How long have you been a graduate?

Hi everyone,

New to the forum and recent graduate. I was wondering if there any graduates out there who are still looking for a job. How long has it been since you graduated and what has been difficult for you to find your ideal job?

Graduated in 2014, had 3 jobs since then and still in employment now and it will stay like that.

I know a few 2013 graduates who are working part time in a warehouse.

Wow, could they not find anything permament? Well Im glad you're doing well.

Been a graduate for a year now, had a job for 6 months but then got made redundant so it's back to the hunt. I've had two interviews recently, one at a place I'd love to work at and one that I think would be interesting and surprise me, so I'm hoping that I'll be lucky enough to be considered for either position. I know a lot of people who are going to graduate soon who know already that its gonna be tough so they're just trying to get part-time employment and even that is a task these days. I'm not sure if the "overqualified" aspect is something that employers really reject graduates for for entry level jobs but I'd be interested to see the employers view on things.

Well I applied for a Sales Advisor role at my local River Island a few weeks back (as I was doing an office temp job).
Although they didn't reject me they instead decided to keep my details in the system. So that must be a good thing then?
To be honest I do not want to go back to retail but I applied just as a test to get a response as a graduate.

I always just assumed that they said that just to make the rejection letter sound a little bit nicer haha. Never heard back from any place that "kept my details on record". But you never know. Yeah, I don't want to go back to retail but anything is better than nothing, even if you hate your co-workers or think it's not for you. Money is money at the end of the day, sadly! :P

Never dismiss 'menial jobs' as not being worth it. Having a CV with six months plus work in a call centre/warehouse/nursing home shows an employer that you can:

Get out of bed in the morning and get somewhere on time
Take instructions from a manager
Form relationships with co-workers
Get your head down and just get on with something even if you don't necessarily love it
Provide a proper reference from someone who probably isn't a friend of your mum

These are all very big selling points amongst lots of CVs talking about 'a gap year in Borra Borra' and 'some freelance work in the music/fashion/media industry'.

Graduated in 2014. Worked in Boots for a year. I tried applying for medicine, however, that plan did not work out. So since July 2015, i've been looking for a graduate job. I took part in a 3 week course from mid January - Feb and got a certificate out of it. Since then i've had 10 interview - they didn't go so well. It's not as easy as it looks. I know I am not entitled to anything, but it's getting seriously frustrating. I can't even get an internship like wtf. Even been rejected by a few retail jobs.

Graduated in 2014. Worked in Boots for a year. I tried applying for medicine, however, that plan did not work out. So since July 2015, i've been looking for a graduate job. I took part in a 3 week course from mid January - Feb and got a certificate out of it. Since then i've had 10 interview - they didn't go so well. It's not as easy as it looks. I know I am not entitled to anything, but it's getting seriously frustrating. I can't even get an internship like wtf. Even been rejected by a few retail jobs.

Well they are still finding it extremely hard to find a job afterwards. Can't even find a job abroad because lack of experience.

I worked in retail, hospitality and call centre and never had trouble finding a job?

I'm not saying a warehouse job doesn't get you a job but I guess it depends what job you're after. If you're after an office admin job you would obviously need computer skills and relevant experience of working with computers, but how does warehouse work get you to develop those skills?

But things would be different if you work at cash desk in a warehouse shop/shop floor because you get the chance to interact with people develop verbal communication skills and work with a computerised till.

I mean with warehouse work you don't get to talk to people (but probably with your colleagues obviously), you're in the 'back stage' staff. Plus its really tough work when you're unable to lift some of the things they sell.

I would suggest you brush up on your interview technique. Like everything else it is a skill. You must be doing something right if you're getting so many interviews, so that's a real positive, most people struggle to get to the interview stage.

Approach it like a task/project. Practice it, plan how you are going to succeed at it and ultimately just try to be personable and make them want to put you in their company.