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

the_devil_made_me_do_it

I did check out that link Black-Saturn. It's amazing what people are expected to do to get a job. It should be cool to be proud of any achievements in life not hide them away. Very sad state of affairs.

I'm starting a degree in October. At this rate I'll be wondering whether it's worth getting into all that debt for what could be nothing.

lady_fuschia

It actually sounds like he's in a very similar situation to my ex, who had a drama degree and wanted to go into being a theatre sound and lighting technician. His degree was very practical, he took on lots of voluntary work - still took him a year to find a job, and that involved re-locating by 200 miles.

It's a tough area.

Is he getting The Stage magazine (you can order it from Smith's if they don't stock it)? Most of the kind of jobs he may be after are advertised in there. I imagine they have a website too.

Main mistakes I think my ex made were:
-applying for too high level jobs
-not applying for enough jobs (went for one at a time instead of sending out lots at once)
- not applying speculatively earlier(his job offer finally came from somewhere he'd sent a CV to on the off-chance - they'd kept it on file and got back in touch when a position came up a few months later)
- not getting a temporary job as a gap filler in the meantime - the longer he was unemployed, the worst it looked. Even a job in Tesco would've been better than nothing.
- Bad grammar and phrasing on application forms. Clever enough guy but had a problem with expressing clearly exactly how his skills related to a job. I helped him with this in the end.

This may or may not be relevant to your partner, but I thought I'd chuck it in in case it's useful.

the_devil_made_me_do_it

Yes some of what you have said is relevant I think. Still it's not nice watching someone crawl on their knees for a job.

I'll mention about The Stage magazine. Yes re-locating would be an option if I hadn't applied to do a degree.

Scrilla

I can empathise with your partner cause I was in a similar situation when I graduated.

I'd suggest using hxxp://www.prospects.ac.uk. I tried using it (and admittedly failed) for when I was job hunting just fresh out of Uni, but it's a good resource and there are careers advisors on hand to help you with CV's and covering letters etc.

the_devil_made_me_do_it wrote: »

He worked in a small charity funded music venue for abouit 4 yrs. He only quit there because of final year degree commitiments.

Is your partner putting that in his covering letter? Although he has no experience directly applying his degree, putting this in will show that he is (or was) getting out there and doing something that he enjoys, telling the reader straight away that he has qualifications, genuine love for the work and some relevant experience - 3 boxes ticked in the first line of a letter before the CV is even read.

Applying for a job fresh out of Uni is hard. Bit late to say this, but he should have been applying in Sept at the start of his graduation year (if he didn't do that, that is). Expect for every 80 letters sent out, to have one interview.

pipkin71

edited to keep the thread on topic

black-saturn

pipkin71 wrote: »

edited to keep the thread on topic

Thankyou

lady_fuschia

I'll mention about The Stage magazine. Yes re-locating would be an option if I hadn't applied to do a degree.

Whereabouts are you? Are there any major cities within commuting distance?

lynzpower

I dont know where you live but there is a temp agency in london called the music market

I dont know if they might be worth phoning, they may know of opportunities in your area if lodnon isnt close to you http://www.themusicmarket.co.uk/newdesign/aboutus.html

the_devil_made_me_do_it

We live in County Durham not far from Newcastle. My OH certainly isn't frightened of commuting considering his last yr of Uni he spent travelling 4 hours round trip to get to the University.

Lynzpower - I'll get him to check out that link, maybe it could be what he's looking for.

lynzpower

I feel for you I went to newcastle uni, and left as there was no work at all and that was in 99