The Student Room Group

Message of hope to graduates who can't find a job!

I finished university TWO YEARS ago, first class degree, great uni, but have been struggling immensely to get a proper job. I have been working as a steward for G4S for 2 years, minimum wage, 0 hour contract, sometimes months without doing anything for them.

Living with my parents. I was getting to the point where I couldn't enjoy life because I felt guilty if I was having fun, I should be looking for a job! I was starting to think something about me was unhireable, is my accent putting everyone off? Do I have a bad personality? Is everyone just miles better than me? I started to think, its been 2 years since I started looking for a job, anyone I'm applying too now knows that, even if I'm great will they still think there must be something wrong with me that they haven't seen, otherwise why wouldn't I already have a job? These and much more thoughts like them. It was getting so hard to continue sticking to my principals, being perfectly honest in interviews, only applying for jobs which I love and know I would enjoy, following my passions.

I can however proudly say that over 2 years after starting my search, I have been offered pretty much my dream job (maybe the pay isn't dreamy, but that comes later in the career I think). I was offered the role 2 days after interviewing, because they were so keen to get me before anyone else did. Being told that, after all I have been through was surreal.

Point I am making, to anyone that reads this who is in the position I was, do not give up hope. Do not give in to the thoughts that there is something wrong with you and you should just lower your ambitions. You are great, and you are perfect for the role you are meant for, you just have to find it. It may take some time, but it will for most, people going straight into jobs while you are still looking are extremely lucky, but so are you, they won't develop the same resilience as you, the same appreciation for work or the same passion. Embrace the adversity, let it make you stronger, keep honing interview skills at every interview you get, do something simple - stewarding, bar work - that will give you competency examples like teamwork, decision making and communication.

Hope at least one person reads this who it helps, I know reading things like this, that simply confirmed there were others in my shoes struggling to get a "real" job after uni, really made me feel a bit better.
Original post by Algren
I finished university TWO YEARS ago, first class degree, great uni, but have been struggling immensely to get a proper job. I have been working as a steward for G4S for 2 years, minimum wage, 0 hour contract, sometimes months without doing anything for them.

Living with my parents. I was getting to the point where I couldn't enjoy life because I felt guilty if I was having fun, I should be looking for a job! I was starting to think something about me was unhireable, is my accent putting everyone off? Do I have a bad personality? Is everyone just miles better than me? I started to think, its been 2 years since I started looking for a job, anyone I'm applying too now knows that, even if I'm great will they still think there must be something wrong with me that they haven't seen, otherwise why wouldn't I already have a job? These and much more thoughts like them. It was getting so hard to continue sticking to my principals, being perfectly honest in interviews, only applying for jobs which I love and know I would enjoy, following my passions.

I can however proudly say that over 2 years after starting my search, I have been offered pretty much my dream job (maybe the pay isn't dreamy, but that comes later in the career I think). I was offered the role 2 days after interviewing, because they were so keen to get me before anyone else did. Being told that, after all I have been through was surreal.

Point I am making, to anyone that reads this who is in the position I was, do not give up hope. Do not give in to the thoughts that there is something wrong with you and you should just lower your ambitions. You are great, and you are perfect for the role you are meant for, you just have to find it. It may take some time, but it will for most, people going straight into jobs while you are still looking are extremely lucky, but so are you, they won't develop the same resilience as you, the same appreciation for work or the same passion. Embrace the adversity, let it make you stronger, keep honing interview skills at every interview you get, do something simple - stewarding, bar work - that will give you competency examples like teamwork, decision making and communication.

Hope at least one person reads this who it helps, I know reading things like this, that simply confirmed there were others in my shoes struggling to get a "real" job after uni, really made me feel a bit better.


This is so lovely, thank you for sharing your experience! :smile:

Are there any tips you'd give people struggling for how they might improve their chances of finding a job, or anything you felt helped you get this dream job?
Reply 2
Original post by shadowdweller
This is so lovely, thank you for sharing your experience! :smile:Are there any tips you'd give people struggling for how they might improve their chances of finding a job, or anything you felt helped you get this dream job?


Thanks! Was on such an emotional high yesterday!

If we're talking about your dream job, I would really strongly recommend (sounds quite obvious) only applying for things you love. In two years I applied for only one job which I didn't think was perfect for me, and they could tell straight away I wasn't too into the job. Don't back away from your dreams and say "I'll just get any job, and slowly move careers to what I love", I think that is how lots of people end up doing something they hate. It is hard whilst you're waiting, but then once you get it, there are no bittersweet thoughts.

In terms of success at interview, it really is about practice. Most interviews I have had have been competency ones, so tell us about a time when you showed... communication; teamwork; problem solving etc. If I hadn't thought about the question before I struggled a lot, and I would then over the next few days come up with the perfect example. Eventually I was doing interviews where I had perfect answers for all the competency questions being asked, that was the case in my last.

