The Sunday Times is running a series charting the trials and tribulations of a group of graduates looking for jobs in the current job market. One poor young man was forced to belt out Wonderwall in a first round interview with a telecoms company. Another walked up and down Fleet Street, London, for five days wearing a sandwich board advertising his eagerness to work. More worrying still, some 300,000 new graduates entered the market this summer and thousands of them are still jobless.
It’s a tough time for graduates, or indeed any young person looking for a new job. A degree is just one of the tools that helps in getting into your dream career, but it doesn’t guarantee you a job or success. Hard work, proactivity, persistence and a willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty can get you much further. For example, I started out as a receptionist in a PR agency upon leaving University – a job I did for well over a year. Nine years later I was appointed joint head of the technology practice at Speed. There are many different ways into the career of your choice. Graduate schemes needn’t be the end all and be all.
While some grads get it spot on and charm their way into good starting jobs, too many royally fugg it up by sending emails with their CVs that compeltely let them down. Assumptions, wild claims and (shock) spelling mistakes. And the boom years meant they didn’t have to try to hard. I do feel really sorry for grads today, but at least pressure may help sort the wheat from the chaff.
And you don’t need a degree anyway – if you’re good enough, you’ll make it.
It is really tough out there at the moment and I myself was in this situation not too long ago.
My advice to graduates is just keep on applying, tweeting and networking to get yourself know. Contact agencies to see if they offer internships or work experience placements. You may not be paid much, but having this experience on your CV will make you stand out from other candidates and will benefit you in the long term.
Go to as many interviews as you can to gain confidence in interviews and always research the company and if possible, the staff you are meeting with. You don’t necessarily need to go through a graduate recruitment scheme and I totally agree with Steve, you don’t need a degree. It’s all about getting the experience behind you. Without it, you may not be able to compete with candidates that do.