gap between classing dates and interview.

studentphil

Stop blowing it up out of all reasonableness.

I do not want a job at a call centre

There must be other jobs I can do surely. I would not have thought an Admin job was aimming too high

studentphil

Need_More_Money wrote: »

You're just a snob aren't you?
It's not a case of aiming too high - it just depends whether you can do the job. I have degrees, but I can't audio type so I wouldn't expect to get a job that required it

I am not a snob. I just want a decent job that is respected. It is not too much to ask for.

Need_More_Money_2

studentphil wrote: »

I am not a snob. I just want a decent job that is respected. It is not too much to ask for.

You have to work to earn respect!

brazilianwax

studentphil wrote: »

Surely all my study and effort and nearly killing myself at it at times must be worth something and I must be able to get a semi- decent job.

Really an office job should not be aimming too high.

Yep. Tell you what Phil - fill in every application form like that. We'll ake it an experiment to see if it gets you anywhere.

It's a learning curve. A degree won't make you a useful employee (in fact, in my experience, a lot of graduates struggle with that).

You need to relate your experience to what they are looking for. I don't have a degree, but I employ people who do. If someone writes on an application form 'I have a degree in Philosophy so can do everything you want me to and look what I know' it will go in the bin because you aren't being clear enough about the transferrable skills your degree, and the struggle around it, have given you.

Here's yet another example. A friend of mine had a degree and a PGCE in secondary education. She realised halfway through the PGCE that she didn't want to teach secondary age kids. She didn't quit though, she completed it and passed. She didn't teach, but she used the fact that she hadn't quit as a positive. She was never out of work in a whole variety of sectors.

10 years after the first one she did another PGCE in primary education, and is now teaching.

Now, can you see what I am telling you, or do you need me to break it down and spoonfeed you?!

Tam_Lin

studentphil wrote: »

Stop blowing it up out of all reasonableness.

I love the irony which has gone straight over your head. I predict this thread will spiral downwards, with people posting advice then getting more and more frustrated at being ignored, and the admin lock it. Until you repeat your ridiculous behaviour in a few days time and the whole thing kicks off again. Are you REALLY so dense that you can't see what you're doing, or is all this some elaborate windup?

Emmzi

*sigh*

I've been a bank manager. I've been an HR manager. I think I'm professional, and I respect my own abilities.

When I've been between contracts, I've worked in a call centre to pay the bills. Know what? It gave me real experience to talk about when wanting to be an HR professional in a call centre. I won'tr lie and say I loved it. The last time I did it, I quit early because it was stopping me going for other interviews - I'd got day shift, not evenings.

I didn't like it, but it paid the bills, kept me in touch with reality, introduced me to some new and entertaining people, broadened my opinions of who I did and didn't rate, like, respect.

When hiring, would I rather have
a) someone who thought they hasd loads to contribute but had never actually shown me a process improvement they'd made, or that they could stick to a routine or
b) someone who'd got any kind of a job at all, demonstrated they could turn up on time for 40 hours a week no matter what, and had one or two good ideas, or letters of thanks from customers?

I will never - NEVER - employ theoretical brilliance. Because sure as eggs, 9 times out of 10, I'll be thinking of nice ways to get that person to leave within 3 months.

Talk's cheap. DO something. And do something on evening shifts so you are free for "dream job" interviews during the day.

PS I bet your parents would love it if you could contribute to the bills.. no matter how little... and it'd buold your self esteem, too.

studentphil

brazilianwax wrote: »

Yep. Tell you what Phil - fill in every application form like that. We'll ake it an experiment to see if it gets you anywhere.

It's a learning curve. A degree won't make you a useful employee (in fact, in my experience, a lot of graduates struggle with that).

You need to relate your experience to what they are looking for. I don't have a degree, but I employ people who do. If someone writes on an application form 'I have a degree in Philosophy so can do everything you want me to and look what I know' it will go in the bin because you aren't being clear enough about the transferrable skills your degree, and the struggle around it, have given you.

Here's yet another example. A friend of mine had a degree and a PGCE in secondary education. She realised halfway through the PGCE that she didn't want to teach secondary age kids. She didn't quit though, she completed it and passed. She didn't teach, but she used the fact that she hadn't quit as a positive. She was never out of work in a whole variety of sectors.

10 years after the first one she did another PGCE in primary education, and is now teaching.

Now, can you see what I am telling you, or do you need me to break it down and spoonfeed you?!

I have a CV full of my transferrable skills, I tried to press them home for this job, but the catch 22 of no office experence got me.

I know never give up keep trying keep working.


I just like the history and the work of universities and it feels established and respected and I just do not know if I can find them values in other sectors.

melancholly

oh please - i have a first from one of the top unis in the country and i wasn't too proud to get temping work in a call centre when i graduated. it got me money (paid weekly, never underestimate how useful that can be!), experience in customer service, experience of computer databases, experience training new staff after i'd been there a few months......... i worked all day on christmas day and it wasn't exactly fun, but it gave me something i could put on my cv to PROVE what i'm cabable of doing and paid bills.

i think working in a call centre is a tough job - people ring up and shout at you when the problem was not your fault and you have to calm them down and be nice. you have to negtiate with contractors and customers and sit at a computer all day taking calls within 8 rings. it's stressful and not easy. lots of people couldn't hack it (incidentally, phil, i don't think you could at all), but somehow it's not seen as a job worth doing.

i know you mentioned on another thread that you thought facilities management was an option - so get into that you'll need to show that you're proactive, can multitask, deal with contractors and customers, learn quickly etc etc. you have to get some experience of working - if only so that you can open your eyes on what real life is like.

just do something........... anything.............. but enough of the problems - with all the people on all the boards that you annoy giving you advice, how can you continue to ignore it all?!?! at least some of it has to be useful and relevant so read it. if you can't manage that, then i can't see anyone employing you at all.

Gemmzie

If you want an office job - get office experience. How difficult is that.

studentphil

Tam_Lin wrote: »

I love the irony which has gone straight over your head. I predict this thread will spiral downwards, with people posting advice then getting more and more frustrated at being ignored, and the admin lock it. Until you repeat your ridiculous behaviour in a few days time and the whole thing kicks off again. Are you REALLY so dense that you can't see what you're doing, or is all this some elaborate windup?

I just sit here pulling myself to pieces with frustration because I feel so much a failure to myself that I had great choices at 18 and great grades and somehow I have ended up like this with being on the edge of looking useless to employers.