Attempting to Change Jobs...

Proc

lfcsja wrote: »

I am considering going to university. In your opinion, what degrees aren't useless?

Law, Medicine, Engineering, Accountancy, to name but a few. I don't know many people who have recently graduated (I'm at the uni-finishing age) with these degrees sat around having sent out 100 CVs and having noone call them.

But I'd like to think you'd make your own decision, and not based on some random guy from an internet forum before making a decision.

Regshoe

Idiophreak wrote: »

OP has MSc in Management...It's not like it's BA Paint By Numbers, is it...

Perhaps not, but just because something isn't easy it doesn't mean it has a use. Without knowing precisely what the contents of your degrees are I would be somewhat dubious of a qualification in management as a first/second degree, without significant work experience to go with it, you can hardly expect to join an organisation as a "manager" from the off. Unless of course I have missed the aim of your qualifications.

Graduate schemes are a reasonable idea, any degree tends to be fine here (so long as it's a 2:1 or in some cases a 2:2), in this case having a masters could give an edge as well. However most Graduate schemes will probably have their 2010 intakes sometime in the summey/autumn to match when the next batch of students graduate. Two other negative points here are that lots of companies have cut back on their graduate schemes at the moment and their will be lots of competition from lots of other people in the same boat as you.

The underlying problem is that having a degree just doesn't mean as much as it used to, because every tom !!!!!! and harry is getting them now, with a great number of them in "mickey mouse" subjects (without seeing the actual content of a Management degree I couldn't say if it would be one of these, however I will say that the term "Management" can mean anything from the fairly techincal and useful to the absolute codswallop and anything in between).

In my experience of going for jobs and speaking to other people who have been doing the same experience counts for a hell of a lot and at the moment there will be a lot of people with far more experience than you going for the same jobs, which means you will find it difficult (not very encouraging I know!).

On a more positive note - are you certain there are no internal possibilities? If not then perhaps you could take a position at a similar level to where you are now in a company that has more prospects for the future (whilst perhaps not offering a much better position right now). My first job in my chosen field was pretty mickey mouse, but by a combination of effort, making myself stand out (and a good dose of blind luck) positions came up internally that saw me promoted a number of times.

To conclude - don't give up, but don't expect it to be easy (took me 6 months to find anything other than 1-2 week temp work after graduating - and that was pre recession!).

cazziebo

I find myself agreeing with Proc - management isn't an academic subject and a degree doesn't qualify someone to be a manager. I think MScs and MBAs are great qualifications - when they are supported by valuable experience in running business units and managing people.

I'm happy to have a look at your CV too. I'd suggest you want to underplay the academics until you get to the stage where you can balance this with real life experiences. Right now, I'd be turned off if all a candidate had to offer was management qualifications. I'd be more inclined to favour a candidate who had something completely unrelated, zoology or archaeology or something who was coming free of misconceptions about business.

The CV should be aimed at demonstrating what you will bring of value to the employer. The CV is the tool to get you the interview. If you have had any business experience, in a paid for or voluntary capacity, then make the most of it. What did you learn from the job you had? Why did it go wrong?

Edited to add - Don't understate your retail experience. Retail is a great grounding in so many different aspects of business - profitability, operations, marketing, managing people, customer focus etc. Don't convey this as a filler job - demonstrate on your CV the worthwhile skills you have gained from it.

DVardysShadow

catalunya wrote: »

Idiophreak - my dad wrote my CV, he does it for quite a few people so I trust him : )

Having read a few cv's it is interesting the things you can infer. I wonder if your cv is about you rather than your cv? Like it is not aimed or pitched at the things you want to achieve because your dad isn't really keyed into what you want? Like yours could be the most highly rated on the reject pile, but it doesn't have the spark which gets it to the shortlist?

I suggest you have a go at doing your own and just compare outcomes with the official one from your dad?

catalunya

Thanks DVardysShadow, I will have a go at that.

El_Rey

Proc wrote: »

Law, Medicine, Engineering, Accountancy, to name but a few. I don't know many people who have recently graduated (I'm at the uni-finishing age) with these degrees sat around having sent out 100 CVs and having noone call them.

But I'd like to think you'd make your own decision, and not based on some random guy from an internet forum before making a decision.

I just wanted to know the poster's opinion on what degrees are not useless. I would hate to spend 3 years studying for a degree only to find out it was practically worthless.

briona

lfcsja wrote: »

I just wanted to know the poster's opinion on what degrees are not useless. I would hate to spend 3 years studying for a degree only to find out it was practically worthless.

I don't think any degree is necessarily worthless but some are undoubtedly more difficult to use than others. For example, I wouldn't call a fine art degree "worthless" but realistically there's not much you can do with it straight after graduation – most art-related careers, such as teaching, require you to have further qualifications.

I wouldn't get too hung up on what you should study at university. Personally I think it's more important to study something you're actually interested in, and just because you could study law, doesn't mean you should.

It's worth noting that the jobs market for both law and accountancy is VERY competitive. Most companies will not employ graduates with anything less than a 2:1. If you're not passionate about these subjects, you might achieve a 2:2, which is as good as useless when it comes to finding employment.

Kez1983

briona wrote: »

If you're not passionate about these subjects, you might achieve a 2:2, which is as good as useless when it comes to finding employment.

Ive got a 2:2 and a good job with a good wage!

briona

Kez1983 wrote: »

Ive got a 2:2 and a good job with a good wage!

I'm not saying it's not possible to get a job with a 2:2. I KNOW it's possible as I've also got a 2:2 (admittedly not in law or accountancy) and have been gainfully employed for over 10 years.

My point was that the more desirable graduate schemes in law and accountancy are incredibly hard to get into. The market's very competitive and graduates with a 2:2 are a distinct disadvantage. In many cases the entry criteria specifies that applicants MUST have a 2:1 or higher.

However, degrees are as useful or as worthless as you make them and I have no doubt that with a bit of determination, a person can get where they want to be in life.

DCFC79

OP have you tried jobsite, reed.co.uk, monster.co.uk,