Uni graduate...new to job seeking.

justanopinion

Have you considered relocating? You say you're in an area where there are not a lot of jobs, (though I know lots of places are the same!). I guess the money to do so would be an issue, but some companies will give relocation assistance.

Try and keep smiling. I know it's hard. When I was made redundant I found it hard to keep applying as each day it sapped it from me.

lexilex

justanopinion wrote: »

Have you considered relocating? You say you're in an area where there are not a lot of jobs, (though I know lots of places are the same!). I guess the money to do so would be an issue, but some companies will give relocation assistance.

Try and keep smiling. I know it's hard. When I was made redundant I found it hard to keep applying as each day it sapped it from me.

I have thought about it, and would defintely consider it for the perfect job, but at the moment I literally don't have a penny to do it, I'm living rent-free (thank god) at home at the minute.

Another thing is that my boyfriend has just started (well three months ago) a new job after applying for jobs for months and months, so that's keeping us here too.

I am in a commutable distance to bigger city's, and have applied for jobs elsewhere, but I feel that the bigger the city, the more people there looking for work, so I have less of a chance of getting the jobs anyway. I could be wrong though.

I've applied for what feels like a million jobs today, spent all day fillling in tedious job application forms. It's the not hearing anything that is the worst, just makes me feel like I am completely wasting my time!

Running_On_Empty

It's important to your wellbeing to recognise that being disheartened by the process of job seeking is very understandable and is the norm. It feels like constantly banging your head against a brick wall with no respite.
But, there will be a job for you just as there was for your BF. But that job probably won't be the perfect job and feel sure you know that. Getting your foot on the ladder is what's important now because when the recession eases then jobs will be more plentiful and you need to have stuff on your CV for when that happens, again, I know from your posts that you know this hence the voluntary work question.

The bigger city has a greater population of job seekers but concomitantly more jobs. Worth applying.

Meanwhile, have you thought about self employment? This is more tricky without much experience but is there something you are very interested in that you could develop into a business over time?

Your experience of helping others to find jobs is great to hear. Applying it to yourself is sometimes harder, as I know full well.

I do have experience of being a job seeker and the despondency this causes but am also old enough to know that recessions are cyclical, I have lived, and worked as a careers advisor, through several recessions and on each occasion the economy rallies.

You are not wasting your time. Anyway, what's the alternative? Jeremy bl!!dy Kyle? You need to keep your brain active, unemployment causes the mental processes to slow down :eek:

It is good that you are taking time and care over applications as each job you apply for has to have a precisely tailored application. That is an especially crucial point in times where jobs are in short supply.

Person_one

I think the very best thing you can do is to find some volunteer work. I firmly believe that without it I wouldn't have got either of the two 'grown up' jobs I've had since graduating. I realise travelling to a volunteer role would cost money but some charities will help with expenses and maybe your parents would be willing to help out too in order to help you improve your job prospects massively.

Are you willing to share what town you're in so I could have a look for volunteering opportunities near you?

lexilex

Running on Empty... thanks a lot for that post, it's made me feel a whole lot better. I actually watched Jeremy Kyle this morning, I had absolutely no idea what was going on but I was completely mesmorized by it... where do they get these people from??

I don't expect to get my dream job, not anymore anyway. I've totally given up all hope of that.

Person_One... I couldn't ask to borrow money off everyone, they're all doing so much already. I have already found voluntary positions that sound really interesting but at the moment I just cannot afford to get there, not unless like you say any of them fund this. I live in Hull.

Person_one

I can't stress enough how important voluntary work is when trying to find work in the current economy.

Hull is a big city, I found hundreds of volunteer roles without even looking, within the city, have you checked if you're eligible for a cheap bus pass for being on JSA?

If not, then your parents seem supportive, and long term surely its better to swallow your pride and ask them for a wee bit of petrol money in order to hugely improve your chances of finding employment. After all, the sooner you get a job the sooner you can contribute to the household or look at moving away.

Can I ask, don't feel you have to answer, what are you currently spending your £65 a week on? With no rent or bils to pay and no food to buy etc. I would have thought you'd have enough left over to get you to and from a volunteer job.

lexilex

Person_one wrote: »

I can't stress enough how important voluntary work is when trying to find work in the current economy.

Hull is a big city, I found hundreds of volunteer roles without even looking, within the city, have you checked if you're eligible for a cheap bus pass for being on JSA?

If not, then your parents seem supportive, and long term surely its better to swallow your pride and ask them for a wee bit of petrol money in order to hugely improve your chances of finding employment. After all, the sooner you get a job the sooner you can contribute to the household or look at moving away.

Can I ask, don't feel you have to answer, what are you currently spending your £65 a week on? With no rent or bils to pay and no food to buy etc. I would have thought you'd have enough left over to get you to and from a volunteer job.

I dont have a problem with answering that. I get £50 a week, and have only just got my first payment, with debts (to family) and phone bills there's just enough money to buy a bit of food and that's about it. As I said earlier, I could afford to pay petrol out, but my insurance is around 1k, due this month and I just can't afford that right now, and my parents really can't afford to lend me that either, not with xmas just around the corner. They're doing all they can and I don't expect anymore, they're doing enough just letting me stay in the house rent free.

I will defintely look into the bus pass thing, haven't heard anything about that before. Like I said, I have absolutely no problem with volunteering, I would be glad to have something to get out of bed for. I have also mentioned in this topic that earlier this year I was accepted into the Police Specials, I was supposed to be starting training this month but because I am looking for work and will take whatever I can get I couldn't commit to the training (weekends and evenings).

Person_one

lexilex wrote: »

I dont have a problem with answering that. I get £50 a week, and have only just got my first payment, with debts (to family) and phone bills there's just enough money to buy a bit of food and that's about it. As I said earlier, I could afford to pay petrol out, but my insurance is around 1k, due this month and I just can't afford that right now, and my parents really can't afford to lend me that either, not with xmas just around the corner. They're doing all they can and I don't expect anymore, they're doing enough just letting me stay in the house rent free.

I will defintely look into the bus pass thing, haven't heard anything about that before. Like I said, I have absolutely no problem with volunteering, I would be glad to have something to get out of bed for. I have also mentioned in this topic that earlier this year I was accepted into the Police Specials, I was supposed to be starting training this month but because I am looking for work and will take whatever I can get I couldn't commit to the training (weekends and evenings).

Ah, your car insurance is a lot. Is that price after shopping around? Have you considered paying it over 12 months instead of a lump sum? It works out a bit more expensive but access to a car is a huge asset when job hunting.

Savvy_Sue

Many voluntary organisations would pay your travel expenses. It is always worth asking: they may not think to offer, because not all volunteers want to claim. But if they won't, then move on to the next.

We paid bus fares for one volunteer for the best part of a year, they were coming in weekly from the next urban sprawl so it wasn't cheap, but there was no way they could afford to pay it themselves. When a vacancy came up, they applied and got the job!

lexilex

Person_one wrote: »

Ah, your car insurance is a lot. Is that price after shopping around? Have you considered paying it over 12 months instead of a lump sum? It works out a bit more expensive but access to a car is a huge asset when job hunting.

I have shopped around, a lot... believe me I am very money saving, but at the moment I couldn't even afford the monthly payments. My plan is to park it up in the garage, and when (if?) I get a job start the insurance then, so obviously I still have access to it for work so not at a (further) disadvantage.

Hopefully it won't be too long til I get a job of some sort, even if it is something completely unrelated to what I want to do, and then I can afford to do some volunteering in an evening or something and build up my CV so I can eventually get a job I love. I was just hoping somebody may know of something I could do at home, the only thing I have come across is a site called Horsemouth.