Good news for graduates – work is under way on a new book which promises to help you to find a job after leaving university, even in a recession. How to Get a Graduate Job in a Recession will be available from May 2012 exclusively via this website.
Although Graduate Fog is known primarily for our straight-talking blog – particularly our work exposing the cheapskate employers who exploit their young staff through unpaid internships – we are very aware that graduates are also in desperate need of real, useful advice on how to find paid, permanent work in these difficult circumstances. Packed with practical tips and tricks, How to Get a Graduate Job in a Recession will show you (among other things):
– How to turn an unpaid internship into a paid job
– Why you’re finding it so difficult to get your career started
– How to choose your career, if you don’t already have a plan
– How to assess whether your plan is a good one
– How to find the vacancies that nobody else knows about
– Tips and tricks for breaking into the most competitive industries
– How to stay motivated during your job hunt
– Whether you should consider moving abroad
– Whether postgraduate study would boost your career – or be an expensive mistake
– How to put less effort into your job hunt – and see more results
Tanya de Grunwald, founder of Graduate Fog and the author of this new book, says:
“The Graduate Fog Blog has proved to be a huge hit with readers – and our Advice section is popular too. But I am still receiving a large number of emails from graduates who have more detailed questions about how to navigate their job hunt. They are finding it impossible to access answers to the deeper, more difficult conundrums.
“My first book – Dude, Where’s my Career? The Guide for Baffled Graduates, published in June 2008 – has now sold out, and I think it’s time to update the content. The job market has changed enormously since then – and with it, the mood and mindset of job-hunting graduates.
“Receiving emails every day from graduates in need of help, I know exactly what kind of thing they want to know. How to Get a Graduate Job in a Recession will answer all their questions in one place, making it the ultimate guide for graduates as they enter the job market.
“As the university careers services continue to peddle out-dated advice, advertise illegal unpaid internships and promote postgraduate courses that have dubious value, graduates are crying out for better guidance and support that they can really trust – yet finding that there is very little out there. How to Get a Graduate Job in a Recession is a must-read for anybody who is about to graduate, has just graduated – or has been struggling to get their career started for a while.”
The final touches are being put to the book this week and next, so if there’s anything you’d particularly like to see in there, speak up now!
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For someone so vehemently opposed to unpaid internships, aren’t you now cashing in on them?
@SaneLynch
Ouch – not quite the response I was hoping for! Let’s hope other Foggers won’t be quite so cynical : )
I agree with Sane above, arnt you just being a bit of a hypocrite?
Not sure I see how this is cashing in on unpaid internships – firstly the site is wider than that important issue and as I understand it, started because of Tanya’s previous book. Secondly, it seems the book will be about trying to help people find real (paid) work.
Surely that’s something we can all get behind?
Lastly, is anyone actually suggesting that for some reason, writing work should by definition be unpaid?
Love,
T.A.Z.
@Amy
Sorry, I’m not following this… Would you rather I didn’t write this book, even though it will give graduates lots of useful advice about job-seeking in a competitive market? Or are you asking me to give it away for free?
@T.A.Z
Thanks!
I’m not sure I understand @SaneLynch and @Amy’s point- you’ve made it to this website so you obviously accept that Tanya is an expert on the problems faced by graduates today, surely it’s within her rights to spread her expertise?
Very much looking forward to the book!!
@Tanya I’ll be buying it, thought the first book was great! Got it electronically, hopefully there’ll be enough paper copies this time 🙂 I have a job now, though it’s still not where I want to be yet. The challenge now is using my free time outside of work to search for the one I want. Gone from too much time to not enough now it seems! Haha
I’m surprised that How to Get a Graduate Job in a Recession appears to contain no chapter on how to pass the interview.
You wont “Get a Graduate Job in a Recession” without it.
@Derrick
Fear not, there is a chapter on interviews! Sorry, I did not make clear that the list was meant as a taster of what is in the book, not a definitive contents list.
” new book which promises !! to help you to find a job after leaving university ”
Well let`s hope it will deliver on the promise !
I don’t have the money to purchase the book about how to get a graduate job because I don’t get paid enough in my current job XD Good luck with your target audience!
I agree that graduates haev to be resourceful in a recession. Here is a post about how one ambitious graduate is embarking on a project to use social media to gain her dream job. Have a read, help her out and be inspired Gradute Job Hunt Blog
@Sarah
I know that money is tight for a lot of graduates – so I’m doing everything I can to keep the cost of the book down and I will make sure it is affordable! The book is not designed as a way to fleece my readers, but is an add-on for those who would like to buy it. It will contain more in-depth advice, but I have no plans to removing any of the (currently free to read) content from the website. Perhaps you could go halves with a friend and share it? Or push your uni careers service to buy a copy for their library, which you could borrow?
Also please remember that I have put a huge amount of work into writing the book – plus as I’m self-publishing it I will have to pay for the text to be sub-edited and laid out and designed. Some of the people helping me are friends of mine, but as I don’t agree with asking people for freebies for their work, this all costs money (my money!) Then I will buy a batch of books in bulk up-front (again, to keep costs down for readers), which again costs money. So you see that I need to make sure that that maths adds up for me, or I will lose money doing this.
