Graduate Unemployed for one year - How do I get a half decent job?

Emmzi

anewman wrote:

Only difficulty with volunteering is you have little money, and the time you spend volunteering is time you could spend looking for and applying for jobs.

Err, you spend 40 hours a week looking for jobs? I don't think so. In fact that's a terrible excuse. Like saying 'I can't study for my finals because I have to apply for jobs.' Volunteering will help you GET the job.

So you could spend a day working at the Oxfam shop or similar. They'll usually give you your bus fare *and* a cup of tea! Might be dull -that's not the point. You are aiming to demonstrate
-reliability
-timekeeping
-responsibility
-communication skills
etc etc etc

loulou41

I do feel for you, daughter when she first graduated could not find a decent job with decent salary. All her friends were on graduate training and the problem with her she could not cope with a graduate training. Her first job was at a National Bank which she hated and packed it up to go travelling and on her return worked for another big financial compay which she hated. Now she has found the job she likes working for a London Univeristy. Her pay is not as high as her friends but at least she seems happy.

When daughter could not get a job at the beginning, she did voluntary work for cancer research and tutoring, all this to enhance her CV. With both my children, I found working for Agencies have helped them find jobs. Son is currently temping now after having returned from his travels but is now finding it difficult to get a permanent job in London. He does have nearly 2 yrs experience as an Administration Officer working for the County Council. I am sure something will turn up, I am just wondering whether more studies will help and sometimes it is just luck, some people just find job s very easy and others have to struggle e.g my niece who have worked in her life, landed herself a job working in HR for a TV company and after that she applied three jobs and got all three.

I do hope you will find something soon. My husband kept blaming my daughter for her history degree for not finding a decent job. And a first in psychology is very impressive. One her firend who did a degree in pyschology, did a year in teaching and then went to study more and is now an educational psychologist. Do you know what career path you want to fllow? Daughter stil does not know. Good luck

kittykate_2

Hi,
I've just graduated with a psychology degree too and know how hard it is to get into the field (one of the reasons why I am not going into it - but not the main reason).
I know that interviews are hard and very scary but I've found that the more you have, the better they become and after a while they aren't so scary at all. The interviewer is just another person who wants to get to know you, yes they are interviewing you but hey, in a way YOU are interviewing THEM as well. You are getting to know them and seeing whether their company is right for you. Don't forget that - it is a two-way process.
Try not to lose heart, eventually you will get a job. It just takes time. tbh, maybe you are better going to an agency and seeing what they can offer -they can give you good advice. Have you thought that maybe some of the unskilled jobs you have applied for might not have been offered to you because the employer might see you as 'overqualified'. Take for example, ASDA - a lot of people who apply who have degrees tend to apply for the graduate scheme to become managers. I work for asda (checkout operator) and believe me, it's boring and I know that I can do better (i'm not knocking the job, i just didn't go to uni for 3 yrs to work on a checkout) but atm, it's a job and it's doing what it says...paying.
So, (i think i might have lost track of my thoughts now and all i had to say, lol) what I am trying to say is DON'T STOP TRYING cos eventually you will succeed = you're a clever guy god damn it, you got a FIRST (jealous kitty with a 2.2 here), yes you are shy (so am I so you can believe me when I say interviews get better). Try to get out of the negative mindset, you know it reflects onto how ppl see you. pm me for a chat if you like (i'm a fellow yorkshire person so you know i don't bite) cos maybe we can help each other out with the job situation.
errr, i think that's it, but i'll add something later probs.

KKxxx

PS... volunteering is mucho good!!!

[Deleted User]

With a first from a decent uni, you should be able to get a decent job. Just remember that. Now, I think the first thing you need to deal with is your lack of confidence. Like previous posters, I think you just need some initial exposure to build yourself up.

Have you ever had a job before? I'd really suggest working on a checkout for a short while, its quite a confidence booster as you learn to juggle a lot of things in a stressful environment. I worked on the till at Boots when i was 16 and it helped me a lot. It took me 3 months to get my first job after my Masters.

It terms of looking for jobs, have you tried prospects.ac.uk? I found my current job on that site, and I know its got a lot of good jobs on there.

You might also want to get the university careers service to check out your CV - it can be crucial in getting the job you want.

Have confidence in yourself. Good luck!

anewman

Well was Huddersfield Uni so not a decent uni unforunately lol. But I have an offer of a place on a Masters at a decent uni so not all that bad.

I look at jobs.ac.uk (4 e-mails usually every morning), Guardian jobs (sometimes buy the paper instead on the tuesday [education guardian] and wednesday [society guardian]) but jobs on website are the same, Yorkshire Evening post (thursdays) and jobcentre plus website.

I spent lots of time working on my CV drawing out and pointing out my skills which I did in conjunction with someone at the http://www.gycareersadvice.info/ service, and also careers guidance at Huddersfield Uni.

