Post-graduation blues

Hello guys,

I graduated this summer and I have not found a graduate job yet. I have been feeling down more or less since January when reality started to hit me. It has been so tough to adjust since then. I looked online for help and to see how other graduates are coping but I did not find much. I think it is very important for us to share our experiences of how we are dealing with this new life so we can help each other get through it. I think it will be very useful for final year students as well so they can be mentally ready for whats ahead. *It will be amazing to hear how recent graduates are dealing with their new life, wether they got a job or not yet.

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A lot of grad schemes open Sept/Oct for the next year's intake. That's where I'm focusing my energy (I'm doing an internship atm so not 'out of work'. Out of interest, what type of roles are you guys applying to? I'm finding it difficult to find 'graduate roles' that aren't grad schemes, and entry level roles can be a bit contradictory because I'm over-qualified (as I have a degree and internships) and under-qualified (a lot of it is admin then you work your way up, but I've never had an admin type role) at the same time.

I do know a lot of people who graduated without a grad role and applied to schemes for the next year and ended up just fine - at some really big companies actually. And then others who jumped into grad schemes straight away and ended up not enjoying it but feel a bit stuck now for the sake of getting any job as soon as they graduated.

Yeah, I'm in the process of applying for grad schemes in consulting and finance. I did a law degree and have only just started considering alternatives. I'm also applying for law stuff, but the recruitment cycle for that is different.

Aside from graduate schemes, I'm finding it pretty hard, unless you want to do something like recruitment consultancy. Most roles seem to expect lots of experience and the process often seems like a CV dump, at least in London. I've tried to use my university careers portal, but without a quantitative degree, options seems limited.

I'm also considering a volunteering trip in February, so really not sure what kind of role I could do till then. I'm hoping to have something sorted for next September, before leaving. I also don't think it's worth getting into a role that I would be looking to quit in a few months. If I'm having to attend assessment centres/interviews, I feel like retail might offer the flexibility. However, I feel like recruiters may wonder why I couldn't get anything better considering my experience.

It's good that you're working! I wanted a break after my internship in September, but definitely underestimated how easily I would find something.

Hello guys,

I graduated this summer and I have not found a graduate job yet. I have been feeling down more or less since January when reality started to hit me. It has been so tough to adjust since then. I looked online for help and to see how other graduates are coping but I did not find much. I think it is very important for us to share our experiences of how we are dealing with this new life so we can help each other get through it. I think it will be very useful for final year students as well so they can be mentally ready for whats ahead. *It will be amazing to hear how recent graduates are dealing with their new life, wether they got a job or not yet.

*

I can emphasise with you, since i'm in a similar position. I think it's fairly common, if you're aiming for a competitive career and just miss out whilst at university. I know loads of people who graduated with nothing solid lined up, many did a masters to buy themselves some time. It's a paradox, but I feel like my life is on hold and passing me by at the same time. I had such high expectations of myself at university and didn't really envisage the possibility of graduating with nothing lined up.

I went to a top university and completed 5 internships in various sectors (at some very big companies) one of which finished at the beginning of September. I did lots of extra curriculars, such as running societies, editing the student paper, played sport at national level. I'm already feeling despondent, and I've been out of work for about 5 weeks. As a recent graduate, I've not had much joy with applying through resources like indeed/monster etc.

I'm in the process of applying for graduate schemes/thinking of volunteering overseas, so not sure if I should really be looking for a full time office role atm. However, I can't spend my days at home applying for graduates schemes, it's not healthy!. As a recent graduate, graduate level schemes seem to be the best route, if you don't have years of experience working in offices. I'm at the point where retail may be a temporary measure, but I've heard mixed messages about what this can do for your CV.