On the Graduate Scrapheap - 23 with a 1:1

Got any figures to back that up or are you the one making blind assumptions?

Look it is tough - but i would say where you are failing down is that on paper you are not as good as the other applicants - tough to accept but there it is.

The only way to get ahead of them at this stage with your predicament is to intern or get relevan experience to the role, seriously - you'll have to tough it out, I'd pick one particular grad job and target companies for experience to get on the CV.

7 years at PC world makes you sound like a 'muppet'.

Taking the scattergun approach to grad applications only works if you tick all the boxes - top 20 uni, 3 A's, captian of sports teams or size 8 with symetrical features and big tits.

how did you get into a world renowned uni with those grades?

Blithe, not blind. And yes, I can provide figures.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/28/new-europe-spain-graduates-emigrate

The rate among graduates in Spain is similar to the rate in the UK. The rate among young people more generally exceeds 40%.

Greece is on about 40%.

Ireland's overall unemployment rate is about 14%, but among people 15-19 it's 37% and among people 20-24 is 26%. http://cso.ie/releasespublications/documents/labour_market/current/qnhs.pdf

Germany admittedly has a youth unemployment rate of about 8%, but upping sticks and getting work in Germany isn't a realistic option for most British youths--unless they happen to speak excellent German.

Places with higher unemployment tend to have *worse* unemployment profiles for the young. Germany is slightly different for demographic reasons.

Personally I can't think of anything that makes more sense than working for free for a firm of engineers for 6 months.

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.

I did a foundation degree first and then a topup year to a full honours degree. Yes i no they are appalling, but you cant change whats happened.

I'm on the scrap heap too with a 2:1.

Its not your fault the problem is too many graduates for too few jobs. They are spoilt for choice you can tell this just by the number of hoops you have to jump through these days just to get a CV read.

I've been invited to loads of interviews and assessment centres so have had the practise of being grilled yet I still can't get anything. I think my problem is social skills I'm just not the outgoing smooth talking CS genius they are looking for and never will be. Which is probably more worrying than bad A-levels.

Nothing to do but keep trying.

PS don't read the: "any point in living if you dont get a grad job? " thread .

Exactly my point.

Sad but true. Unless you are brilliant in bull****ting, manipulating and charming your way in. Modesty is apparently not an admirable trait anymore. Whereas self-promotion will get you everywhere. So good luck if you are not aggressive, intense and hostile and have morals, values and integrity!!!

In fairness (and I don't know if this applies to engineering specifically) for students at a lot of 'non target' universities, networking is very very difficult if you don't have a family contact on the inside, because companies tend to be hostile.

You get Economics/Politics students for instance who are trying to network their way in with think tanks, economic consultancies, political analysis consultancies etc. In those fields internships are a must so you can't avoid having to go for them. However I suspect there is a different approach given to a student who cold calls saying "I'm at Balliol College Oxford doing PPE...." than a student who says "I'm in my second year at the University of Leicester studying Economics and...." at which point the reaction is likely to be "sorry but we are already committed to students for this summer, goodbye". Neither does persistence pay off because that student will become "that bloody nuisance from Leicester who keeps ringing up and sending his CV".

As with everything it comes down to how the figures of supply and demand stack up. If there are 1000 vacancies in an industry and 4000 people trying to get them, then networking, showing yourself to be keen etc, will probably be met by people on the other side being receptive. On the other hand if there's 30 vacancies in an industry and
4000 people trying to get them, then those within are probably fed up to the back teeth of speculative approaches which will be a waste of time.

I do agree that the online application route is always a lottery and most of the time you need some sort of 'in', however I do think most of the time when people have got an internship in a competitive field, its because either a family contact or at least the university name, has made the recipient open minded. Persistence particularly becomes nuisance when the employer doesn't have many vacancies.

This makes it sound like you are fishing for external excuses as to why you haven't got a job, so that you don't have to focus on your own flaws. Yes, you need to be able to sell yourself, but you don't need to be "aggressive, intense and hostile". Saying that people who get jobs must be lacking in "morals, values and integrity" is just ridiculous. In fact, if employers sense any of these traits, you will certainly be rejected.

You need to be able to sell yourself and maybe exaggerate slightly without lying or boasting. There is a difference between being modest and being self-deprecating.

Well Kingston isnt world renowned. However Cranfield accept students based on there degree grade.

This makes it sound like you are fishing for external excuses as to why you haven't got a job, so that you don't have to focus on your own flaws. Yes, you need to be able to sell yourself, but you don't need to be "aggressive, intense and hostile". Saying that people who get jobs must be lacking in "morals, values and integrity" is just ridiculous. In fact, if employers sense any of these traits, you will certainly be rejected.

You need to be able to sell yourself and maybe exaggerate slightly without lying or boasting. There is a difference between being modest and being self-deprecating.

PC World? Wrong company tw*t

Anyway what job would you expect a full time student to have out of interest. Let me guess, you sponged of mummy and daddy??