On the same point, spread these competencies across environments, I tried to never have two competencies shown in the same environment. Leadership from DofE, deadlines from uni, communication from G4S, teamwork from rugby etc. This was commented on a number of times as a good aspect of my interviews the past year.

Read advice wherever possible on interviews, online, books, papers, magazines, but never blindly follow it, just consider it. A friend got me a book on interviews, it had some useful stuff, but one piece of advice was "don't accept water as it is a distraction and all that it brings is the threat of spilling it everywhere". I get a dry mouth in interviews, I need to drink lots, so fine to consider the advice, but I didn't follow it.

Learn as much as you can about what you will be doing at the interview/AC. Sites like TSR for example, or "glassdoor" which tell you the questions you are likely to get, the exercises you'll be doing, any other advice such as "don't work from the train station there is no footpath, which is good to know!

Finally, know the business, they all have things like "vision 2020", or "our strategy for the future", read them. Read their annual report, they're complicated, you don't need to know it by heart, or even understand all of it! Just read it so you can get a feel for the business, it might also provide you with some questions to ask at interview, asking a question based on these reports shows that you have read them and are really interested in the business.
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 3
What's the dream job you've found? :smile:
Reply 4
Original post by Speckle
What's the dream job you've found? :smile:


Not sure it would be everyone's idea of a dream job! But research for the MoD. Civil service which i wanted, defence and security which I wanted, and scientific research which I wanted. Looked at jobs which include each of those aspects on their own, but so happy to have one that includes all 3.
Reply 5
Original post by Algren
Not sure it would be everyone's idea of a dream job! But research for the MoD. Civil service which i wanted, defence and security which I wanted, and scientific research which I wanted. Looked at jobs which include each of those aspects on their own, but so happy to have one that includes all 3.


That's actually pretty cool - well done. I was fully ready for you to come out with something crap lol
Original post by Algren
I finished university TWO YEARS ago, first class degree, great uni, but have been struggling immensely to get a proper job. I have been working as a steward for G4S for 2 years, minimum wage, 0 hour contract, sometimes months without doing anything for them.

Living with my parents. I was getting to the point where I couldn't enjoy life because I felt guilty if I was having fun, I should be looking for a job! I was starting to think something about me was unhireable, is my accent putting everyone off? Do I have a bad personality? Is everyone just miles better than me? I started to think, its been 2 years since I started looking for a job, anyone I'm applying too now knows that, even if I'm great will they still think there must be something wrong with me that they haven't seen, otherwise why wouldn't I already have a job? These and much more thoughts like them. It was getting so hard to continue sticking to my principals, being perfectly honest in interviews, only applying for jobs which I love and know I would enjoy, following my passions.

I can however proudly say that over 2 years after starting my search, I have been offered pretty much my dream job (maybe the pay isn't dreamy, but that comes later in the career I think). I was offered the role 2 days after interviewing, because they were so keen to get me before anyone else did. Being told that, after all I have been through was surreal.

Point I am making, to anyone that reads this who is in the position I was, do not give up hope. Do not give in to the thoughts that there is something wrong with you and you should just lower your ambitions. You are great, and you are perfect for the role you are meant for, you just have to find it. It may take some time, but it will for most, people going straight into jobs while you are still looking are extremely lucky, but so are you, they won't develop the same resilience as you, the same appreciation for work or the same passion. Embrace the adversity, let it make you stronger, keep honing interview skills at every interview you get, do something simple - stewarding, bar work - that will give you competency examples like teamwork, decision making and communication.

Hope at least one person reads this who it helps, I know reading things like this, that simply confirmed there were others in my shoes struggling to get a "real" job after uni, really made me feel a bit better.


Very good advice OP. I made a similar one 2 months ago but got some negs because some graduates didn't like being told the truth about post graduate life.
Reply 7
Original post by M1011
That's actually pretty cool - well done. I was fully ready for you to come out with something crap lol


Haha, I can just imagine someone doing that.

Original post by Boreism
Very good advice OP. I made a similar one 2 months ago but got some negs because some graduates didn't like being told the truth about post graduate life.


It is hard to accept, you're brought up from an early age that it is school, uni, job, retire. Parents/Teachers from the older generation when a much smaller % of people went to university, aren't aware of that 5th stage, which is just as hard and uses a completely separate set of skills, which is getting from uni to job. It's not like going from school to uni. I know I expected it to be a lot easier, to be fair I didn't help myself spending 1 year looking for a very specific PhD.

Anyhow, it seems jobs are like buses. Two years, nothing, then I get offered both positions of my last 2 interviews which spanned one week. Can safely say I've nailed my interview technique down. Hate that I have to turn someone down who has had the faith in me to offer me a job though.

Quick Reply