Need advice.. finding it hard to get a job after degree :(

the_devil_made_me_do_it

Help!!! My partner is feeling really down at the mo. He's just graduated with a high 2.1 and is finding it difficult even to get an interview let alone a job. He's constantly applying for jobs, but he either hears nothing or gets a "knock back" letter.

It's really taking it's toll on him. Any help, advice or positive comments??

Thanks in advance.

melancholly

what area is he trying to get a job in? it's early days yet - might be that most of the graduate jobs are full as they will ahve recruited people during their final year before people got results.

how is he applying? by CV? could be that his CV isn't selling himself well, or if he's using online applications, that he's not quite pitching the answers in the ways companies want him to. is he spending time on application covering letters and things like that? who has he chosen as references?

it's never easy getting your first job (i applied for 15 or so in my final year, got to 6 final rounds and got offered nothing - and now i'll still studying - some would say to avoid the real world!). could be that he just needs to fine tune his applications to sell himself a little more!

ramborai1987

thats the reason he should've started working whilst he was at uni to build up some experience. company's would rather have experience than a degree. guess he regrets spending his time boozing rather than working.

now the only thing i suggest him to do is accept the first job he gets offered and thenif he gets offered a better one then he can move on. he shouldn't look at a supermarket job as dirt everyone starts somewhere even the rich people.

melancholly

ramborai1987 wrote: »

thats the reason he should've started working whilst he was at uni to build up some experience. company's would rather have experience than a degree. guess he regrets spending his time boozing rather than working.

now the only thing i suggest him to do is accept the first job he gets offered and thenif he gets offered a better one then he can move on. he shouldn't look at a supermarket job as dirt everyone starts somewhere even the rich people.

this is a bit smug and negative - there's nothing to say that he wasted his time and drank his way through uni (a high 2:1 would perhaps suggest otherwise!). nothing has been said about being too good for any job. i don't see the point in your post!

ramborai1987

lol. i like annoying people

tr3mor

You need to give us more clues.

What subject did he do? What jobs is he applying for? What work experience does he have? Does his CV look good? Could he ask for feedback from some of the rejections?

ramborai1987 wrote: »

lol. i like annoying people

You're a cretin! Companies would rather employ someone who has a grasp of good grammar and doesn't use phrases like lol.

As far as I could tell there was no mention of what the guy did with his time at uni.

lady_fuschia

It's difficult to say what he's doing wrong (if anything) without more information. What is his degree in? What kind of jobs is he applying for?

From my observations the reason a lot of graduates fail to get jobs quickly is because they get over-ambitious and start applying for high level jobs which really require someone much further along in their career, when they should be starting a little lower down the ladder. Is this part of his problem? (not saying it is, but it's worth asking) My advice is to apply for a mixture of "graduate" and "menial" jobs (you can always turn something down if you get a better offer after all) as even a low grade clerk's job can be written up in a way that makes it look like useful experience.

Has he signed up with the temp agencies? It's not rocket science and teh pay's not brilliant but a little bit of experience in an office environment can be tweaked to look appealing on all sorts of job applications.

Maybe he needs help with his CV writing skills - he should still be able to get access to his university careers service if you live locally, or there's advice on the www.prospects.ac.uk site.

He might want to consider e-mailing or calling some employers in his preferred industry for an informal chat about how they recruit and what they look for in potential applicants to see if he can pick up any useful insider tips. (Some people are snotty and won't respond, but most are happy to give a few pointers) He could also try a bit of voluntary work - it's a good way to show that you're a "real world" person and not just a student (some people are apparently under the impression that university is on Mars or something where the social system is totally different and we all learn to write essays but are otherwise complete morons!) and he might meet some useful contacts too. I know I did.

tr3mor

lady_fuschia wrote: »

some people are apparently under the impression that university is on Mars or something where the social system is totally different and we all learn to write essays but are otherwise complete morons!

Now we're sending nearly 50% of 18 year olds to uni this can't be far from the truth!

lady_fuschia

Now we're sending nearly 50% of 18 year olds to uni this can't be far from the truth

No more than of the general population though surely?! Some employers actually imply you're a moron BECAUSE you went to uni!

tr3mor

lady_fuschia wrote: »

No more than of the general population though surely?! Some employers actually imply you're a moron BECAUSE you went to uni!

True. It probably holds for the proportion of employers that are morons too!

Anyway, back to the topic.

the_devil_made_me_do_it

He did both HND & Bsc hons in Music Technology.

He has never "boozed" his way through Uni, a/ he wanted good results & b/ he had a (and still has) a part time job, c/ he wouldn't have been able to afford it. We don't live in student accomodation we have our own property.

The applications have been mixed. Some online, some hand written. None have asked for a CV so can't comment on his CV writing skills.

I wouldn't say he's been applying for jobs above his station. Many have not required a degree qualification, they have asked for A Levels.

I've been telling him it's early days, but I know how easy it is to get dispondant.

Even 1 positive reply would boost his confidence I think. + I guess it's all experience.