One thing humans often fail to do is learn from mistakes so we see generation after generation making little or no progress in their lives. I would like to change that - for graduates at least! Use this blog to post your lessons learnt in one or two sentences during your job seeking at University and help other students and graduates make a leap and choose the right path in their lives.
21 comments:
Don't panic. Your degree will help you get a job and in the long run you will earn more money!
Take the time to really understand your strengths and weaknesses, then go forward prepared to make mistakes. Network to the nest of your ability, and maintain your integrity and confidence at all costs
I think the most important thing about which every graduated person should remember is to be open minded and flexible. All of us have dreams and plans but if you are finding problems with getting a job, specially during nowadays recession, why won't you use diffrent "door", which is less desirable by other and easier to get for you.
Dont settle for a job that has an attractive salary at the expense of doing a job you actually want to do.....even if it takes longer than u expect, with an appropraite degree you will find a job!Otherwise what was the point of doing it in the first place?!
In my view many roles are open to graduates of any discipline as employers are often interested in the potential rather than existing knowledge. Even for those jobs that require specific technical or scientific expertise, the successful candidate will be the one who demonstrates motivation and the personal and transferable skills needed to succeed.we should always focus on presenting evidence of the skills and qualities that the employer is seeking i.e relating skills to the opportunities.
Do NOT underestimate your careers service. I brushed them off to start with, but decided to give them a go. My GOD they know what they're talking about! Nothing to lose by setting up an appointment huh?
In regards to your email. I would simply respond; human intellectual error has failed to truely learn from classical 'undiluted' economics. I have been distressed by what I have discovered, in what, a economic system is supposely built upon. There has been too much focus upon profit motives of the neo/classical era,without reflecting, the basis of the 'Moral Sediments' and 'Wealth of nations' was to eradicate the inequality of poverty in various nations. So, I guess what I am saying is, I dicovered myself and intend to join a NGO or a charitable organisation in hope to eradicated the unequalities of the developing world. Economics is just not monetary requirements, there is social inclusion amongst the capitalists systems in order to contribute to 'ECONOMIC SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT'. Growth (money) is not the main objective, in order to have growth, you have to first start with 'DEVELOPMENT'
Be true to yourself, even if it means choosing a career path which is unconventional after your chosen discipline and very different to the choices of your peers. They may give you funny look when you tell them what you want to do but you'll be far happier in the long run and they will probably admire your conviction
dont think any activity that u do in coll is not gonna help u out . . .
well actually, i had that thought. spent my coll life in a useles manner without any stakes to look up to aft my coll . . so guys doing something and anythin for the matter s beetter than just spendin hundreds of hrs watchin tele or chatting online
Remember that being unemployed doesn't make you less of a person. Always keep in contact with your friends and family as their support will help you through the toughest times. Everything will come down to you, whether you write that covering letter, whether you do your company research, it is all you. Be proud of yourself for overcoming even 'small' successes.
Feedback should be obtained from every assessment process where possible. Companies have their desired candidate profile - it is your responsibility to present yourself as the ideal candidate for your dream job.
I think what makes the difference is being specialised in a niche market and profession, either by studying postgraduate courses or getting a well known professional qualification after graduation.
We are all too similar and with similar degrees, so at the end of the day what matters is personality and niche market specialisation!
I have also found that I have lost very good opportunities only due to SHL tests average results, which is a pity really, so the next best advice is to try and practice SHL tests.
It is easy to get distracted from the job hunt, be it due to rejection by a job you'd wanted or to other circumstances beyond your control - don't let anything grind you down, persevere, keep plugging away and it will work out.
What would my advice be...
Go to University enjoy it for what it is ... the best 3/4 years of your life!
Firstly get the holy grail of the 2:1 and then all you need to ensure that you have a chance of getting a job is that you either have a family friend or relation who can get you in the job you want. (It's who you know not what you know,anyone who tells you otherwise has the 3 things you will need are a good uni (top 10) a solid academic degree (maths,sciences,english, economics etc.. and a personality!)
-No what you want to do, don't just apply for anything, as suddenly it might become your job.
-If you can aford it go do a Masters
-Go travelling, it will beat your day job
-Avoid your careers office at uni like the plague, 2bh if they are working in a careers office they either failed there degree or have nothing to contribute as no one will employ them.
-If that fails, actually dedicate your entire life to job applications, and find a recruitment consultant who isn't a slimey salesman, as they have no interest in you finding you a job just making some comms out of your short lived happiness that you aren't on the dole, followed by your realisation they just got you a job you never wanted!!
Gain as much experience as you can, just taking a week out of your summer break and spending it with a company in the line of work you want to go into looks good to potential employeers. Then if you finish your degree and are still struggling look at some volunteer work, employeers like to see you havent just sat around watching TV all day waiting for them to get in touch!
Decide which dream you want to follow. Then research about the ways of getting there.
Get work experience in the area you are interested in, maybe volunteer. Employers want people with experience.
As the competition is very tough at the moment, try to apply for jobs using different websites, newspapers, register with a bunch of recruitment agencies.
And don't ever give up. Hard work pays off.
The most important thing is to get the word out that you're looking for work. This means, you need to develop a CV and submit it to every website and agency you come across. All the while, you should know, there is no such thing as a perfect CV or cover letter. There are good and bad, but develop it to look nice and send it off; don't try to make it perfect because you'll never get a job if nobody ever gets it from you! Fix and send fix and send! Also, focus on agencies, because then you have people looking for work for you!
Strength in numbers: The fickle nature of human resource staff in companies means the more applications you make, the more chance you have to getting a job.
Be prepared for ASSESSMENT CENTERS and FAILURE; do some reading around the subject (exercises, tests, response strategies, issues around social desirability, etc). Then do apply for some INTERMEDIATE POSITIONS first and get some feedback from the people conducting the sessions BEFORE moving on to POSITIONS that you REALLY want.
This may be an obvious one but add your dissertation title to your CV. When I managed to get an interview this was actually what they asked about most. It was good because I was able to show my knowledge and personality while talking about a subject I knew well!
Being a graduate sucks nowadays and in my experience a university degree is worthless unless you come from Oxford or Cambridge.
I have 2 degrees from uni and not in a mickey mouse subject but in Electronic Engineering. I didn't get a 3rd class either - I was top of my class. My second degree is actually a PhD in Electronic Engineering.
Yet when I started looking for a job since October last year, all I received was a big NO because of my lack of experience in my subject. I was working throughout my studies, yet employers fail to appreciate that because it is not relevant to Eng.
I found a totally unrelated job to my studies (and low pay) later yet today I am still getting rejections from engineering jobs I applied months ago.
What conclusion can I draw from this? I would recommend not to go to uni as it doesn't help at all on the job market. You'd be better off getting a low-level job straight from school and work your way up over these 3 years, earn valuable experience and do a degree alongside part-time.
Employers value experience more than qualifications and even expect graduates to have experience. A degree gives you a qualification but no experience.
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