How can people break the unemployed/inexperienced cycle

I thought masters were supposed to help you be more employable

Thank you, I was so close in my last interview so fingers crossed next time I'll get one step further.

Afraid they don't- if you can't write a good application and/or perform well at interview then having a masters won't help you. They also don't make up for lack of experience if thats an issue too.

Personality is also a bonus.

Oh that too. And I'm volunteering atm and registered with one temp agency- they put me forward for a role which I didn't get, the others I've uploaded me CV too haven't got back to me- I've been concentrating on writing more cover letters/improving them rather than chasing up agencies atm.

I would register with more than one agency if I was you. It gives you more choice and opportunities. I think its probably why I'm getting these temp jobs when I finish one after another. One of the agencies are going to call me about a vacancy they desperately need to fill and the good thing is I don't need to be interviewed for it!

Have you also heard of LinkedIn?

Was it for a permanent or temp role?

Was unemployed for 4 months upon leaving uni (didnt graduate due to poor health) managed to land a retail job which I was thrilled to do as it meant getting off the doll..did that for a few years whilst doing part-time college / online study then landed a decent IT job.
I will tell you this now the job centre do little to help you, you really have to put the effort in and do 99% of the leg work.. they dont encourage people to find training courses or anything. I would seriously cry if I ever faced unemployment again the thought alone scares the crap out of me.
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The job centre are rubbish, bar checking your actually seeking work, they are not interested in how/what your doing for it.

Though I can't complain, there's plenty of places in my town that offer you help into work, the dole just pays my bills which is a life saver.

I find the most unhelpful people are my parents, they're just simply like "if you wanted a job you would of found one already."
Yes with your 30 years of experience and contacts, of course your going to say that.

Yeah the job centre could really do with improving their ways. I think all advisors believe you must be lazy if you are signing on, I know this isn't the case, I'm pretty much willing to scrub toilets tbh.. I will tell you this now retail work is good to put on your cv as you gain customer service skills which is pretty much relevant to all jobs.

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I've already got 7 years experience in customer service. This is the longest time I've been unemployed since 17 (Almost 23 now!!)

I am going to start applying for that type of work again if I don't hear anything positive from my applications/interviews by next week. I think it's good to do something just to keep in that work routine. I just don't want anything to full time incase I need to go for interviews, bar work is pretty good as it's all in the evenings mainly so you can go in the day!


The job centre is poor for that. Over the summer I was on it for 3 weeks. By week 2 I had an interview, travelled up for the interview about 200 miles so told them I wouldn't make my appointment. Got the job, but they sanctioned me! So I never got any money anyway! 😂😂
Ridiculous !

They also don't let you drink/eat/ use the toilet. I remember once I really needed a wee, and they said well if you go to the pub to do it and miss your appointment (as you can't use theirs) then I'd get sanctioned!

What kind of work are you looking for? And where are you based?

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I'm based in the West Midlands at the moment, as that's were I'm from. But I'm open to relocating and my folks will lend me money just to get me out of the house to do so!

I was working previously in content writing and marketing for a digital marketing agency. Got some work experience in newspapers too and in a classroom as a TA. I wanted to go back into TA work but I've also been applying for marketing roles/bid writing roles to keep my options more open.

I'm planning to apply for part time roles though soon, I've worked as a barista, waitress, bar maid and McDonald's (lol) whilst at uni and college. And there's always jobs in that!!!

Cant get a job without experience, cant get experience without a job,

I have been told that being unemployed for as little as a month can reduce your chances of employment,

Some people say 'any' experience is relevent and people should do anything they can to keep their CV going, but i very much disagree, and i may be very wrong about this, but i doubt that 3 months working as a voluntary rubbish collector puts you in a better position to get a 20k job at a top 100 company,

That's because people are equating 'experience' with 'experience of working in a professional job with the same job title' which patently isn't the case. Employers know that for entry level jobs, applicants will not have direct, professional experience. What they are looking for is people who can make the best case for transferable, relevant experience. So applicants need to learn to read job adverts very carefully, look at the language used, and then work out how they can use that language in their applications, and demonstrate the necessary skills, even if taken from very different circumstances. It's about evidence of transferable skills and experience. if it wasn't, then nobody would ever get that first job!



Not true, but nevertheless, there is rarely any need to look unemployed for any great period of time. When you see unemployment on the horizon, sign up for an evening class - one that can take a realistic amount of additional study, and find a voluntary role that is more than one morning a week. Throw yourself into both, make sure you are gaining workplace skills, and put that in your CV.



Why are you disagreeing, you clearly know zip about employment - or are you just in a fixed, contrary mindset? You almost certainly aren't in a position to get a 20k job in a top 100 company anyway, so get realistic. If the top 100 companies recruit 50 new graduates a year, then there are only 5,000 places a year - probably a vast over-estimate. There will be that many people that have achieved work experience, internships etc and have much more relevant experience (even if transferred from different areas) than many. So make sure your aim is realistic.

However, volunteer in a sector or a role where you can get relevant experience - look at your own personal profile and make the experience fit. If you've sailed through life in a nice comfortable home-counties, private school, Russell Group 2.1 lifestyle with a degree in engineering, then working as a bin man for 4 months before applying for a role in a construction company, waste management, anything where the ground level work is hard and physical can be spun into a great boost to a CV.

What you are not going to get is employers queueing up to give £20k jobs to grey, middle of the road, generic applications that don't seem to have made any effort to understand what the specific job is and compete to get it.

I mostly agree but tbh to get a job without experience is all about luck tbh. Its not hard to get lucky.

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I'm also based in the West Midlands, but apparently we have the highest unemployment rate in the region.

Ever since graduating all I've had are temp jobs working in offices but thats the problem they're only temporary...but can't complain really because its experience essentially.

And the psychology for managers on how they recruit their staff which my dad doesn't understand, you're a graduate but you want to scrub toilets nah we need someone who has 'experience' in cleaning?!

My last job ironically was working on behalf of the job centre. At first I really liked it but gradually well you know the story...because most jobseekers' lack of working attitudes are unsurprisingly unbelievable. There was one person who has claimed benefits for over 50 years!

This is why I'm also applying everywhere as the midlands does not have much to offer anymore! And scenery wise, you can also understand. I'm from Coventry, which means every job is in Birmingham anyway as most big companies like it for transport links/airport. So still have to commute/move out.

One of my family members has been on the dole for about 20 years. I don't know how you can do it. And that attitude of I'm entitled really gets on my nerves.

The best I've seen is an entry level job for admin. Clicked on it, thinking yeah let's keep my options open, you can train in stuff like that and I worked with clients calls/computers/emails in my old job anyway. What did they want? 2 years experience for an entry job

Honestly, I don't know how graduates with no work experience (not even a part-time job) do it) one of my friends left uni not even having a Saturday job as a teenager. He's been doing nothing for 9 months!

Well I've been very lucky in that situation. My first 'proper' full time job since graduating after 4 months was working in a call centre for an energy company 10 minutes from where I live. I had no previous experience in office administration whatsoever and didn't even need to go for an interview, as it was a temp job through a (well respected?) recruitment agency! (Well most recruitment agencies would require interview for temp job though).
It was the best job I had so far; management was great always praising me for doing a good job and have met so many extremely friendly people and since then I never had trouble finding jobs.
But it is extremely hard to get a job nowadays, this is why registering with an agency cannot always guarantee a first job, even for graduates.