Graduate depression... Advice much appreciated...
Hi,
I'm in a very difficult situation at the moment. I fear that I may be becoming seriously unemployable.
I graduated in July 2012 with a 2:1 degree in business management. I then took a gap year to South America to travel and mainly stayed with grandparents. I stayed there for 7 months, one of which was spent doing an internship at an insurance company. The rest of the time, I didn't do anything very productive... Apart from passively improving my Spanish, catching up with family and a little bit of travel.
I came back to the UK in March 2013 to start focusing on looking for a graduate job. I moved back in with my parents. Of course, I soon realised how difficult it can be... I even struggled finding a part-time job for a while, and was forced to go on job-seekers' allowance. After a while, I got a job as a barman at a very busy bar during weekends.
Basically, I've been at this job for almost a year now. It can be enjoyable - I've made a lot of friends, and it's improved my confidence somewhat. It's not a bad thing that you get girls coming onto you as well. But as you may be able to appreciate, it's not at all relevant to my degree and I've been there way too long... It's only distracts me and makes me forget about my real priorities.
I go through cycles of motivation. I apply to a few jobs, wait for responses, then deal with the next stage (if it's not an outright rejection). Then I fail at the next stage – sometimes it's the same thing over and over – failing psychometric tests, or at the telephone interview... I then proceed to procrastinate a lot and lose track of time. Days or weeks can pass with very little progress, very few hours spent on this. Other problems in my life (family health, relationships) can get in the way and demotivate me further... The mere process of applying to a job got extremely annoying. Spending hours researching a company which may not even reply. I don't seem to get better at the online tests, or more confident at interviews (if anything, I get less confident and more nervous).
I'm so worried about this enormous, two-year gap I have on my CV... I might artificially extend the time I spent travelling or something... My internship was only a month long. My current job adds almost nothing to my CV. I need to be doing something serious right now... My family and friends feel pity for me. What has become of my life? I used to overcome challenges, got my 2:1 degree, was on the right track, and now this is happening. It's seriously depressing...
What should I do now? I've pretty much ruled out doing a post-grad degree because I'll get indebted and and only postpone what's currently happening. Should I carry on applying and try to keep motivated? How should I justify my situation in the past 2 years?
I'm sorry about the essay. If you managed to read it all, please, any advice would be highly appreciated.
Thank you
I'm in a very difficult situation at the moment. I fear that I may be becoming seriously unemployable.
I graduated in July 2012 with a 2:1 degree in business management. I then took a gap year to South America to travel and mainly stayed with grandparents. I stayed there for 7 months, one of which was spent doing an internship at an insurance company. The rest of the time, I didn't do anything very productive... Apart from passively improving my Spanish, catching up with family and a little bit of travel.
I came back to the UK in March 2013 to start focusing on looking for a graduate job. I moved back in with my parents. Of course, I soon realised how difficult it can be... I even struggled finding a part-time job for a while, and was forced to go on job-seekers' allowance. After a while, I got a job as a barman at a very busy bar during weekends.
Basically, I've been at this job for almost a year now. It can be enjoyable - I've made a lot of friends, and it's improved my confidence somewhat. It's not a bad thing that you get girls coming onto you as well. But as you may be able to appreciate, it's not at all relevant to my degree and I've been there way too long... It's only distracts me and makes me forget about my real priorities.
I go through cycles of motivation. I apply to a few jobs, wait for responses, then deal with the next stage (if it's not an outright rejection). Then I fail at the next stage – sometimes it's the same thing over and over – failing psychometric tests, or at the telephone interview... I then proceed to procrastinate a lot and lose track of time. Days or weeks can pass with very little progress, very few hours spent on this. Other problems in my life (family health, relationships) can get in the way and demotivate me further... The mere process of applying to a job got extremely annoying. Spending hours researching a company which may not even reply. I don't seem to get better at the online tests, or more confident at interviews (if anything, I get less confident and more nervous).
I'm so worried about this enormous, two-year gap I have on my CV... I might artificially extend the time I spent travelling or something... My internship was only a month long. My current job adds almost nothing to my CV. I need to be doing something serious right now... My family and friends feel pity for me. What has become of my life? I used to overcome challenges, got my 2:1 degree, was on the right track, and now this is happening. It's seriously depressing...
What should I do now? I've pretty much ruled out doing a post-grad degree because I'll get indebted and and only postpone what's currently happening. Should I carry on applying and try to keep motivated? How should I justify my situation in the past 2 years?
I'm sorry about the essay. If you managed to read it all, please, any advice would be highly appreciated.
