The Student Room Group

On the Graduate Scrapheap - 23 with a 1:1

Scroll to see replies

I have to agree with livingstone here. OP needs to change mindset and improve self awareness. It is a hard and unforgiving job market these days and a lot of people find themselves on the outer, sometimes it is tempting to retreat into bigging yourself up as a defence from rejection but it makes you come over as having a chip on your shoulder.

Like livingstone says your CV is not great you have exaggerated it a bit. Employers use A levels like they use a degree as a way of signalling ability....which is why most graduate schemes want people with As and Bs. If you have BBC etc it may be possible to get the benefit of the doubt but CDE is a long way off the pace. Getting a 1st at Kingston tells them that you are credible academically, they will infer from that that you underachieved for whatever reason at A level so ended up going to a lower ranked university than you perhaps could have done, but at least you knuckled down there and did well. Same with the MSc that will also help. BUT you have to accept that in terms of finding your selling point, you are onto a loser, if you try and play the academic card. Claiming Cranfield is world renowned is one of the exaggerations, you're trying to justify it on here but the Cambridge, Imperial graduates wouldn't have to justify it. If it is good in its field then that will get you respect but I think from starting off with CDE at A level the best you can hope for is respect on the academic front.

With the other experience it sounds like you have shown you can hold down a job but you haven't moved on, you've just stood still for seven years. This is not uncommon and a lot of late 20s graduates get in this situation when they take a non-grad job out of uni as a 'temporary measure' and then get stuck there for several years. But you will have some competencies in this that you can make the most of.

There is not much else to say other than keep going and stop the mindset that your A levels will hold you back. One of my stepbrothers got into one of the most competitive graduate schemes in the country aged 27 after having done nothing but a sports science degree and worked in retail in a clothes shop for a few years, because he just had the gift of the gab to be able to blag all sorts of competencies out of his blatantly average CV. There will be a lot more students in this situation in a few years time but haven't realised it yet, including half of the bigmouths on TSR who reckon they're going to work in IB but won't make it.
Reply 61
Original post by MagicNMedicine
I have to agree with livingstone here. OP needs to change mindset and improve self awareness. It is a hard and unforgiving job market these days and a lot of people find themselves on the outer, sometimes it is tempting to retreat into bigging yourself up as a defence from rejection but it makes you come over as having a chip on your shoulder.

Like livingstone says your CV is not great you have exaggerated it a bit. Employers use A levels like they use a degree as a way of signalling ability....which is why most graduate schemes want people with As and Bs. If you have BBC etc it may be possible to get the benefit of the doubt but CDE is a long way off the pace. Getting a 1st at Kingston tells them that you are credible academically, they will infer from that that you underachieved for whatever reason at A level so ended up going to a lower ranked university than you perhaps could have done, but at least you knuckled down there and did well. Same with the MSc that will also help. BUT you have to accept that in terms of finding your selling point, you are onto a loser, if you try and play the academic card. Claiming Cranfield is world renowned is one of the exaggerations, you're trying to justify it on here but the Cambridge, Imperial graduates wouldn't have to justify it. If it is good in its field then that will get you respect but I think from starting off with CDE at A level the best you can hope for is respect on the academic front.

With the other experience it sounds like you have shown you can hold down a job but you haven't moved on, you've just stood still for seven years. This is not uncommon and a lot of late 20s graduates get in this situation when they take a non-grad job out of uni as a 'temporary measure' and then get stuck there for several years. But you will have some competencies in this that you can make the most of.

There is not much else to say other than keep going and stop the mindset that your A levels will hold you back. One of my stepbrothers got into one of the most competitive graduate schemes in the country aged 27 after having done nothing but a sports science degree and worked in retail in a clothes shop for a few years, because he just had the gift of the gab to be able to blag all sorts of competencies out of his blatantly average CV. There will be a lot more students in this situation in a few years time but haven't realised it yet, including half of the bigmouths on TSR who reckon they're going to work in IB but won't make it.



Excellent appraisal magicnmedicine. I havent claimed Cranfield is world renowned, just took that from the web and I certainly haven't written that in any applications. You are correct about underachieving at A-Level and I guess the reason Im doing a Masters is to somehow counteract that.

