For those with grad level/office type jobs...

justanothaskintstudent

How long did it take you to get the job?

How many interviews/applications did you attend/submit prior to securing employment?

I graduated this year with a good degree from a decent uni but obviously this means very little at the moment! I'm trying my best but it is so disheartening.

I've attended almost 20 interviews over the last couple of months and perhaps submit around 10-20 applications a week (although I have to say, sometimes it's less, entry level jobs in my chosen field (marketing) seem few and far between!). I worked for a couple of months after my graduation in a temp marketing job, but since August I've been unemployed.

I'm at the end of my tether really, I just want to get out of the house. I'm currently waiting to hear back from some local companies who I contacted regarding unpaid work experience. However I can't afford to do a formal internship program as my JSA claim (put in a couple of weeks ago, I finally caved in- I need the money so badly!) will be stopped.

Anyway enough about me

How long did it take you to land that job?!

I just want some reassurance that there is light at the end of the tunnel!

Thanks in advance for any responses :beer:

dmg24

I had offers from the NHS Graduate Scheme and the Civil Service FastStream before graduating.

Are you only applying for marketing jobs? If so, you would be best to get some general experience whilst you are waiting for a more ideal position - long periods of unemployment are not good for your cv.

Sharon87

Well I graduated last year. I'm trying to get a job in TV. I moved to London in June 2008 and I got 2 weeks unpaid experience at the end of November 2008. Then I sort of said - shove it and applied for other non TV jobs - I've been working at a cinema since March, with only about 3 TV job interviews since I finished my work experience in November.

Beware if you get any old job - as it distracts you from applying for your career job.

Welshwoofs

I think the unfortunate reality is that, due to the Govt insisting on pushing as many people as possible through uni, having a degree just doesn't have the 'wow factor' it once did for employers. I know for the hires I've done recently, almost everyone applying had a degree so I looked at who'd also got work experience (which is where I think that students who don't go the extra mile and get part-time jobs at uni lose out to those who did) and who'd got degrees in relevant or what I consider to be 'solid' subjects. For instance I'd take more notice of someone with a degree in Philosophy which I feel is a subject that involves a lot of critical thinking, than say a degree in Film Studies (unless the job was actually in film/tv).

katiepoppycat

i got into marketing by a very roundabout route and it was a bit unplanned - I worked at mcdonalds part time, and volunteered to help with local store marketing - this gave me marketing experience on the cv with a major company. Mcdonald's also helped me to find unpaid marketing work experience with their regional offices. My next step was sales which is another good route into marketing; then a retail job. Think about what you want to market - food, pharmaceuticals, etcetc, and get some experience adjacent to it, if you cna demonstrate an understanding of your chosen marketplace you are more likely to succeed in it.

wontfallforit

justanothaskintstudent wrote: »

How long did it take you to get the job?

How many interviews/applications did you attend/submit prior to securing employment?

I graduated this year with a good degree from a decent uni but obviously this means very little at the moment! I'm trying my best but it is so disheartening.

I've attended almost 20 interviews over the last couple of months and perhaps submit around 10-20 applications a week (although I have to say, sometimes it's less, entry level jobs in my chosen field (marketing) seem few and far between!). I worked for a couple of months after my graduation in a temp marketing job, but since August I've been unemployed.

I'm at the end of my tether really, I just want to get out of the house. I'm currently waiting to hear back from some local companies who I contacted regarding unpaid work experience. However I can't afford to do a formal internship program as my JSA claim (put in a couple of weeks ago, I finally caved in- I need the money so badly!) will be stopped.

Anyway enough about me

How long did it take you to land that job?!

I just want some reassurance that there is light at the end of the tunnel!

Thanks in advance for any responses :beer:

Hey there,

I think like someone else pointed out, there's loads of factors that have come into play. The biggie is the recession, but also SO many people are being encouraged to go into higher education nowadays, the cracks were already showing before the recession hit.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's fantastic that so many people now have the opportunity to better themselves in this way, but the jobs just aren't there at the end of it. Unfortunately, some graduates will miss out on the better jobs (and, annoyingly, some will turn their nose up at jobs).

I got a graduate-salary job pretty instantly (though this is only the case when you factor in my performance bonuses). My salary is roughly 20k, and I live in a pretty cheap small-ish town, so I'm doing OK for myself. 20k elsewhere might not go that far, of course...

And I should mention that it's NOT a "graduate job". Some people have degrees, some don't. Some have no qualifications, whereas some are educated to the hilt. In my job, there are so many other factors that come into play, beyond how many pieces of paper we have.

But, alas, it's the best job in a fairly dire economic area, where virtually no graduate employers have a presence. I'm not bothered...it pays...that's enough for me.

Keep your head down with the search, keep trying, but most importantly keep improving yourself as you go along. Unpaid work is promising (though even that can be difficult to find!!). I'm not an employer (obv.), but I'm guessing that the most annoying thing right now for recruiters is graduates sitting around after graduation, doing very little, and expecting their dream job to come to them.

Aside from unpaid work, have you any gaps in your skills, i.e. could your maths do with a brush-up, or do you need an ICT qualification? Having secured your degree, I doubt there's any massive gaps in the academic side of your skills, but enrolling in a college course, attending workshops and seminars, etc., can't hurt as a way of showing that you're keeping your mind busy and are constantly looking to improve.

By the way, when I was looking for unpaid work experience (having gone through pretty much the same dilemma as yourself), I posted an ad on Gumtree for my local area, and got loads of offers of work experience, from help setting up websites for new businesses, to giving talks and workshops to other young people looking to get into uni.

Now I'm not 100% sure what marketing entails really, but I'm sure I understand it at the most basic level. How about contacting small local businesses and seeing if they need any free help in raising their profile (i.e. drafting up some new flyers, placing innovative ads in the local paper, etc.)? Sorry if I missed the point of marketing there, by the way, just a thought

Bottom line I think is that us graduates need to be willing to get our hands dirty and perhaps try jobs that hadn't occurred to us in the past. Perhaps we can make a career out of it, or perhaps we can just ride out the recession. Either way, doing any job is better than no job, imo.

manstone

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