What are you supposed to do when nowhere will hire me?!

lushlifesaver

Just a bit of background: I'm 21 years old, a graduate (Psychology BSc) and finish my masters degree (Forensic Psychology) on the 27th June although I don't officially graduate until November.

In the past 5/6 weeks I've applied for over 50 jobs and for every single one I've received an email or letter that says 'sorry on this occasion you have been unsuccessful' when asked for feedback I'm told that due to the number of applicants individual feedback is not a possibility. Two jobs have given me feedback and what they have told me is that they don't believe my CV!

I had my first paid job at 16/17 where I worked in a cafe and childrens play area until just after I turned 19. I did masses of voluntary work between the ages of 12 and 19 with disability sports and later with a rehab charity.
I continued working for the rehab charity (mix of paid and unpaid/voluntary) until just before my 21st birthday when I was employed by the same charity but in a different side of them as a case/project worker for their anti-human trafficking work.

I left the case worker role in December due to a number of issues with the founder of the charity, their expectations and their work ethics (after 6 months still no contract despite having been promised one during probation and a number of times after, issues with my pre-agreed hours and out of hours work).

The feedback I have had is that my experience is extensive but seems unbelievable when they consider my age :S My partners mum has suggested seeing if there's anyway I could evidence the experience alongside my CV but I just can't think of any way!

I tailor my CV and application to each position...can anyone else think of anything I could do? even to just get an interview. I'm getting nervous and stressed now as I have nothing lined up and have to start loan repayments on the loan I used for my MSc soon!

Sorry for the mammoth post, thanks for reading if you got this far!

ETA: The last work of the title should be 'you' but I don't know how to edit that bit!

whitewing

Do some voluntary work now so that you have a current referee who can vouch that you are that good!

Listerbelle

Leave you age and date of birth out of your CV. This is standard practice, not hiding anything.

DoI: Former HR Manager.

marybelle01

I genuinely can't understand why they wouldn't believe your CV - in their shoes (and I might be!) if a CV was that good I would want to interview the person to check out just how truthful it was! You are not all that old now - can you not get references from the places you worked or a testimonial of some sort? You could attach these to your CV. It isn't exactly normal practice, but if believing what you say is a genuine problem then at least it gets past that, and given your age you might be forgiven for not conforming to the normal protocols.

LadyMissA

You could get some written statements from these places saying you worked there between these dates?

gibson123

I nearly discounted an application for a school leaver training post from a young man that had so much experience I thought he couldn't possibly just have left school. recruiters rarely have time to take a second look, so answer the question before it is asked. so in this case I would start my personal profile with. I have experience beyond what would be expected at my age, this is because I have been involved in voluntary work in the field for 8 years. ( better worded, I am on my 2nd glass of wine)

annie_d

Similar scenario with one of my daughters who ended up working as a carer. She saved her money and has now gone to Australia. Perhaps you should apply for jobs below your qualifications.

Gingernutty

Don't tell them your age.

cte1111

Sounds like you're in a similar position to thousands of graduates - huge numbers of applicants for every job. It's a tough job market and maybe you need to aim lower, e.g. apply for jobs a couple of rungs lower down the ladder but in the right area.

In terms of the negative feedback, you need to tone down your experience, perhaps fewer details of your volunteer work, just highlighting relevant points to the job. Put dates and 'volunteer' or 'part time' against the appropriate parts so the recruiter can see that you worked alongside your studies.

I wouldn't expect a 21 year old with a masters to have much relevant work experience. However when I was a 21 year old graduate, I'd done a few jobs - waitressing, ran my own business, worked for a political party, worked abroad and an IT job. I didn't have anyone querying whether these jobs were true or not, I did explain them in context though, e.g. summer job in 19x1, summer job in 19x2, part time job whilst doing A levels. And I think I left out the teenage waitressing jobs as they weren't really relevant.

Elvisia

How long is your CV? I am wondering if you've listed everything, and it might seem completely overwhelming. Also what job title have you got down for each position? If they genuinely think you have too much experience then they might think you're a wind-up merchant. You can leave off your DOB but they will be able to work out your age by the dates of your degree, at least that's how I used to figure out people's age. It might be better to do a skills based CV, where you list your skills and then do a basic work experience, so you don't end up with pages of lists of places you've worked. Also it depends what you're applying for, if you have an MA in Forensics I wouldn't let you come for an interview as a cashier for example!! I'd think you'd only want to be there for a couple of months, would be bored, and would probably try to tell me how to do my job.

comics

Don't worry you are not alone. I am also a master student (but graduated some years ago). I couldn't get a "career" in accounting for some time, so did a different type of job for the money. I left that job to again start my career (, I could not effectively search while working,) but haven't had one interview for six months, cannot even get volunteer work related to my career.

It probably depends on the type of work you are looking for too, if there is a lot of competition for it. Also the lower the level of job you apply for the more unskilled people will apply for it since, training can be provided. Also are you applying for a graduate job, openings tend to open in September, the ones that open now tend to just be to fill the remaining quota of applicants (for assessment centres. e.t.c.), so it can depend on speed more than skill now.

You tailor each C.V. but has it been done correctly? I have changed my C.V. to emphasize my skills I gained in work and study, before I just said what role and work I did. Also how is your covering letter? It is the first thing they see, if they do not like it, they might not even look at your C.V. On my covering letter, I say what skills I have to the role I am applying for, I even go as far as offering myself to do a trial period for free. I just worry that it might make me seem desperate.

Also go speak the your careers advisor at your uni, they should be able to give you one-to-one guidance and even check your C.V. and covering letter too.

Also what loan do you have? is it from a bank or for government (student service)? The ones for the government tend to give you a lot of freedom. I.E. "you don't have to pay it back till you have a job", which it different from "you must pay it back when you graduate".