Unemployed Graduate 100k dilemma; share your life experience

jpuphill

I know right?! I can't believe the government is giving me free money when I want to buy a house, it is insanity considering I'm conservative (with a small 'c') and believe more in free markets to solve problems. I get 1k interest on savings, dividend allowance, an ISA allowance, capital gains allowance, and a personal income threshold. Furthermore when I was a student I had 4 years of grants and loans that aren't taxable and were more than my living expenses, so more free money.

I don't pay any student loan back until I earn 20k+ but in the mean time the interest is around 160 a month. The student debt bubble is also ignored when the national debt is assessed, it is a huge disaster which will have consequences.

I live in London and in the area I'm in a room is not as much as you're saying. In my back garden there are tawny owls, hedgehogs, nuthatches, woodpeckers and so on, yet it's half an hour to my desk in King's Cross

I know this to be true but finding the opportunity is an impossibility with a month notice and not knowing anybody for leads. I paid for many room letting advertising websites, did agents and private, looking at 100s online everyday and applying for endless amounts but even pricey ones go within a few hours. I should say this was September/October which is always the worst time to be looking and I accept that it is easier at other times

OldMusicGuy

Part of you would like to go into classic motorsport and you're a mechanical engineer? Why not try to find a job in classic car restoration? A quick Google found this:

"Trainee Mechanical Engineer / Technician
Buckinghamshire
£7.50 an hour
We are seeking an enthusiastic, mechanically minded person, willing to learn new skills within a small family run business based near Silverstone, specialising in the restoration of classic cars. Some mechanical experience would be an advantage but not essential if the candidate can demonstrate a keen interest in classic car restoration. Th successful applicant is required to have a full clean UK driving licence, be a good time keeper and reliable. Own transport required. "

OK the pay's not great but you would learn some great skills and maybe start to build up a career in the classic car world (which is booming right now). Nice country location as well. Maybe you could get into classic motorsport by working for one of the companies that maintains those wonderful cars for the people that have got the money.... ;-)

My son graduated in July and has been looking for a job. What I can tell you is that he didn't get interviews at the jobs where he wasn't a great fit. Where he did well was in jobs that were close to what he studied and in an area he is really interested in, and he could communicate that in his CV. If you are just firing off fairly random applications you will be lucky to get interviews. You have to know what you want to do and why, and to be able to show enthusiasm for the role because the competition will be fierce.

My son has been able to get a really good first job and he doesn't have any real work experience. I suspect that lack of work experience may not be the issue for you, it's lack of focus. Think hard about what gets you excited and try to let your enthusiasm shine through in your applications. Getting help on writing CVs is not a bad idea either, there are a lot of good online resources that can really help you sharpen your CV (the Guardian graduate jobs website is pretty good). Also, maybe look at the employment & jobseeking board on here.

Best of luck!

jpuphill

Thank you, it is a great point, what holds me back is going into sectors that have vague job descriptions so I've re-written my CV to highlight my strengths which should show any employer what I offer. I am drawing up a new list of key areas I want to work in to focus my job hunt. I think you are spot on and I need to spend more time looking at myself and how I want to apply myself to work

my analogy would be that it isn't my shape which is wrong, neither the job, but I won't fit into a vacancy unless I'm aligned correctly. I could spend years butting up against the gap I think I fit into but all that is needed is to turn a little clockwise or swivel downwards a little to fit. I need to focus on how I orientate myself professionally if that makes sense

TallGirl

I'm a property guardian I live in Zone 2 all bills bar internet incl for £444 a month plus parking. Try Ad Hoc, Live in Guardians I'm in Camelot they are not great but if you're not fussy it's cheap and you only have to give two weeks notice.

Good luck sounds like you need to do some volunteering get someone who can give you a reference and learn what work is actually like. As OP said only look where you're interested. A degree doesn't open doors alone.

ruperts

If you can earn £70k per year after tax via eBay then I'd do that tbh. I've worked with a lot of mechanical engineers and not many are on the £120k+ salary it would take to get that sort of take home. Some of the top level senior freelancers maybe get there in a good year, but these are people with decades of graft and experience behind them. Either that or they're working life-destroying numbers of hours.