Thank you
You've just got to keep at it. If you give up then there is a 0% chance things will improve.
Have your CV checked over by somebody who knows what they're talking about to look for glaring errors. Write model answers for all of the common competency questions that come up in phone interviews. Try to give yourself direction and make sure it comes across in your applications and interviews.
Have your CV checked over by somebody who knows what they're talking about to look for glaring errors. Write model answers for all of the common competency questions that come up in phone interviews. Try to give yourself direction and make sure it comes across in your applications and interviews.
Original post by GG8
Hi,
I'm in a very difficult situation at the moment. I fear that I may be becoming seriously unemployable.
I graduated in July 2012 with a 2:1 degree in business management. I then took a gap year to South America to travel and mainly stayed with grandparents. I stayed there for 7 months, one of which was spent doing an internship at an insurance company. The rest of the time, I didn't do anything very productive... Apart from passively improving my Spanish, catching up with family and a little bit of travel.
I came back to the UK in March 2013 to start focusing on looking for a graduate job. I moved back in with my parents. Of course, I soon realised how difficult it can be... I even struggled finding a part-time job for a while, and was forced to go on job-seekers' allowance. After a while, I got a job as a barman at a very busy bar during weekends.
Basically, I've been at this job for almost a year now. It can be enjoyable - I've made a lot of friends, and it's improved my confidence somewhat. It's not a bad thing that you get girls coming onto you as well. But as you may be able to appreciate, it's not at all relevant to my degree and I've been there way too long... It's only distracts me and makes me forget about my real priorities.
I go through cycles of motivation. I apply to a few jobs, wait for responses, then deal with the next stage (if it's not an outright rejection). Then I fail at the next stage – sometimes it's the same thing over and over – failing psychometric tests, or at the telephone interview... I then proceed to procrastinate a lot and lose track of time. Days or weeks can pass with very little progress, very few hours spent on this. Other problems in my life (family health, relationships) can get in the way and demotivate me further... The mere process of applying to a job got extremely annoying. Spending hours researching a company which may not even reply. I don't seem to get better at the online tests, or more confident at interviews (if anything, I get less confident and more nervous).
I'm so worried about this enormous, two-year gap I have on my CV... I might artificially extend the time I spent travelling or something... My internship was only a month long. My current job adds almost nothing to my CV. I need to be doing something serious right now... My family and friends feel pity for me. What has become of my life? I used to overcome challenges, got my 2:1 degree, was on the right track, and now this is happening. It's seriously depressing...
What should I do now? I've pretty much ruled out doing a post-grad degree because I'll get indebted and and only postpone what's currently happening. Should I carry on applying and try to keep motivated? How should I justify my situation in the past 2 years?
I'm sorry about the essay. If you managed to read it all, please, any advice would be highly appreciated.
Thank you
I'm in a very difficult situation at the moment. I fear that I may be becoming seriously unemployable.
I graduated in July 2012 with a 2:1 degree in business management. I then took a gap year to South America to travel and mainly stayed with grandparents. I stayed there for 7 months, one of which was spent doing an internship at an insurance company. The rest of the time, I didn't do anything very productive... Apart from passively improving my Spanish, catching up with family and a little bit of travel.
I came back to the UK in March 2013 to start focusing on looking for a graduate job. I moved back in with my parents. Of course, I soon realised how difficult it can be... I even struggled finding a part-time job for a while, and was forced to go on job-seekers' allowance. After a while, I got a job as a barman at a very busy bar during weekends.
Basically, I've been at this job for almost a year now. It can be enjoyable - I've made a lot of friends, and it's improved my confidence somewhat. It's not a bad thing that you get girls coming onto you as well. But as you may be able to appreciate, it's not at all relevant to my degree and I've been there way too long... It's only distracts me and makes me forget about my real priorities.
I go through cycles of motivation. I apply to a few jobs, wait for responses, then deal with the next stage (if it's not an outright rejection). Then I fail at the next stage – sometimes it's the same thing over and over – failing psychometric tests, or at the telephone interview... I then proceed to procrastinate a lot and lose track of time. Days or weeks can pass with very little progress, very few hours spent on this. Other problems in my life (family health, relationships) can get in the way and demotivate me further... The mere process of applying to a job got extremely annoying. Spending hours researching a company which may not even reply. I don't seem to get better at the online tests, or more confident at interviews (if anything, I get less confident and more nervous).
