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How do people cope with being unemployed after graduation?

wouldn't surprise me if suicide stats sky rocket around this time of year.

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Well I imagine someone would not feel too good if they have just graduated and realised how bad the job market is for graduates and then looking at the amount of debt they have acquired on top of their overdrafts. And people still say university is a good choice. Maybe a decade or so ago but its a raw deal now. Merely a way to keep students off of the unemployment figures.
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Original post by YouAreGhey
wouldn't surprise me if suicide stats sky rocket around this time of year.


The summer isn't so bad, but by September it's awful. That's the time when, previously, you would have been going back to school/college/uni and now for the first time you're not starting anything.

Personally I had to go on anti-depressants by about October after I graduated, having failed to get a job doing anything at all. I've spoken to friends who didn't get treatment but said it was absolutely the worst time of their lives.

It's not just the constant rejection - that's pretty hard - it's also how useless and bored you feel. It reminds me of when I hear about people getting depressed after retiring. You go from being constantly busy, productive and under pressure, working towards things, to suddenly having nothing to do and no real purpose.

If you're living at home you're seeing your parents get up and go to work every day whilst your days are built around applying for jobs and/ or going to the job centre to sign on.

I remember I would do loads of housework, even things that didn't really need doing, just to feel useful. I felt like a real burden on my parents.

There came a point where I didn't like leaving the house to do anything. I didn't want to socialise. I had to unfollow most of my friends on Facebook because I couldn't bear seeing people doing things and achieving things - when previously I loved seeing what others were up to.

A year on I'm no closer to having an actual permanent and paid job but I feel more positive with more experience under my belt and I'm going to be starting a part-time MA.

I really think unis should do more to prepare students for life after graduating. Careers services are so narrow - at least mine was. Some CV advice and pointing you to jobs is all fine but I really think that students should be prepared for the shift to unemployment and unis should help students to cope with this seeing as it's so common and basically inevitable now that there are so many graduates and so few jobs...
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Original post by marco14196
Well I imagine someone would not feel too good if they have just graduated and realised how bad the job market is for graduates and then looking at the amount of debt they have acquired on top of their overdrafts. And people still say university is a good choice. Maybe a decade or so ago but its a raw deal now. Merely a way to keep students off of the unemployment figures.


The government boasting its employment stats does my head in so much. There are more students and more people on zero hour contracts. I'm currently employed by an agency which will have no work for me until the end of September! And have worked jobs where they can only find about 10 hours for me to do each week. How can the government put people like me into their statistics and treat me like I'm part of their success?!
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YouAreGhey
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bump for fellow depressed bums
Keep yourself busy and avoid daytime TV. For the love of god don't make watching Jeremy Kyle and This Morning a routine.


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Honestly? You don’t cope.

I’ve been unemployed and on universal credit since I graduated in June and have had the most horrendous year. From being 0.5% off of a first in my degree, to the endless rejections I got, even the Hilton Hotel rejected me for a zero hour contract housekeeping role. My mental health got so bad this summer that my mother dragged me to the doctor’s in July and I was given a sickline for severe anxiety for four weeks but the Job Centre completely disregarded this and forced me to keep looking for work, trying to push me into B2B sales. My mental health got so bad that last month when the bus I was waiting on didn’t come, I started crying and shouting at no one and had a complete breakdown. (Funny how the usual poverty porn on channel 5 never shows this side of being on benefits) I’ve also been diagnosed with IBS and the doctor thinks my anxiety is the main aggravator.

I’ve finally found a job with Ikea, 16 hours a week so maybe £100 than I was getting in Universal Credit and I didn’t tell anyone for a week (minus JCP obvs) because I couldn’t believe it was real. I have my induction this weekend so fingers crossed.

I don’t have an overdraft and the loans don’t get paid if I’m not making a decent salary so I’m not fussed about that but the complete feeling that you have failed, that four years of hard work mean nothing and that you’ll be stuck in this cycle of low wages and unable to actually move out, get on the property ladder, start paying ****ing tax, get a car etc are sometimes unbearable. You feel frozen, stagnant. You feel like you are suffocating. You feel condemned. It’s overwhelming.

