The Student Room Group

why cant i get a job?

Ive been applying since i left school!! Ive been to college got A levels and have done the first year at university but still no part time/weekend job. I had one that my friend got me but got sacked (i did nothing wrong and the boss made loads of ppl redundant afterwards so im not gonna lose confidence over it).
Ive had several interviews and done rubbish in them im just no good at speaking under pressure i need to think a lot before speaking and that goes for everything!
My brother however whos 2 years younger failed GCSE'S has been dossing since he left school and has dropped out of college 3 times and has got a good job at his first interview! For years hes not done a tap and I have qualifications therefore not been dossing and still cant get a job :confused:
Whats wrong?

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Reply 1
Riddy
Ive been applying since i left school!! Ive been to college got A levels and have done the first year at university but still no part time/weekend job. I had one that my friend got me but got sacked (i did nothing wrong and the boss made loads of ppl redundant afterwards so im not gonna lose confidence over it).
Ive had several interviews and done rubbish in them im just no good at speaking under pressure i need to think a lot before speaking and that goes for everything!
My brother however whos 2 years younger failed GCSE'S has been dossing since he left school and has dropped out of college 3 times and has got a good job at his first interview! For years hes not done a tap and I have qualifications therefore not been dossing and still cant get a job :confused:
Whats wrong?


i'd like to echo these views, not meaning to big myself up but basically got a good rack of GCSEs and ALevels... go to a pretty decent uni doing a respectable course, yet some people have nerve (like the guy at TKmax) to jus say go away we dont need anyone else....

the fact is, i havent worked yet, but im willing to put in a good amount of time and effort into this job and have been working at probably a mch higher level than the standard cashier, yet they seem to prefer people who are a little less able than me... i know this is gonna sound sooooo arrogant, but its cos i know i can do a job well, jus not being the chance to show it :mad:
Reply 2
KerChing
i'd like to echo these views, not meaning to big myself up but basically got a good rack of GCSEs and ALevels... go to a pretty decent uni doing a respectable course, yet some people have nerve (like the guy at TKmax) to jus say go away we dont need anyone else....

the fact is, i havent worked yet, but im willing to put in a good amount of time and effort into this job and have been working at probably a mch higher level than the standard cashier, yet they seem to prefer people who are a little less able than me... i know this is gonna sound sooooo arrogant, but its cos i know i can do a job well, jus not being the chance to show it :mad:


Thats not arrogant just probably true, though I dont really go to a respectable uni (Bolton :redface: ) and dont have the best grades but at least ive done something over the past 3 years unlike my brother!!
experience/confidence is more important than qualifications I would say in the sort of general part time jobs your applying for as a student. If you fall to pieces in an interview then it doesn't matter if you have 10 degrees, their not going to employ you. For most of the jobs your applying for anyway, qualifications probably aren't even necessary and even though they may look impressive, I don't think they will be a deciding factor when considering to employ you as their not even needed! someone made an interesting point on here once when they said they generally won't employ you if your well qualified as you may end up taking their job (promotion e.t.c.) as for experience, if you get experience via voluntary work, that can usually put your foot in the door somewhere; it worked for me.
Reply 4
KerChing
i'd like to echo these views, not meaning to big myself up but basically got a good rack of GCSEs and ALevels... go to a pretty decent uni doing a respectable course, yet some people have nerve (like the guy at TKmax) to jus say go away we dont need anyone else....

the fact is, i havent worked yet, but im willing to put in a good amount of time and effort into this job and have been working at probably a mch higher level than the standard cashier, yet they seem to prefer people who are a little less able than me... i know this is gonna sound sooooo arrogant, but its cos i know i can do a job well, jus not being the chance to show it :mad:


i'm in the same situation as you! rang some arborist that were advertising for climbers, and i though - oh, free climbing, and the the guy said "sorry mate, but you dont knwo how to use a chain store" :mad: I as like thinking, nowhere did it request that! and how hard could usign a chainsaw be!?! I'm goign to whip thir feckin asses after i get my degree - that'll show those ass wipes that take the mick out of students like are are a piece of **** or something!
Reply 5
Phil23
i'm in the same situation as you! rang some arborist that were advertising for climbers, and i though - oh, free climbing, and the the guy said "sorry mate, but you dont knwo how to use a chain store" :mad: I as like thinking, nowhere did it request that! and how hard could usign a chainsaw be!?! I'm goign to whip thir feckin asses after i get my degree - that'll show those ass wipes that take the mick out of students like are are a piece of **** or something!


don't think you can take a degree in chainsawing
MrsJones
don't think you can take a degree in chainsawing



lol :smile:
Reply 7
This thread is rather disappointing, people seem to think they are better than everybody else just because you have a degree or A levels. You're not.

England is not yours and it does not owe you a living. You have to earn a living, you do this by getting jobs and not being cocky with the "I have A levels you don't how dare you refuse me a job" attitude.

For a lot of part time work employers rightly don't care about qualifications, they are much more interested in your personality and work ethic.
Reply 8
What feedback did you get from your interviews.

I'm assuming that with all your qualifications, you had the common sense to ask for feedback to see where employers thought you're going wrong...
Reply 9
Riddy
Ive been applying since i left school!! Ive been to college got A levels and have done the first year at university but still no part time/weekend job. I had one that my friend got me but got sacked (i did nothing wrong and the boss made loads of ppl redundant afterwards so im not gonna lose confidence over it).
Ive had several interviews and done rubbish in them im just no good at speaking under pressure i need to think a lot before speaking and that goes for everything!
My brother however whos 2 years younger failed GCSE'S has been dossing since he left school and has dropped out of college 3 times and has got a good job at his first interview! For years hes not done a tap and I have qualifications therefore not been dossing and still cant get a job :confused:
Whats wrong?


