Cambridge graduate can't get a job.

Margey

I graduated last year and I have been on two internships since then. You could try doing that? Internships are tough and they test you and give you other qualities as well as being really intelligent.

Intelligence isn't everything unfortunately. I didn't get the best degree, but I stand with the rest of the "thicker" people out there and say that you have to differentiate yourself. People like me work hard because I know I haven't got the intelligence, but I offer a personality that doesn't necessarily represent how thick I am, but how hardworking I am, and the other qualities I have.

Intelligence isn't going to get you everywhere you want to be. You have to work hard, you might have an impressive CV, but that may be where it stops.

SarEl

Margey wrote: »

I graduated last year and I have been on two internships since then. You could try doing that? Internships are tough and they test you and give you other qualities as well as being really intelligent.

Intelligence isn't everything unfortunately. I didn't get the best degree, but I stand with the rest of the "thicker" people out there and say that you have to differentiate yourself. People like me work hard because I know I haven't got the intelligence, but I offer a personality that doesn't necessarily represent how thick I am, but how hardworking I am, and the other qualities I have.

Intelligence isn't going to get you everywhere you want to be. You have to work hard, you might have an impressive CV, but that may be where it stops.

Whilst appreciating what you are trying to say, and I agree with you... having a degree is not a measure of intelligence (and given some of the graduates I meet by times, quite the reverse). Intelligence and academic ability do not go hand in hand, and getting a lower degree is not a suggestion that someone is "thicker" (although it might measure application!). And neither academic ability nor intelligence are necessarily the only (or any!) qualities employers look for.

Margey

SarEl wrote: »

Intelligence and academic ability do not go hand in hand, and getting a lower degree is not a suggestion that someone is "thicker" (although it might measure application!). .

I Know what you mean. Some people just don't have the academic ability, but to think that having a great degree will have employers at the palm of their hand is wrong. It's about selling yourself as a person. It is a shame to think that people just get a peice of paper to analyse your skills, because you have to remember that there are people out there who have better qualifications and better experience than you. It is about assessing your experience and qualifications and applying them the best you can.

shegirl

Sorry,but if there was anyone more suitable for a Dunce cap...

Seriously,you left uni 21 years ago and you are now whinging about not being able to get certain jobs and blaming it on your degree being 'so brilliant'?Get real! By now you should be wise enough to know that it is not the case and there are many things considered by employers.I,personally,think they see you with an inflated sense of self importance (you're just sooo amazing and should have everything handed to you,right?) and thinking you are better than everyone and think you're a first class idiot.

What exactly have you done with yourself over the past 21 years?Have you been working within a career or just doing whatever?

ILW

I went to Cambridge.

Nice day out it was too.

Can I be an investment banker now please?

Wellery82

One of the main reasons, if not the main reason, people get jobs is because they are good to work with - they build relationships, get on with others and fit into the culture already in existence. Someone that is enthusiastic, easy to get along with, shows humility, has a good work ethos etc has a huge number of characteristics that appeal to employers, regardless of their background or skillset.

If on the other hand someone is perceived to consider themselves above a task, or intellectually superior to the interviewer, they are likely to rub an interviewer up the wrong way. The initial concern will be how will their attitude rub off on other staff, will they refuse to do certain tasks, will they try and belittle the boss etc.

It may be you don't think you exhibit any of these traits, or it may be you don't. It is definitely worth considering though, as the references to "cambridge", "thicker" and "low level" etc suggest you may hold these ideas.

Try and take the focus away from your intellectual abilities - most of that won't be directly relevant in any role. What is more impressive is how you apply yourself, why you really want this job (not why they should offer you) and your softer sklls, your enthusiasm, good nature, ability to get on with others etc. That is when if they like you they think "and they even went to Cambridge... we are onto a winner!"

Mistral001

I do not often do this but I looked at some of the OP's other posts. Lots of get-rich-quick stuff.

Maybe you were promised by the world around you when you were studying for A-levels and early in your degree course that if you studied hard you could get rich quickly. However, the world has moved on. You need to move on as well, before you are left completely behind.

Hiccups_2

woody01 wrote: »

What complete nonsense!
It's probably harder to get a good degree in a poorer uni when you have awful halls, poor facilities, and have to take a job to support your studies because Mummy and Daddy aren't available 24/7 with an open cheque book.

From my knowledge of Oxford Uni (assume it's the same at Cambridge), the intercollegiate rankings for the colleges means that tutors are very competitive and will do their upmost to ensure their students pass with the highest grades. Students are pressured into achieving the right grades with extra tutorials and spoonfeeding if it becomes necessary. I know at some colleges, students are subject to disciplinary proceedings if they get anything lower than a 2.2 during their studies. You will rarely find anyone who graduates with a 3rd from Oxbridge. For sciences, where there are straightforward, correct answers, I think Oxbridge awards the highest percentage of firsts than any Russell Group uni.

Over 50% of Oxbridge intake is from private schools where only 7% of the school age population attends a private school. Entry to Oxbridge does depend on "where you come from" and the level of support you had access to in getting to Oxbridge. My guess is that a lot of employers already know this, especially since the media furore of recent times over "rich, thick kids" to quote Michael Gove.

IMO, an Oxbridge education doesn't mean you're the brightest or the best. I've known quite a few Oxbridge graduates whose greatest achievement was graduating from Oxbridge. Without the spoonfeeding, that they could get from private tuition and an Oxbridge education, they just couldn't make their mark in the world of work.

To the OP. If you're truly great, you will have the talent to make it without the need to make constant references to where you obtained your degree. If you're not great, telling everyone you have a degree from Cambridge will be your only selling point.

Hermia

poet123 wrote: »

I think that if you are in your forties, and still feel that the university you attended should produce more results jobwise than any recent on the job experience or life experience that in itself tells us why you are in this position.

My thoughts exactly. I have noticed that some Oxbridge graduates seem to think their degree is going to open doors their whole life. Oxbridge degrees have the same shelf life as any other degree and at some point the graduate is going to need more up-to-date training/experience on their CV. I remember a 35 woman I worked with having an absolute hissy fit because she didn't get a promotion that she thought she should have got because the got a first from Cambridge 14 years before.

If someone has been to Oxbridge they should be proud, but shouldn't assume that their skills and experience make them more employable than other people.

Voyager2002

Chomeur wrote: »

I got straight As in my 'A' levels, distinctions in both 'S' levels, and a 2.1 at Cambridge. But I can't get a job, and have always had terrible problems with jobhunting. Here are a few examples:

- I went for a job interview at RBS. They required candidates to take a written test. I was later told that I had scored the highest anyone had ever scored on the test. They rejected me because they said we wouldn't get on. (I'm a really nice guy, honestly, so if there was fault in regard to getting on, it wasn't on my side).

- I went for a job interview with a City firm. I heard nothing from them after the interview until they wrote back four months later. They said that my details were very impressive but unfortunately they had no positions suitable for someone of my areas of expertise (I am quite certain that they did have such positions).

- I was told at a job interview at another bank "The trouble is, in a way, your thinking is too far advanced."

It feels like everyone is afraid of me. Might it be worth me going to the doctor and asking for a prescription for some lead tablets to make myself a bit thicker?

I don't think you need the lead tablets.

You obviously went to a very effective school and peaked then, and so were unable to get a first class degree. Academically, your place in the queue is behind all the thousands of people who did get firsts -- no matter from which university!

Perhaps your problem is that you expect people to regard you as some kind of outstanding intellectual, while in reality most of them see you as no more than average.