If you’ve been following Graduate Fog for any length of time I hope you will know how passionate I am about this subject, particularly on the subject of unpaid internships. Running this website takes a LOT of hard work (unpaid!) and I couldn’t (and wouldn’t) do it if I didn’t care. Believe me, there are easier ways to make a living than by doing what I’m doing. But please remember that I need to eat too : )
@All
Wow, the response to the book wasn’t quite what I was hoping for (!) but I’m made of strong stuff so I’m going to press on and do it anyway. Let’s hope those who are unsure about it will be convinced when they see how good it is!
Thanks all,
Tanya
I think what people are posting is absurd. I have been reading bits and pieces on this site for months now. I have always thought that this website is a credit to Tanya and must take up so much of her time. She is well within her rights to try and earn some money from it, she is clearly passionate about it. Also, who said she is cashing in??? I can think of few people, thanks to her dedication to this site, who are as well placed to write a book that will actually help graduates. For me this is proof that the internet is full of trolls waiting to have a go at somebody who wants to make a go of things. Keep up the good work Tanya!!
@Michael
Thanks so much for your kind words – very much appreciated!
Tanya
@Tanya
It’s not that I don’t understand – I’m a freelance writer, too, we need to get paid! – but I’m a little surprised that you didn’t expect any cynical comments. Graduates are targeted all the time for books, courses, and career-building workshops, all of which cost money. It’s not always immediately clear who’s genuine and who’s just trying to rip you off. From your website, I’d say you’re genuine, but it’s easy to have a knee-jerk reaction whenever money is mentioned.
Also, while people may not always mean to directly accuse you of cashing in, the fact that you’re essentially now selling a product brings into sharp focus the one huge problem with the graduate situation in the UK today: we’re all skint! Considering that, it’s no wonder that you’ve come under attack. You seem like someone who’s on our side, so the fact that you now want our money (fairly or unfairly) reminds us of our financial problems. Not only that, but (rightly or wrongly) it gives us the impression that you’re in a much better position than we are as a direct result of said problems. Do you see what I’m saying? I don’t personally think you meant to cause any offence, and there may not be a straightforward way round this, but sadly you’re going to get those sort of comments, at least initially. It’s a shame, because potentially you could provide a lot of help with this book – it’s sad that money always has to get in the way.
@ Sarah
Thanks for taking the trouble to write – that’s really helpful and I will definitely give your comments some thought.
My big plan is to get big companies to sponsor the website, so I don’t intend to start launching lots of products and services that I expect you guys to buy. The new book was simply going to be an update of the old book, which as far as i was aware, nobody had a problem with. Then I realised it needs a total re-think, so I just went for it. That’s why I was rather taken aback by some of the comments yesterday.
As for my personal circumstances… In case I have given the impression that I live in a mansion in Monaco (!), I do not! I live in a rented flat which I share with 3 other people all in our early-to-mid 30s. I am not in debt, but I have no savings and no pension. My parents aren’t wealthy and I don’t have a rich boyfriend.
Purely because I am a few years older than you (I’m 32) I was lucky enough to start my career in journalism when magazines still paid their junior people a half-decent wage (and didn’t expect them to work for free for months until then), so I have made a little bit of money and built a reputation for myself. On paper at least i can see how it looks like I have ‘made it’, because of the calibre of the magazines I write for.
BUT if i’m honest it has been a really hard slog – and I’m by no means rolling in dosh (you have to get a LOT of commissions to make any real money as a freelance writer). The time I took out to write my first book – and get GF of the ground – have had a huge impact on how much I have earned in the last few years. I did not have a grand plan when starting either of these projects, just a cast-iron belief that the work I was doing was important and needed, as there was nothing else like it out there. I could see graduates are really struggling and felt I could offer something different and better than what anybody else is doing. I still believe that. Don’t forget, without Graduate Fog, you would still have just Prospects, your uni careers service and some rubbish careers content on a few of the big recruitment websites. I am proud that as an outsider, GF is able to challenge all those and show that it can be done better! And the community we have all built together is amazing, I am genuinely so happy with it – especially on the days we have really good debates that we all know aren’t happening anywhere else on the internet. It’s fantastic.
I appreciate that graduates are constantly being bombarded with people and companies trying to sell you stuff (I subscribe to a lot of the same services as you do, so I get those emails too!). But I also think that a lot of those products and services are rubbish. I have faith that graduates will be able to tell the difference between what is good (and worth the money) and what is not. In fact, I’m counting on it. I have no other way of marketing this book unless you guys read it, love it and tell each other how good it is : )
These negative people need to lay off. I purchased Tanya’s first book and I shall be purchasing her second. I’ve only discovered this site recently but think it is awesome. I’m so glad it highlights the issues of unpaid internships. Tanya made a very valid point. Without Graduate Fog we would only have the generic websites we’re all so used to reading. Graduate Fog is a refreshing change. Lets be positive and stop the negativity PLEASE!!!
Can someone get @Derrick to stop using his spare time to post unhelpful and irrelevant crap on an otherwise positive and refreshingly helpful and useful site for graduates…
Go Tanya! 🙂
@ Mel and Lisa
Thank you both so much for your comments – a nice end to the week!