My advice? Well at some point in September after more job rejections I stopped taking it personally, my mind was unable to tolerate anymore self-hatred, I redrafted and redrafted my CV, I took more and more time researching companies I was applying to, did more competency answers, went to my cities graduate fair and even this week I was still going into my university at 7am to use the computers to apply for graduate schemes that start in Sept 2017 (though haven’t had much luck)

Just remember, that you matter, you worked hard and you will find your way. This year has been one of my worst but as corny as it sounds, all these hardships have made me stronger, tougher. Everyone in this thread has to remember that we aren’t alone, we’re in the same boat. We’ll get through this.
I wouldn't care. Degree lasts for life.
i don't see the excuse for being unemployed.. i graduate in 2017 and i very much doubt i'd be without a job

unless ofcourse i get a 2:2 or worse :frown:
Original post by gr8wizard10
i don't see the excuse for being unemployed.. i graduate in 2017 and i very much doubt i'd be without a job

unless ofcourse i get a 2:2 or worse :frown:


Not everyone will have the same experience you will. I got a 2.1 (68.5% overall) and i ended up unemployed, like thousands of other graduates. Well done if you get a job right after graduation, but again, not everyone will have the same success right away.
Original post by hannah097
Not everyone will have the same experience you will. I got a 2.1 (68.5% overall) and i ended up unemployed, like thousands of other graduates. Well done if you get a job right after graduation, but again, not everyone will have the same success right away.


but surely this is what internships and what not are for?

rather than going holiday every summer, do some actual work.. it contriibutes for quite a lot. degrees are meaningless.. they're just a means to a tick box on an employers list, experience is key
Original post by gr8wizard10
but surely this is what internships and what not are for?

rather than going holiday every summer, do some actual work.. it contriibutes for quite a lot. degrees are meaningless.. they're just a means to a tick box on an employers list, experience is key


I have plenty of work experience. You seriously think people in this thread spent their summers partying and going on holiday? I've been spending my summer applying and applying for jobs as have others and have just recently found one as I mentioned previously. It's not as easy as simply walking into a job when you graduate for some, it takes a long a difficult summer of pain and misery and application after application etc. If you ever do find yourself out of work, even if only for a few months, perhaps you'll understand a bit more.
Original post by hannah097
I have plenty of work experience. You seriously think people in this thread spent their summers partying and going on holiday? I've been spending my summer applying and applying for jobs as have others and have just recently found one as I mentioned previously. It's not as easy as simply walking into a job when you graduate for some, it takes a long a difficult summer of pain and misery and application after application etc. If you ever do find yourself out of work, even if only for a few months, perhaps you'll understand a bit more.


to be honest, you're right. i think i have a narrow minded view only centred around my experience.. or i may just be salty from working 17 hour days during my summer holidays and envying those who are free.

sorry if i caused offence, congrats on your role btw :smile: i wish you all the best.

applications are a bugger, i know the feeling.
Original post by gr8wizard10
to be honest, you're right. i think i have a narrow minded view only centred around my experience.. or i may just be salty from working 17 hour days during my summer holidays and envying those who are free.

sorry if i caused offence, congrats on your role btw :smile: i wish you all the best.

applications are a bugger, i know the feeling.



No it’s fine, I thought like that too, I thought getting a 2.1 would be the end of the world and then I did and realized it wasn’t. You learn from experiences, I’m sure if you’re this determined now to find a job by the time you graduate you will.
Good luck!
Original post by hannah097
No it’s fine, I thought like that too, I thought getting a 2.1 would be the end of the world and then I did and realized it wasn’t. You learn from experiences, I’m sure if you’re this determined now to find a job by the time you graduate you will.
Good luck!


i think most people have this perception, little do they know. thanks.. i've got a grad role already on the condition i achieve a 2:1.. thing is, i've just lost all motivation now and feel burnt out lol. hopefully i don't screw it up.
It was 10 months I think between me finishing my Masters and finally getting a job. Whilst those 10 months were frustrating at times, especially after a post interview rejection, I didn't find them horrendous. I'd been volunteering already so I carried on with that, so I had something constructive and meaningful to do. Then I also made the most of having more free time by doing stuff I wouldn't have been able to do had I been working.
I was sacked from my first role post graduation; ended up having to tread really carefully when applying for another role (especially through recruiters) as I could not portray myself as incompetent or delusional.*One job offer slipped from my grasp due to reference; after more failed interviews I started giving away all the things that held me back (such as video games), and lo and behold, a job offer came within a week.
Original post by gr8wizard10
i don't see the excuse for being unemployed.. i graduate in 2017 and i very much doubt i'd be without a job

unless ofcourse i get a 2:2 or worse :frown:


2.2 isn't the end of the world. I ended up with that grade and I've managed to find myself a job. I know some people who got a 2.1 and First class in their degrees and they're still looking for a job months or even years after graduation.
I guess if the system of countries (including UK) were right, then employers should have been the one looking for you that's If you had a little passion for what you do (not the money). Unfortunately, we are living in the world of corruptions, divided, injustice, and etc.
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 19
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iamux
12
Original post by gr8wizard10
i don't see the excuse for being unemployed.. i graduate in 2017 and i very much doubt i'd be without a job

unless ofcourse i get a 2:2 or worse :frown:


Have you got that job lined up, ready to go?

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