In terms of my job however, It has always only been a job whilst studying and has helped fund my education so I wouldnt say that I have stood still, it has always been combined with full time education.
And this is why everyone is ****ed in this country. When real graduates can't get a job then the country is in economic hell and unless some radical changes are made, it will only get far worse. Honestly, to anyone who can, leave this **** hole before you get dragged down with everyone else.
Original post by Jimbo1234
And this is why everyone is ****ed in this country. When real graduates can't get a job then the country is in economic hell and unless some radical changes are made, it will only get far worse. Honestly, to anyone who can, leave this **** hole before you get dragged down with everyone else.


And go where?

Unemployment in the UK is 8%, in the Euro area it is 9.9% with some parts of it pushing 20%.

Generally working abroad is not a viable option for most graduates, if you don't have significant work experience then you will not get a work permit. There's a possibility with engineering however that you may be able to get a company to sponsor you on a temporary visa, but that would entail getting on one of the super-competitive grad schemes. I knew people in Leeds who did MSc Exploration Geophysics or Engineering Geology and went straight off into jobs abroad.
Reply 64
Bloody hell Engineers are in short supply and you haven't found a job even with a 1:1?
Reply 65
Applying online is time-consuming and often pointless. It takes months to get a reply, if any. I would forget about that.

I would recommend joining a recruitment agency. There are plenty of good ones about, especially if you are based in South-East. You could find yourself in a good/office job within a week, which I did myself.

If you are serious about working in finance, I would definitely consider joining recruitment agency as they have very close ties with the City.

Have you considered applying for internships? For example, there is no point applying for accountancy jobs if you haven't even been on a summer scheme. Basically you want to demonstrate to a potential recruiter, whoever they may be, that someone took an interest in you and took you on for 2 weeks to 3 months. Great for building up the ol' C.V.

Unfortunately, I could probably understand why no one is taking an interest in you. Your work experience is very much a mixed-bag. Though firms will commend that you worked whilst you studied, your work experience is not extensive. Also, I would recommend that now is the time to focus on a sector and building it from there. Using the scatter-gun approach and Applying to engineering and non-engineering sectors doesn't exactly show any commitment to a particular sector and recruiters sense this instantly...
Reply 66
Original post by PALLO
Applying online is time-consuming and often pointless. It takes months to get a reply, if any. I would forget about that.

I would recommend joining a recruitment agency. There are plenty of good ones about, especially if you are based in South-East. You could find yourself in a good/office job within a week, which I did myself.

If you are serious about working in finance, I would definitely consider joining recruitment agency as they have very close ties with the City.

Have you considered applying for internships? For example, there is no point applying for accountancy jobs if you haven't even been on a summer scheme. Basically you want to demonstrate to a potential recruiter, whoever they may be, that someone took an interest in you and took you on for 2 weeks to 3 months. Great for building up the ol' C.V.

Unfortunately, I could probably understand why no one is taking an interest in you. Your work experience is very much a mixed-bag. Though firms will commend that you worked whilst you studied, your work experience is not extensive. Also, I would recommend that now is the time to focus on a sector and building it from there. Using the scatter-gun approach and Applying to engineering and non-engineering sectors doesn't exactly show any commitment to a particular sector and recruiters sense this instantly...




I am not necessarily looking at finance jobs as there seems to be an issue around academic grades.

Im not sure what work experience a full time student would have exactly, most of the people I know in education have never worked apart from the odd summer job. I was always under the impression that having had 7 years work experience by the age of 23 would show a level of commitment and time management that potential employers would be impressed with?

Unfortunately I do not live in the SE and internships are simply not viable unless they are paid.
Reply 67
....if you have a 1st be a barrister...they actually dont ask for A levels on the initial reuirements :s-smilie:
Reply 68
When it comes to work experience, quality over quantity certainly helps. You need something with a 'wow' factor to make you stand out. Re: Recruitment agents can offer this.

As for not being based in the SE, as long as you're based near a city there is plenty of work to be found.

However, it doesn't really help not knowing what you want to do. Joining a recruitment agency may at least offer you plenty of different opportunities to prove yourself and finding something you like.

To echo what has already been said on here, it could just be a case of applying to entry-level jobs and demonstrating your ability through work. There are plenty of graduates from top universities with the top degree on the scrap heap, it's not an unusual situation where there is a major over supply of graduates and limited jobs/opportunities.

NB Internships are mostly paid.
You say you don't want to work in engineering but engineering will care the least about your A-level grades and institution of your first degree. It's probably your best shot at a graduate level job.
Reply 70
my bum.... my bum
Original post by 2ndClass
Bloody hell Engineers are in short supply and you haven't found a job even with a 1:1?