@Tanya It’s good to know a bit more about you personally, but I wasn’t really suggesting you live in a mansion in Monaco! I just wanted to raise a suggestion as to why some people will react negatively to your book – it’s most likely more about their personal situations than a slight against you. My initial comment was tongue in cheek, but I think you could see my own frustration coming through!!
I think with the work that you do, anyone who accuses you of being a hypocrite is just misinformed and ranting out of fear that they may not achieve anything so great themselves thanks to the current economic situation.
Can’t wait to read! Thank you, your first book was excellent and helped me get the job I have now (forgive my absence!)
I don’t understand the Tanya hate, its absurd! She has and does provide free/ quality advice to us, in her OWN TIME. Least we can do is help her out!
@Sarah, with all due respect, the fact that you’re not willing to invest in a book that could help you improve your job prospects, speaks volumes about you and not Tanya. Tanya has clearly created a blog and book that offers graduates a lot of value and she should be applauded for her hard work and commitment. In order for graduates to excel, they need to invest in their careers just as much as their education which means at the very least buy a book (just one or even two) that may give you the guidance to improve your opportunities. I Wish Tanya the best with the new book.
@Victoria
I think it’s fair for Sarah to be a bit cynical, since the recession I’ve lost count of the number of companies and people trying to sell me tips on how to get ahead in interviews. I’m sure Tanya’s book is really helpful and if I weren’t completely skint I’d probably buy it myself, considering her website seems to be so strongly opposed to these kind of exploitative practices.
At the end of the day graduate are becoming increasingly cynical as we’re being belittled and exploited.
Victoria, I was just trying to shed some light on why people will react negatively to news of the book, nowhere did I say that Tanya shouldn’t be applauded for her hard work (in fact, as you will see from my comments, I did just that myself!).
The fact that you assume that I’m not “willing” to purchase the book, rather than simply not able, is also a bit strange… You might be in the position to buy books whenever you like, sadly I am not!
I might have ordered that if I hadn’t just agreed to go on a budget my Dad set up to help me pay off the rest of my overdraft 🙁 – maybe I’ll be able to by May when you start dispatching it. Oh well.
Is it not gonna be sold on Amazon and other usual channels as well then, like your previous book?
@Alex – No, I’m planning to sell it exclusively through the Graduate Fog Shop that I’ve just set up. Because I’ve self-published this one through an online publisher (Lulu), getting it into bookshops etc is much harder to arrange. I may put it on Amazon in due course, I haven’t decided yet! I just really want to have a tight control over this one, as I actually managed to lose money doing the first one, even though I sold 3,000 copies – gah! Fingers x’ed you can persuade your dad to lend you the money for the book? Sign up to the News Bundle if you haven’t already and you’ll receive a reminder email when it’s (properly) on sale. If you don’t like it you can send it back, no questions asked!
I think anyone who wants to improve their chance of finding a job would be silly not to invest in such a highly recommended book!
Mia Holt.
Freelance Journalist and Graduate.
Hi Tanya,
I would like to read your book in the Amazon kindle format. Could you publish the book in this format, please? Hopefully you’ll generate more sales this way. Thanks!
A quick review of Tanya’s book, and why I think it is well worth purchasing (especially with her money-back guarantee!):
Tanya’s book helped me understand that, in the current career climate, flexibility and the ability to adapt to ever-changing environments are vital skills, and career pathways are far more non-linear than in the past.
I made a dramatic career change, from communications to occupational therapy studies, in recent years, and followed many of the thoughtful recommendations and strategies outlined in Tanya’s book every step of the way to unearth opportunities I might never have discovered otherwise. Tanya underscored how important it is to understand your character and how you work to ensure you are making a wise choice when returning to studies, and so I sought out the perspective of a clinical psychologist who provided a consultative service in careers guidance counselling to help ensure I was receiving quality guidance. I discovered that in my previous profession in many ways I had been trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, and undertook psychometric tests to ensure my attributes suited my new desired profession.
Concurrent with my studies, I have won a part time position as an assistant in my chosen field by following the networking and research strategies advised by Tanya, which were far more focused and tailored than my previous scattergun efforts, and helped me discover opportunities that exist even if they aren’t advertised in typical media spaces. I followed her interviewing tips, including methods for highlighting the silver lining of my weaknesses and the positive outcomes of negative experiences that had made me more employable through greater empathy and perspective. I can honestly say that I would not have won my current position without the advice in this book.
I highly recommend Tanya’s funny, witty, no-nonsense advice. She is a passionate advocate for graduate issues and this shines through in her work. She has analysed the context surrounding current job hunting with warmth and understanding, while not sugarcoating the realities. Her genuine insight into every step of the job hunting process, from choosing your profession to nailing your job interview, will make the process far more enjoyable and clear than going it alone.
Communications to occupational therapy is pretty obvious. Occupational therapy is a vocation with an NHS bursary, wheras you haven’t a hope in hell of earning a decent wage in “communications”.
Occupational therapy wages are pretty crud too, but at least it’s a job.