Something doesn't quite ring true about this whole thread to be honest. But if you're being truthful about your situation, I'd highly recommend going travelling. It'll broaden your horizons like nothing else. The experiences you'll have will be worth far more than any investment, and if you're as entrepreneurial and resourceful as you say you are, I suspect you'll find opportunities for making a rewarding living in abundance out there in the wider world. If I was you I'd tie up any loose ends this week and be on a plane by the weekend. Don't think too much, don't plan too much, just go.

jpuphill

I don't want to work in Design (Mech Eng), it is dull and mostly unrewarding. There is no chance of 70k net, would have to hire people and grow customer base 4 fold to get there and like I've said before it has only been part time, I don't want to be doing eBay as a business as the margins get smaller as volume increases.

As for travel, what holds me back is myself. I'm not excited by the prospect of drifting around, I figure that's the 'plan b' if I drop out of society and live off savings. I want to give society and work a good effort first if that makes sense, I'm driven for something I just don't know how to apply that without a passion.

Leidsekade

There are plenty of people who would take a punt on employing a graduate who has earned £100k through their own online business. Maybe not HR managers who need to tick boxes, but London has a lot of self-made entrepreneurs who could potentially identify with you. After all, the reason you didn't seek regular employment after graduation was to focus on growing your business Now it's time to build your skill set and do something more sustainable.

Why don't you see if there are any upcoming conferences related to your business interests in the big cities and speak to more like-minded people? There are also entrepreneurship events arranged via Meet up.com which are less formal. Not every conversation or event will give you a lead to follow up on, but it will be a good learning process.

If you want to do something you enjoy, you might have to invest some of your money in an unpaid internship to get on the ladder. It's modern day slavery, but it usually has to be done.

justme111

jpuphill wrote: »

As for travel, what holds me back is myself. I'm not excited by the prospect of drifting around, I figure that's the 'plan b' if I drop out of society and live off savings. I want to give society and work a good effort first if that makes sense, I'm driven for something I just don't know how to apply that without a passion.

There are seem to be big gaps in your personal profile. One of them seems to be socialising and ability to live with people. Until you address those you may find you can not contribute to society efficiently or even if you can those gaps may hold you back in your life. Hence people advise travelling. It is not to drop out of society , it is to attempt to integrate into it.

jpuphill

There are seem to be big gaps in your personal profile. One of them seems to be socialising and ability to live with people

I had 4 years at uni with bad flat shares, different each year, but never got better so I ended up in the library a lot reading anything and everything so as not to be back home. I am friendly and content when with others if they are decent agreeable folk

Had an Earl Nightingale tape on last night to help me motivate myself.

This morning I picked some tracker funds and the Vanguard 80/20 for long term, platform charge is 0.3% so is the cheapest on a small portfolio. Applied for 4 new roles and took a punt on GNK in the short term, also realised someone owes me 2k from a sale few months ago.

Need to learn more about the risks to markets as the FED begins unwind. Looking into a stake in permanent interest bearing shares as well but more research needed.

Thanks to everyone replying to this, I feared it would sit unread but seeing lots of other's perspectives on the situation motivates me to shake a leg. Lucky it is terrible weather as being on the computer all day is better than a walk on the hills

enthusiasticsaver

I think you need to find your place in the world before buying property. You are in a great position though as you have a substantial portfolio of assets, experience in entrepreneurship and a degree in a highly sought after skill.

Obviously whatever you are doing with regards to applying for jobs you may want to do is not working though either because you are not coming over well on paper or because the jobs you are applying for are not a great fit from an employers point of view. This may be down to lack of work experience. Have you ever tried ringing up to ask why you have not been invited to interview and asking if there is anything you could be doing to make you more appealing to employers? Sometimes you can get some great feedback that way and at the very least it gets you interacting with people which does seem to be a skill you lack. Maybe this is personality and the fact you live rurally and maybe spent a lot of time in your youth earning money through your business rather than socialising and learning to interact with people. Regardless of the reasons you either need to decide do you want to work with people or are you more solitary and would prefer to be self employed running your own business as you obviously have done in your youth.

I would have thought counselling would have helped you pinpoint where you see your future going but it depends on what sort of counselling you had - was it cbt to deal with depression or psycho-analysis? I would not worry about travelling at the moment as you do not seem to have a burning desire to do that but it seems to be one of the things you think you should be doing along with making friends. Both of those things can enrich lives but only if you actually want to engage in them not because you think you should. That is being false to yourself.

Why not try applying for jobs local to you to start with doing something you are vaguely interested in? These things often lead to something which then clicks and you think you would really like to do. Same goes for socialising. Sign up for an evening class doing something which interests you and see where it goes.