Why is it so difficult?

Davidboy

Hi - I can understand your plight, my daughter started at uni last Sept but did not like the course so gave it up at Xmas. She tried to get a job but it was hard work. Went via an agency and they were flippen useless.

In the end what we did was to compile a cv and dropped it into as many places as possible, pubs, resturants, hotels etc. None of them replied with one exception a Hotel where she now works as casual bar staff, almost works full time pay is not too good but at least it's some money. She did not have bar experience, but does have catering experience as she had worked in a Cafe previously (Sat job). She is going back to uni next month and now has bar experience so that she should/will find a job when there.

What I am saying is be proactive, pester and be cheeky, the cv we did was a template found on Word, sell yourself with as much bull$hit but truth...(just stretch it a little!!) as possible.

HTH and good luck.

D

Kilty_2

alanshave wrote: »

What degree are you going to do at University?

MEng Computer and Electronic Systems, at Strathclyde (hopefully).

I've got a telephone interview for a large mobile phone retailer in about 20 minutes.

madfrenchgirl

Kilty,

it might not make you feel better, but it does not get better as you go on in life. Even with a degree, employment agencies will treat you like a piece of meat (eg they will call without bothering to have had a look at your cv which is obvious when they start asking you questions that are answered on there), never call you back, etc etc. and later on, I guess it only gets better when you find yourself being headhunted (when you have huge experience or are lucky enough to havea very specialised skill and someone else needs it).

Having said that, you have to try your hardest and not let it bring you down. Just keep in mind that every interview you go to is not necessarily a waste of time but a good rehearsal opportunity. By the sounds of it, it is still relatively local (try a 12 hour roundtrip train journey within the same day, to then be told that they are not convinced you would want to relocate for the job), so you are not wasting THAT much time & money.

If you need some extra advice and support, just PM me. I am only 25, and still struggling even with the relevant experience, it is a bit older than you but I can remember how hard it was to get my second job after uni (the first one I got headhunted for but it was a contract) and how disheartnening it can become.

Kilty_2

Thank you .

I'm now waiting on two face to face interview dates having passed telephone interviews (one for a bank and one for a mobile phone retailer)

cannycat

Hi Kilty

I have to agree with madfrenchgirl, I'm afraid - even with a degree it can be tricky getting ANY job these days, never mind a good one! (Unless you live in London, of course, where allegedly there's a shortage of every kind of professional except city brokers...! But for those of us back in the real (non-London) universe, I don't think there's any shortage of applicants for jobs!

When I graduated (back in the dim and distant early 1990s and before I realised I needed a postgrad qualification to add to the degree if I wanted a reasonable career), I ended up temping - hard work, and I got sent to some horrible companies, but I also got sent to some really good companies/organisations. It was good in that it taught me what kind of environments I didn't want to work in and what kind of people I did, and didn't work with, and a temp contract led to a permanent job which led in an almost direct line to what I do now, with lots of good experience and training along the way.

If you have reasonable typing skills and good IT knowledge it's definitely worth thinking about temping. I did have to laugh at some other people's descriptions of their temping experiences though - yes, the switchboard story definitely hit a chord!

If you're not looking for a huge salary, have you thought about your local council, university, or hospital? Sometimes they have banks for admin jobs - up in Newcastle where I'm really from you can go and have a look at the council and NHS noticeboards in person, and most places put their vacancies online now, so your town may have something similar.

I do sympathise - I've never understood why spending a year doing volunteer work in the back of beyond is an acceptable gap year yet working for a year in this country to get some money and experience behind you is regarded as such a daft option before uni! Do feel free to PM me if you want, and good luck.

laurad85

when i left uni i found it really hard to get a job. i applied for jobs that paid good money and jobs that were the minimum wage and didnt get any (not enough experience or over qualified was some of the reasons why i didnt get them!). looking back tho im glad i didnt because i now work in a school and am hoping to go back to uni next year to become a teacher, which is what really wanted to do anyway but just needed some money at the time. x

kurjam

its not just young people who cant find jobs... i have been unwell and not worked since 2003 iam trying to get back into work and no one wants to know..
employers dont reply and never ring to say you are unsucessful.
its so annoying :mad:

Lavendyr

Hi Kitty,

It may have been mentioned already but are you sure your CV is as good as it can be and you are writing a good, strong cover letter for each job you apply for?

A part of my job role involves selecting potential interview candidates (the "first pass" if you like) based on their CV and cover letter. If you like, post up your CV (minus personal details!) and cover letter here or PM them to me and I'll be happy to give some suggestions. It's surprising what a different perspective can pick up

Kilty_2

I start work on Saturday, as a market researcher :eek:

Temporary for 7 days but with a recruitment agency so hopefully get other placements afterwards (office based, etc)

msmicawber

Well done, Kilty. Once you've got a job it's always easier to get further jobs. I hope all goes well for you.