Volunteering *may* help me get a job but I have done it once already and it didn't seem to help then. I would much rather be working and earning money. Surely a job somewhere like Tesco's or Morissons should be as easy to get as a volunteering opportunity in my local Oxfam store - because Oxfam don't want complete losers volunteering for them!

I am hoping that I get the career devlopment loan I applied for and can pay the fees to do a masters, then hopefully as a student my chances of being employed will be greater?

Ken68 wrote:

Surely with all the twisted people about, there is a need for your service.
An advert in the newspaper to ordinary citizens.
GET YOUR MENTAL MOT NOW.

Unfortunately there's alot more to becoming a professional Psychologist than getting a degree.

Emmzi

3 weeks volunteering is not enough to demonstrate anything I stated above. 6 months is.

Volunteer jobs are easier to get than Tescos.

Shift work is easierto get than day work.

I appreciate these are things you say you do not*want*, but they may be things you have to stomach to prove to an employer you have 'staying power'

lynzpower

I do agree with Emmzi here.

HAve you tried temp agencies? You know like office angels? Adecco etc? My mate has just returned to leeds from living here, and is finding the job market a bit of a nightmare. She does have a fair amount of experience but has a admin job that keeps some money coming in.

Hit all the agencies I would tell them you are desperate for work and anything will do. You might get min wage part time its better than nothing.

I agree about volunteering. I got some cracking voluteer placements in social care with no experience, it got me a job in social work which I have enjoyed.

I have a good mate who has a 2.1 in psychology, she worked with older people in residential care units ( again min wage) , which she really enjoyed and she has recently completed her course as a CPN, and loves it.

Dont close the doors off to yourself, try anything. An evening a week volunteering in a youth club might interest you in child psychology. You just never know. A masters with no experience wont break the deadlock I dont think

kittykate_2

Yes, volunteering jobs are a lot lot lot easier to get than one in a supermarket. Like I said, I work in Asda and found the recruitment process to be a lot harder than that for a volunteering job (which I have experience of). It's not just an application then an interview then you're working. There's the application itself (complete with multiple choice questions), a telephone interview, then a group selection and providing you pass this stage, finally a formal interview. Once you are offered a job, you then go through three days of training about the company and then you go on to train on your specific department. As opposed to volunteering - there's often none of that rigmarole (unless you want to work with kids or some adults, then a crb check is needed).

I know you don't want to volunteer cos you won't get paid for it, but at the mo you could do it one day a week (even if it's only to get a bit of experience, get a reference) it's also something to talk about when they ask you about yourself at an interview..and also it adds to your character (someone who does something for nothing is hard to come by in this day and age).

Kkx

seven-day-weekend

About volunteering....I got a full-time job at a City Council because I had been a church treasurer for four years. To be quite honest, I only put it on my CV because it filled the space as I hadn''t had an office job for fourteen years....but it was that voluntary work that got me the job, not my degree.

anewman

Emmzi wrote:

3 weeks volunteering is not enough to demonstrate anything I stated above. 6 months is.

I wanted to stay longer but had no choice in the matter as one day I got an e-mail addressed to all volunteers saying the organisation's office would be shut until further notice - due to "unforseen circumstances", and they would contact me again by e-mail when they re-open. I tried e-mailing and calling them but no luck.

@lynzpower - while I agree volunteering is a good thing to do - Unfortunately many volunteering positions ask for excellent verbal communication skills; something I do not have. For example: a youth club would expect excellent verbal communication skills and would select a volunteer other than me for this reason. Samaritans - communication skills. Child line - communication skills. Working in a charity shop - communication skills and customer service skills etc etc.

I feel - if I volunteered - at the end of it all I will be in the exact same situation as I am now when it comes to applying for jobs and interviews. Why should having volunteered for 6 months make any difference to me getting a job when I will still be pretty much the same person, in the same situation at the end of it? Just as no-one can guarantee I will get a job now, noone can guarantee I will after volunteering. Yes at the end of it it won't be time wasted and I will have gained something from it rather than being at home and on moneysavingexpert forums etc - but I want a job that pays ££.

I don't have any clear idea of where I am going in my life. I want a job and I have a general idea of the type of job I would like, and a very good idea of the job I would really like. If I had the choice I would be working right now and would have been working the whole past year. However, no-one really has a choice about what they do in life. Employers can dictate what they want and they can get it. That's the unfortunate reality of life.

All I really want in life at the monent is a phone call telling me I have a job - which is impossible when I am not even getting interviews. I feel until I get that I have nothing to live for.. So as you might imagine I am feeling rather depressed about my life. Money only works the one way. People are happy enough to accept it. Banks are happy enough to give you credit cards and loans then charge you the interest. The University of Leeds is happy to offer me a place on the Masters course at a price of nearly £1600 a year. But when it comes to money coming my way - being offered a job - it just doesn't seem like it will ever happen. I want to work for a living I don't want to live my life as has been for the past year for an eternity. Life is all about money unfortunately and it's very depressing. Maybe I should try and become a chinese citizen.