student loan?

Never thought it would come to this after years of education, what sort of options are available to everyone....

this is something the government doesn't tell you....lets start a thread for what to do if things go belly up!:money:

MrsManda

Don't you think you're being a little dramatic?
How many jobs have you applied for? Have you sorted out a CV?
What are you applying for?

If you've only just started looking you are unlikely to get on a graduate scheme because the deadlines are usually October-February of the year before. However there's still lots of opportunities out there, - civil service, teaching, to name just two.
Also, many graduates don't chose to do graduate schemes anyway.

All this shouldn't come as a surprise, you presumably have a careers service at your university? Students have needed to apply for graduate schemes, fill out lots of applications etc... for years, way before the 'credit crunch'. A degree makes you more employable but still doesn't mean you can simply land a job. Just because it's a bit harder now, doesn't mean you won't be able to get a job.

Good luck with applications

Oldernotwiser

Graduates would have problems at most periods if they'd left it so late to apply for jobs!

If absolutely essential you could apply for JSA and LHA and, of course, you won't have to pay back your loan yet. (Did you not read the conditions?)

If you have other debts then you should try to liaise with your creditors (although this will affect your credit rating). On the other hand, if you get your finger out now and be flexible then you might be lucky and still get a job to enable you to keep yourself and pay your debts.

Get a move on!

GlasweJen

You could always try to get into a funded post grad course if you're not already a phd and ride out the recession that way?

Torby

sorry folks...I'm not actually a student....I'm just going by the chat I hear from my children and their friends and I thought it might be useful if there was a thread for the "what if ..."

MrsManda... I wish I shared your optimism...ask anyone going into Law...TCs are being cancelled and deferred...only 6 students (out of 120) at my daughters uni have TCs...thats 5% and the same is echoed across the UK.

Experienced people can't find jobs, what chance a student with no real life experience...

Teaching...yet another qualification required...

all I'm suggesting is career advice is just that...advice...it doesn't g'tee a job

qualifications in this day and age will not g'tee a job

1000's of CVs from students have been sent out...most don't even receive a response

Some students will be lucky, some will get their dream jobs....most won't...so what advice is there for them....

Uni careers depts don't offer advice on what to do if you don't walk straight into a job...how do you get what benefits you may be entitled to...where to turn for help...and possibly more important...how to "dumb down" your CV so you don't get rejected because you're over qualified....

alipops1986

I share your concerns about job, although i am now sorted thankfully.

I am coming to the end of my PGCE year in July and have fortunately secured a job. Luckily, i got on the employment based route and got my job very early in the year!

However, things are becoming very difficult. I know from friends who are soon to be qualified teachers that some subjects are becoming over-subscribed with upto 10 people being interviewed for only one job!

Despite all this, I must say i don't think continuing at uni will necessarily be the correct option because it won't necessarily lead to a better job afterwards. This is because there are so many people over qualified or equally qualified for jobs!

I know numerous friends who have been unsuccessful at getting a job because they are seen as over qualified!

MrsManda

This thread, along with many others on this forum highlights the need for students to get involved with things outside of the classroom. I know it's hard - I live an hour away from my university and I'm on a full time science course so there is little chance of me doing anything other than studying during the week and a lot of the time my weekends are filled with running a house, and doing assignments.
However with a four month summer it isn't that hard to get on the books at some temp agencies who cater to companies to fill in admin positions while staff take summer breaks, or get work at local parks/play groups etc...
Volunteers are always wanted throughout the summer at camps, summer schools etc... and there's always the option of seeking out managers in fields you are considering working in to ask if they'd mind having you knocking around the office/lab/stadium etc... for a week or two to get some work experience.
These things are vital for getting a job, especially now so many have degrees and the economic climate is so bad.
And my university's careers service does give advice about benefits, training schemes etc... for those students who require that information.

I'm hoping the economy will have recovered by the time I graduate, however I am hoping that by then I will also have a good background in work experience as well as a good degree. - Optimism keeps me going otherwise what would be the point

MarzipanFish

Torby wrote: »

Job Seekers allowance....is that it?
What about rent/taxes?
What about student loan?

Housing benefit can pay the rent (or up to £15 more or less than the rent depending on the area)
Jobseekers can pay living expenses (about £50 per week)

In my experience it's a more generous deal than student loans so most graduates should be fine on it til they can find a job

And no, the government don't publicise either at all to graduating students. They won't backdate them either even if you can prove you would have been eligible before so it's best to apply as soon as you graduate so you don't lost out rather than waiting until any savings & overdrafts have been spent.

Student loans don't get paid back until you're earning over £15000 so those are best ignored if you're unemployed.

melancholly

Torby wrote: »

Uni careers depts don't offer advice on what to do if you don't walk straight into a job...how do you get what benefits you may be entitled to...where to turn for help...and possibly more important...how to "dumb down" your CV so you don't get rejected because you're over qualified....

i think that's not quite right - granted they won't be experts on benefit entitlement, but since most uni careers services will give help to students after they graduate (sometimes for a set number of years, sometimes for life!), they don't just wash their hands of students if they don't get city jobs! they are more than capable of helping to 'tailor' a cv and cover letter to any job (not necessarily dumbing down, but stressing other skills rather than exam results ).

if your children are saying that the careers service isn't helping them, have they been in for a meeting with an advisor on their own rather than just the general talks to groups? specific advice is the way forward.

i graduated originally 7 years ago - even then most students didn't walk into jobs. we did rubbish ones or further study or went into other sectors than banking and law..... it's worse this year than it has been, but it's not a 'new' problem at all. that was the year are 9/11 when there was a 'blip' on the stock exchange (well, at the time a crash but nothing compared to the last year!). plenty of people had jobs lined up that fell through and plenty of companies froze graduate recruitment ful stop.

i'd recommend avoiding a hole on a cv with some voluntary work, which can be a way into a job afterwards. not ideal, but a better way to approach things. some other areas to look at are recruitment fairs that are less 'city' orientated than a lot of main uni ones:

http://www.businessdesigncentre.co.uk/s/event/100082/100169/100387/101046/london_grad_fair_09/
http://www.businessdesigncentre.co.uk/s/event/100082/100169/100387/101097/forum3_recruitment_and_volunteering_event/

Shoshannah

I graduate as a vet (hopefully!) in July. My CV is nearly finished and shortly I will be ready to start applying for jobs.

Problem is... if I get called for interviews in the upcoming weeks, it will really disrupt my revision and I may end up not graduating at all if the exams go badly. :shocked: The problem is, I have been advised not to accept a job offer without working at the place for a couple of days first and tbh I would prefer to see how the practice works before taking a job there. All of this eats into revision time.

But I can't wait until after the exams to start applying because my rent won't pay itself. Bit of a conundrum really but I guess I will have to try and fit the revision around any potential interviews. Tough one.

Fire_Fox

alipops1986 wrote: »

However, things are becoming very difficult. I know from friends who are soon to be qualified teachers that some subjects are becoming over-subscribed with upto 10 people being interviewed for only one job!

How many people do you think usually get interviewed for one job?? In my experience it's one to two full days of interviewing.