Career and life advice

Hi all,

I have recently graduated.
Applied to so many grauduate jobs, but really not getting anywhere. I've even applied to traineeship roles.

I have a BSc (Hons) International Business.
Lived in Italy for 12 years. I also speak German and Italian B1 level. Great multicultural expirience.

I've also pitched infront of a dragon den star with a start up Business idea but really not getting anywhere.

I'm trying to focus on getting a good job so that one day I can open my own company due to the funds needed.

I need some advice who knows what I should really focus on right now.

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post

by farhan002

Hi all,
I have recently graduated.
Applied to so many grauduate jobs, but really not getting anywhere. I've even applied to traineeship roles.
I have a BSc (Hons) International Business.
Lived in Italy for 12 years. I also speak German and Italian B1 level. Great multicultural expirience.
I've also pitched infront of a dragon den star with a start up Business idea but really not getting anywhere.
I'm trying to focus on getting a good job so that one day I can open my own company due to the funds needed.
I need some advice who knows what I should really focus on right now.

Applied to so many grauduate jobs, but really not getting anywhere. I've even applied to traineeship roles.
Welcome to the real world. A degree doesn't guarantee anything.
The rule of thumb is that you should make 100 applications before you get invited to 5 interviews, from which you might get one job offer. As excruciating as this is, I have yet to find a way to make it less painful.

I have a BSc (Hons) International Business.
Congratulations, but it means very little in the world of work. If the degree is not strictly required for the role (e.g. medicine, teaching, architecture, engineering, etc.), it's just another qualification to decorate your CV with.

Lived in Italy for 12 years. I also speak German and Italian B1 level. Great multicultural expirience.
Nice, but again means very little. Where people know languages, you need it to be at near native level of fluency in order for it to mean anything. B1 is a little above GCSE but kind of like AS Level. You want something at degree level or higher. Your multicultural experience means nothing in the world of work, other than a nice casual conversation starter.

I've also pitched infront of a dragon den star with a start up Business idea but really not getting anywhere.
This is impressive. It's worth talking about in your interview, but it means very little otherwise especially if it's not relevant for the specific job that you intend to apply for.

Don't take the following as professional financial or business advice. Should you wish to receive professional advice, speak to an appropriate qualified professional.
I'm trying to focus on getting a good job so that one day I can open my own company due to the funds needed.
This is so confusing.
Firstly, are you trying to get a job or start a business? If you are trying to get a job, focus on the job. If you want to start a business, focus on the business. Don't go into a job to get money to start a business; if you told me instead you are getting a job to learn to tricks of the trade, then that's a different matter.
Second, what avenues have you tried looking into to raise money for your business? Have you tried bootstrapping? Does your business idea really need money or get it started, if not does it actually need resources? If it does need resources, which ones in particular? There are ways to start a business with little to no personal funds invested. In many cases, you can use resources for low monthly costs that do the same thing as the resources you would buy outright. How much research have you done on this specifically?
Third, which industry do you intend to start a business in? Do you need specific qualifications? You can't start an accounting practice right off the bat by yourself for example, but you can start a business selling consumer goods.
Fourth, have people vetted your business idea? I very much doubt that it's something revolutionary or so ground breaking that you need to keep it secret from all prying eyes including governments around the world. You want to see what holes people can poke and whether you can address those concerns. You would be surprised how many ideas are unviable or very ineffective, as well as how much potential grief you would go through if you did launch the business as is.
Fifth, do you have any business mentors? A business degree only provides you with the foundational business knowledge. You typically should rely on more than just foundational knowledge to start a business. For one, you might not know about the legal aspects that you need to adhere to e.g. how to file taxes, which regulatory bodies you need to liaise with, what forms to file to register your business.

Personal recommendation: go and work in the industry that you wish to set up your business in. Ideally work your way up to like managerial level before even considering setting up a business. Apply for apprenticeships if this is appropriate.
If you want to set up a business on the side (more like a side hustle), you can. However, I would check your employment contract to see if your employer allows this. The idea of the side hustle is to help build on business experience on small businesses before you go for the bigger fishes, as well as building up funds. You can't learn to run before you learn to crawl.

Reply 2

ajj2000

The first thing to do is to try to figure out at what stage you are falling short on grad scheme applications. Do you get to assessment tests? Video interviews? Final interview?