I'm so worried about this enormous, two-year gap I have on my CV... I might artificially extend the time I spent travelling or something... My internship was only a month long. My current job adds almost nothing to my CV. I need to be doing something serious right now... My family and friends feel pity for me. What has become of my life? I used to overcome challenges, got my 2:1 degree, was on the right track, and now this is happening. It's seriously depressing...
What should I do now? I've pretty much ruled out doing a post-grad degree because I'll get indebted and and only postpone what's currently happening. Should I carry on applying and try to keep motivated? How should I justify my situation in the past 2 years?
I'm sorry about the essay. If you managed to read it all, please, any advice would be highly appreciated.
Thank you
Don't give up. Trust me, I've been through a similar sitiation where you have so many doors closed in your face. My best advice would be to get your CV checked by a professional. I myself realised that it was my CV that was preventing me from obtaining opportunites which my teacher notified me of and helped me changed it afterwards.
Also, get interview tips perhaps from friends,colleagues,families, internet and even your manager (if he/she is able to do so). Practice as well, it will help. You could even do it alone where you ask yourself questions that are likely to come up and hear your own answers and see whether they are suitable responses that you would want to hear if you was employing that person to work for you.
Plus, make sure you have spoken about All your past and current employment/work experiences. Even if some looks irrelevant to your industry, always link it. E.g. working as a waitress enabled me to engage with customers with different demands whilst working under an environment where there is intense pressure which has enhanced my time management skills useful when...
Hope this helps and you need to remember that you are NOT the only person going through this.
If upset, try to remember the things you do have that others may not.
I did a business studies degree, not worth the paper its written on. Going to uni isn't going to make you better in business, I wasted about seven years studying the subject.
Posted from TSR Mobile
Posted from TSR Mobile
@ana81, a bit pointless saying that now, its 2 yrs since op graduated, do you think people don't realise that degrees are a waste in this country right now lol
op- try volunteering? its flexible, gets you out and about doing things, and can fill that gap on your cv.
also just want to say your original post could have been written by me its that similar to my situation, i know its not much consolation but you're really not alone in this, trust me.
keep applying, and keep yourself and your mind occupied, good luck
op- try volunteering? its flexible, gets you out and about doing things, and can fill that gap on your cv.
also just want to say your original post could have been written by me its that similar to my situation, i know its not much consolation but you're really not alone in this, trust me.
keep applying, and keep yourself and your mind occupied, good luck
Fab advice from lots of others I don't have much else to add, really, but:
Just because your degree was a waste of your life doesn't mean that every business student's is.
Original post by Ana81
I did a business studies degree, not worth the paper its written on. Going to uni isn't going to make you better in business, I wasted about seven years studying the subject.
Posted from TSR Mobile
Posted from TSR Mobile
Just because your degree was a waste of your life doesn't mean that every business student's is.
Original post by GG8
Hi,
I'm in a very difficult situation at the moment. I fear that I may be becoming seriously unemployable.
I graduated in July 2012 with a 2:1 degree in business management. I then took a gap year to South America to travel and mainly stayed with grandparents. I stayed there for 7 months, one of which was spent doing an internship at an insurance company. The rest of the time, I didn't do anything very productive... Apart from passively improving my Spanish, catching up with family and a little bit of travel.
I came back to the UK in March 2013 to start focusing on looking for a graduate job. I moved back in with my parents. Of course, I soon realised how difficult it can be... I even struggled finding a part-time job for a while, and was forced to go on job-seekers' allowance. After a while, I got a job as a barman at a very busy bar during weekends.
Basically, I've been at this job for almost a year now. It can be enjoyable - I've made a lot of friends, and it's improved my confidence somewhat. It's not a bad thing that you get girls coming onto you as well. But as you may be able to appreciate, it's not at all relevant to my degree and I've been there way too long... It's only distracts me and makes me forget about my real priorities.
I go through cycles of motivation. I apply to a few jobs, wait for responses, then deal with the next stage (if it's not an outright rejection). Then I fail at the next stage – sometimes it's the same thing over and over – failing psychometric tests, or at the telephone interview... I then proceed to procrastinate a lot and lose track of time. Days or weeks can pass with very little progress, very few hours spent on this. Other problems in my life (family health, relationships) can get in the way and demotivate me further... The mere process of applying to a job got extremely annoying. Spending hours researching a company which may not even reply. I don't seem to get better at the online tests, or more confident at interviews (if anything, I get less confident and more nervous).
I'm so worried about this enormous, two-year gap I have on my CV... I might artificially extend the time I spent travelling or something... My internship was only a month long. My current job adds almost nothing to my CV. I need to be doing something serious right now... My family and friends feel pity for me. What has become of my life? I used to overcome challenges, got my 2:1 degree, was on the right track, and now this is happening. It's seriously depressing...