This should be the time of year where part time jobs are in reasonable flow... Have you checked out the more student populated areas for them as usually they will suddenly have jobs advertised everynow now as the students have gone home over summer... It's worth checking out. And to reiterate what someone says in this thread, I would argue experience over qualifications unless you are going for a graduate specific job. And yes, you're gonna have to brush up on your interview skills. Most employers will assume that if you cannot cope with the pressure of an interview then there is no way you can cope with the pressures of a real live job when you're most likely dealing with other people. Impressions are everything, after all.

But, don't give up!

Hope that helps. :smile:
Reply 10
Fluffy
What feedback did you get from your interviews.

I'm assuming that with all your qualifications, you had the common sense to ask for feedback to see where employers thought you're going wrong...


My qualifications arn't that good I was just saying that I cant believe my brothers got a job straight away after dossing for years and ive been applying for years. I asked for feedback twice and basically they told me there was high competition.
Reply 11
AT82



For a lot of part time work employers rightly don't care about qualifications, they are much more interested in your personality and work ethic.


i think ur missing the point, the fact that i said i got a few alevels and gcses doesnt mean that i should automatically get a job...

the fact is, in my opinion, i could probably use those skills that learnt during that time (multitasking e.t.c.) to better use in comparison to other cashiers...

if they are interested in personality and work ethic, do they give me a chance to show it????, no they dont seem to want to know anyway... and to the other poster who said "did u ask for feedback?"... yeah ur right i would have but when u go up to customer services and get rejected straight out, you dont exactly say "But whyyy?!???... i want feedback on why u just rejected me" lol
Reply 12
KerChing
i think ur missing the point, the fact that i said i got a few alevels and gcses doesnt mean that i should automatically get a job...

the fact is, in my opinion, i could probably use those skills that learnt during that time (multitasking e.t.c.) to better use in comparison to other cashiers...

if they are interested in personality and work ethic, do they give me a chance to show it????, no they dont seem to want to know anyway... and to the other poster who said "did u ask for feedback?"... yeah ur right i would have but when u go up to customer services and get rejected straight out, you dont exactly say "But whyyy?!???... i want feedback on why u just rejected me" lol


Well now you can, just ask (politely of course), can you just tell me where I went wrong on the interview, was there any particular reason, they won't think you're strange or anything, I would assume most potential employers would be happy to tell you why they didn't employ you.
I used to work as a restaurant manager and I can tell you where you are going wrong. You say that you recieved good marks in school. Great, that shows me that you can study when you want to, achieved something between the ages of 16 and 18 and got into a university. So, you are reasonably intelligent. Now, you have zilch experience in the real world. No job experience that is CV worthy, so you probably wouldn't tell me about it. No job references, nothing. So how do I know that you can cope with working in my bar, 4 nights a week, especially on a Friday night which is the busiest night of the week. How do I know you won't fold and walk out under pressure? I don't. So I interview a few more people and I have someone else with rubbish grades and school but he pulled it out of the bag and worked for a year after school and have a glowing reference. He has real world experience, I know he can handle a job, will stick with it under pressure, and obviously made an impression upon his boss. Who would you choose? Who is economically sound for the business? Someone I have to spend 2 weeks training for the job and may have to replace in 3 months, or someone I don't really have to train who may stick around for a year?
If you want to know where you are going wrong, then write them a polite letter, explaining that you are new to working and would like to improve upon your interview skills and the way you convey yourself. Ask if they could explain where you went wrong and ask for feedback. Don't be surprised if you recieve no reply, but it is still worth trying. It also shows that you are interested in the job and what happened. Something like that may cause them to hold you application until the next time they recruit.
Do you have any work experience at all? If you are struggling to get your first job, it may be a good idea to do some unpaid work experience to build up your CV.
I can't get a job and I have years of work experience (mainly in shops and barwork), I can get excellent references, I have pretty good grades for GCSEs and A levels. My interview technique has improved dramatically since I first started applying for jobs but I keep getting knocked back. I know a fella who runs a comany who told me that I could have a job in his office, but I turned him down because I want to prove to myself that I can get a job for myself. I've been applying for different jobs since May and still no luck (well, one offer, but I had to turn it down because they were only offering me 18 hours per week, at £4.20 an hour, which isn't enough money for me to live on. The hours they gave me clashed with my hours that I'm working now, which I wasn't able to change, so it's not like a can run two or three jobs together (I'm working two at the moment).)

:confused:Where am I going wrong? :confused:
Reply 17
You said, when talking to people you feel under pressure?

Perhaps, this is because youre not a very social person?

Some people find that it helps when they talk to themselves in a mirror, so for instance you could stand in front of a mirror and explain why you would be good for the shelf stacking job (Just an example :smile: )

Remember, the few important rules that I can remember right now:

Don't fidget damnit
Don't keep looking around, keep looking at the interviewer, that doesn't mean to look into his/her eyes. Look around his/her eyes instead or look over the top of their head :smile:
Speak confidently and in a clear voice.

I learned these skills, when I volunteered to be a mentor in Secondry school.

All of these skills can be learned infront of the mirror.

Good luck! :biggrin:
Apparently public speaking helps with confidence.
you can do public speaking courses at some night college courses, I read about one in the local paper the other day