21 and never worked in my life, depressed!!

I just finished my second year of university and now I'm looking for a part time job, but I'm finding it extremely difficult. I've completed so many job applications over the past year and a half. I've been applying to all sorts of roles including retail, admin etc, but no one calls be back for an interview. I honestly feel like a failure atm. Does anyone have any job seeking tips?. I'm just going through recruitment websites atm such as reed and monster. Thanks in advance

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 1

omfgalib

Getting a job is hard work.
Try doing some long term volunteer work. I did for over a year while looking for a job.
Plus, you gotta print out your CV and hand it into shops.
You shouldn't feel bad about no call back, because often, there are 100's of applicants for one place.
Just keep trying and don't give up, you'll get there.

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

dude dw I finished 2nd year and I haven't worked either lol

Reply 3

Rgman27

Well, get someone to look over your CV.*

If you are handing it in to loads of places with no reply then I would start there.*

Reply 4

username1539513

Original post by Emre2896

I know how you feel, I didn't get my first job until I was 19 :/

Try and do some voluntary work in the area of work you're looking at getting into, even if it's just a few hours at the weekend in a charity shop. Always use a cover letter and tailor it specifically to the role you're applying for and use the person specification. Try and link what skills you've acquired at uni and a-level to the job role, mention things like good attendance and responsibility etc

Best of luck!

Reply 5

Oar

Like the first comment suggests - print out your CV and go into some shops and ask if they're hiring. A lot of people actually prefer this as it shows you're really trying as opposed to someone who only searches online. Dress nice, be super friendly and if you're turned away politely smile and thank them anyway! Perhaps write a cover letter.

Volunteering is a GREAT thing to have on your CV too, so you could think about that.

Please please remember, everyone has started off in your shoes at some point.

Stay positive and don't give up! You can do it. :biggrin:

Reply 6

Asolare

Try recruitment agencies if you haven't.

It is difficult and I wish you luck.

Reply 7

Jonsmith98

Your better off getting contacts, ask where your friends work and ask them to put in a good word for you. I got my part time job by just shopping at the same place quite regularly and spending a while talking to the staff, if you just walk in and dump your cv on the desk you don't really stand a chance and here is why:

This is what we did with CV's at our work,

When they where handed to us we would wait for the person to leave the store and turn the corner, then with a highlighter everyone who was on shift would go though and highlight all the stuff we didn't like. If we liked the CV then we would hand it to our manager, otherwise it went straight into the bin. We got about 20 CV's a month and hired about 2 people a year, you can do the math but you need to set yourself aside from the general CV printing plebs.

Reply 8

Anonymous #3

Hey, my advice would be to really take a look at your C.V and sell yourself effectively.

What do you currently have written in your work experience section?

I'm currently unemployed as I finished uni a month ago and now actively trying to secure a job. For 2-3 weeks I heard nothing back, then I really took a look at my C.V and noticed that I could improve things, applied for some more jobs and finally had my first call back the next day and another call a few days later from another agency.

I suggest that you research into how you can improve your c.v but some tips that worked for me:

As your first section on your C.V, summarise a 'profile' of yourself. Write what you're currently studying and where, then some relevant skills you have that match the job's description. Then in mine I've wrote that I'm seeking entry level employment in an ____ role as I am eager to continue my studies towards the ___ qualification, and that I'm available to start work immediately.

Adapt your C.V (skills etc) to each job you apply to. In an admin role they care about things like organisation and attention to detail, whereas in a sales role they care about your communication and interpersonal skills. It's important to back these points up, If you don't have previous work experience you can write that you developed those interpersonal skills through academic experience, e.g presentations. Time management skills and the ability to work under pressure developedd through uni deadlines.

Another thing is try to list relevant modules underneath your degree. (I did a degree in business and now applying for trainee accountant positions, so I've listed the financial modules I studied).

I think the main thing that made my c.v stand out more was to describe previous experience more effectively by showing results. For example, I was a student Ambassador and this made my c.v look ok but to really improve it, I wrote about getting X amount of sign ups for open days.
You've wrote that you haven't worked before so you'll just have to use your academic experience as much as you can and use examples from there.

Good luck!

Reply 9

Judge Judy

Original post by Emre2896

Apply for Trainee Recruitment Consultants on all the websites you mentioned.
They love people who went to uni and have degrees.
I don't have a degree but sometimes I do get a few telephone interviews and one normal interview so i was shocked they even bother to reply. But i apply for as many different Trainee Recruitment jobs as possible, sometimes up to 30 in one day on the websites
But most importantly you must sign up with different employment agencies on the high street like Reed, and any others. They are your best ways to get jobs. I don't understand why people who have been to uni, college don't know this already