What should I do now? I've pretty much ruled out doing a post-grad degree because I'll get indebted and and only postpone what's currently happening. Should I carry on applying and try to keep motivated? How should I justify my situation in the past 2 years?
I'm sorry about the essay. If you managed to read it all, please, any advice would be highly appreciated.
Thank you
I'm in a very difficult situation at the moment. I fear that I may be becoming seriously unemployable.
I graduated in July 2012 with a 2:1 degree in business management. I then took a gap year to South America to travel and mainly stayed with grandparents. I stayed there for 7 months, one of which was spent doing an internship at an insurance company. The rest of the time, I didn't do anything very productive... Apart from passively improving my Spanish, catching up with family and a little bit of travel.
I came back to the UK in March 2013 to start focusing on looking for a graduate job. I moved back in with my parents. Of course, I soon realised how difficult it can be... I even struggled finding a part-time job for a while, and was forced to go on job-seekers' allowance. After a while, I got a job as a barman at a very busy bar during weekends.
Basically, I've been at this job for almost a year now. It can be enjoyable - I've made a lot of friends, and it's improved my confidence somewhat. It's not a bad thing that you get girls coming onto you as well. But as you may be able to appreciate, it's not at all relevant to my degree and I've been there way too long... It's only distracts me and makes me forget about my real priorities.
I go through cycles of motivation. I apply to a few jobs, wait for responses, then deal with the next stage (if it's not an outright rejection). Then I fail at the next stage – sometimes it's the same thing over and over – failing psychometric tests, or at the telephone interview... I then proceed to procrastinate a lot and lose track of time. Days or weeks can pass with very little progress, very few hours spent on this. Other problems in my life (family health, relationships) can get in the way and demotivate me further... The mere process of applying to a job got extremely annoying. Spending hours researching a company which may not even reply. I don't seem to get better at the online tests, or more confident at interviews (if anything, I get less confident and more nervous).
I'm so worried about this enormous, two-year gap I have on my CV... I might artificially extend the time I spent travelling or something... My internship was only a month long. My current job adds almost nothing to my CV. I need to be doing something serious right now... My family and friends feel pity for me. What has become of my life? I used to overcome challenges, got my 2:1 degree, was on the right track, and now this is happening. It's seriously depressing...
What should I do now? I've pretty much ruled out doing a post-grad degree because I'll get indebted and and only postpone what's currently happening. Should I carry on applying and try to keep motivated? How should I justify my situation in the past 2 years?
I'm sorry about the essay. If you managed to read it all, please, any advice would be highly appreciated.
Thank you
A LOT of people have gone through what you are going through right now, including me at one point. I got great grades but couldn't even to the interview stage for jobs in my field.
How I sorted out my problem - Got in touch with my college and arranged to work as a HR intern. I put this on my CV (I still work there part time, until I start my next job in Sept) and then the interviews started rolling in. That's the short, simplified story which is missing a fair bit.
What you can do - Find something you want to go in to, have 1 personal reference and try to have 2 other employment references (one could be your bar manager, he could talk about your good qualities and excellent customer service skills) and then sign up to agencies. I signed up to an agency for a temp role as a bank admin and within 2 days I got a call back for a registration interview and then I got contacted for an interview the next day. This was for an admin role.
Be proactive, constantly look at job sites, make sure your CV/cover letters are stellar, make a linkedin account, try and obtain some work experience through your local job centre if not find places where you are interested in working such as a college and contact them about getting some work experience.
It sucks, I know trust me. I finished Uni in September, felt great for the first two/three weeks but soon after I began worrying excessively about the next chapter of my life and how I was going to go about it. Really tough time, those who have gone through it for an extended period of time know what I'm talking about.
Consider doing some work experience, it will give you confidence and something more relevant to talk about in interviews. I would feel nervous too if I had done bar work/not a lot for 2 years. Just apply to some local companies/firms, most of them will be happy to have someone do work for a week for free. It's a bit annoying but for a start you might get a foot in the door in that company, and even if you don't, you can offer something relevant to other interviews you do.
Same sort of boat. 2.1 in Law from R.G. since last year, been managing my own online business but experience is very light/non existent in terms of relevant experience to the career path I want (although I have done a lot of research and I am prepared). I am not depressed anymore because I have gotten over the malaise I feel , but it is just frustration that I keep failing in interviews or previous stages.
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