I wonder whether there really is this shortage of engineers. I have a few mates who did Civil Engineering, they graduated 2007-2008, with 2:1s, they never got jobs in engineering. I don't know the ins and outs of their applications but they always told me there was very little hiring going on, and what hiring there was was competitive to the extreme. I think the shortage in engineering is a shortage of demand for work rather than a shortage of demand for engineers, although it may vary from sector to sector.
Reply 72
Original post by MagicNMedicine
I wonder whether there really is this shortage of engineers. I have a few mates who did Civil Engineering, they graduated 2007-2008, with 2:1s, they never got jobs in engineering. I don't know the ins and outs of their applications but they always told me there was very little hiring going on, and what hiring there was was competitive to the extreme. I think the shortage in engineering is a shortage of demand for work rather than a shortage of demand for engineers, although it may vary from sector to sector.


I've been reading alot of news bites essentially saying the UK is in serious shortage of Engineers and it's holding back the economy or something like that

http://www.workpermit.com/news/2011-02-16/uk/uk-experiencing-shortage-of-engineers.htm
http://www.assessmentcentrecoach.co.uk/index.php/2010/10/31/engineering-skills-shortage-is-holding-back-the-uk/
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/04/14/222942/aerospace-faces-a-looming-shortage-of-engineers.html

But Engineers themselves seem to agree with you, just reading the comments on this article here
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/opinion/comment/skills-shortage?-what-skills-shortage?/1001144.article

who knows :s-smilie:
Reply 73


I think it is more a shortage of experienced and qualified engineers. The problem is that companies are reluctant to take a risk and employ someone without those skills.
Original post by MagicNMedicine
And go where?

Unemployment in the UK is 8%, in the Euro area it is 9.9% with some parts of it pushing 20%.

Generally working abroad is not a viable option for most graduates, if you don't have significant work experience then you will not get a work permit. There's a possibility with engineering however that you may be able to get a company to sponsor you on a temporary visa, but that would entail getting on one of the super-competitive grad schemes. I knew people in Leeds who did MSc Exploration Geophysics or Engineering Geology and went straight off into jobs abroad.


Go check your figures.
Unemployment for students is 20% +, so pretty much anywhere is better.
Reply 75
Original post by lionboy
....if you have a 1st be a barrister...they actually dont ask for A levels on the initial reuirements :s-smilie:


Yeah, a first from Kingston and CDE A levels makes the op an ideal candidate for the bar. That and his drive to be a lawyer will see him into a top-rated pupillage.
Reply 76
Original post by Jimbo1234
Go check your figures.
Unemployment for students is 20% +, so pretty much anywhere is better.


You base this on the blithe assumption that the places with higher overall unemployment have lower unemployment among students.
Original post by jjarvis
You base this on the blithe assumption that the places with higher overall unemployment have lower unemployment among students.


Got any figures to back that up or are you the one making blind assumptions? :rolleyes:
Reply 78
Original post by Clip
The graduate market would really have to be dire for me to consider going somewhere with an incipient Civil War.


It'd be a great thing to witness.

(if you don't die)
Original post by MagicNMedicine
I wonder whether there really is this shortage of engineers. I have a few mates who did Civil Engineering, they graduated 2007-2008, with 2:1s, they never got jobs in engineering. I don't know the ins and outs of their applications but they always told me there was very little hiring going on, and what hiring there was was competitive to the extreme. I think the shortage in engineering is a shortage of demand for work rather than a shortage of demand for engineers, although it may vary from sector to sector.


There is a shortage of engineers. What many don't understand though is that a graduate with an engineering degree is not an engineer - he/she is merely a graduate, and the shortage is in engineers, not graduates (and lets face it, graduates of other numerical and scientific degrees could easily be trained to be engineers, too, if needed). It is easier to poach an experienced engineer from someone else than it is to train up a new graduate.

There is soon to be a massive demand for work in the North Sea, and many of the companies who will be carrying out this work are saying that they cannot get engineers for love nor money. Although it does vary from sector to sector and I do not think that the construction sector is doing too good at the moment.

About applications, I was always told to network and be in the right place at the right time, and it seems to have worked in finding an internship. Online applications often go into a database that no-one reads. The HR department will usually have enough CVs to hand from students who have written to them and it is these candidates who will be short-listed for interview (if there is one). I talk to engineering students from other universities and their careers advice doesn't seem to put as much emphasis on networking, cold calling and being persistent. A lot are trying their hand at online applications (that are probably not even being read), which are always a bit of a lottery, and I do feel sorry for them.

Quick Reply

Latest