LOOKING FOR A GRADUATE JOB THIS YEAR? READ THIS FIRST!
If you’re looking for a well-paid, permanent graduate job in 2015, you’ll need to have your wits about you. Despite good news about falling unemployment, many graduates say they’re still finding it tough to secure a good job. Happily, you’ll find lots of advice and ideas on Graduate Fog (and in our hit book How to Get a Graduate Job in a Recession).
If you’re returning to your job hunt having taken a break over Christmas, it can feel grim. Our main piece of advice is this: ditch any job hunting techniques that haven’t worked for you – and try new ones that might. Try different job boards and new recruitment agencies, widen your network and broaden your ideas about what sort of job you might enjoy. If something didn’t work for you in 2014, it’s unlikely to suddenly start working for you in 2015. So bin it – and spend that time experimenting! When you find a move that works, do more of it. Then Just Keep Going…
There are three other important points we particularly wanted to highlight. In 2015…
1) We WILL win the fight for fair internships
Making sure interns receive a fair wage for their work (and that those who can’t afford to work for free are not excluded) has proved a tough battle. At times we’ve had to play dirty, naming and shaming organisations that take advantage of their interns, and even leaking a confidential document that the Conservatives would rather hadn’t been made public. But we ARE getting there – and 2015 is shaping up to be a crucial year. Our predictions? Large ‘good guy’ employers will lend their voices (and funds) to the fight. And the expect the existing law on internships to be tightened with the addition of the 4-week limit.
2) Your skills and hard work ARE worth paying for
Some employers will try and low-ball you on pay, offering you an unpaid internship, minimum wage shift work or a zero hours contract. If you’re struggling financially and feeling low, you may decide to take it. But only temporarily. Keep looking for something better – you’re worth it. Do not let his cheapskate employer damage your sense of what your output is actually worth. Have faith that someone else will recognise your potential and pay more for your contribution. Believe that they’re out there – and keep hunting.
3) You are not alone!
At Graduate Fog, we know that graduate job hunting isn’t easy, especially when you start to feel isolated and lose your mojo. If you’re having a down day, don’t forget to visit us. One of the things we’re most proud of is our supportive, sympathetic community. Post your comment or question below a relevant blog story (one with lots of comments already is best) and you’re guaranteed to receive instant responses, advice and support from people who know how it feels to be in your shoes.
(Tip! Also read How to handle rejection and How to stay motivated)
*WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES FOR 2015?
What is your goal for the year ahead? Do you want to earn more, find a job that’s more fulfilling, move out of your parents’ place, to another part of the country – or even another part of the world? Share your goals below!
“Despite good news about falling unemployment”
I suspect that’s rather exaggerated.
Given that working one hour a week on minimum wage or on a zero hour contract counts as “employed”, and anyone working 16 hours a week, forced onto workfare with the threat of destitution or in a full time unpaid internship isn’t on the JSA claimant count.
There are still millions of people unemployed, plenty struggling afford even a one-bedroom flat outside the M25 on their wages or salaries.
“At times we’ve had to play dirty, naming and shaming organisations that take advantage of their interns”
Is it really playing dirty to publicly expose law-breakers – who are essentially stealing peoples’ labour remember – that the authorities refuse to do anything about?
“If you’re struggling financially and feeling low, you may decide to take it. But only temporarily. Keep looking for something better — you’re worth it.”
If you’re on the dole, and it’s a notified vacancy you might HAVE to take it to avoid a sanction, although I think that’s rare.
It’s more that if you’re struggling on £72.40 (or £57.35) and the shared accommodation rate of Housing Benefit, then unless you’re in parts of London, full time minimum wage is still a fair bit more.
One thing I wonder though – if you have an employer who won’t let you go to interviews for other jobs- especially in agency or zero-hour work where you can be fired without a reason at any time without notice – how do people usually handle it? Pretending to be ill?
Even in agency work I’d encourage you to be aware of your limited rights though. They may often be unenforceable whilst you are working there – since you can be dismissed for complaining, getting sick or pregnant etc.
But once the assignment ends you can make them pay (although tribunal fees makes that harder) for really bad treatment, if you don’t mind burning your bridges with that employer.
For instance, I’m awaiting a payout of c £650 (nearly 7 weeks’ rent) from a previous employer who violated the Agency Workers Regulations by not paying me the same as a comparable worker after 90 days.
All it took was an e-mail I sent them after my assignment ended, summarising the law and threatening to sue and publicise the matter.
And then about a dozen phone calls to the agency and employer to chase it up (which I had time for, not being in work).
I’ve just applied for an unpaid internship. I don’t feel I have any other choice. The ‘market’ doesn’t seem to value my labour.
The worry is that if unpaid internships don’t respond to my applications it is impossible to lower my sights any lower – apart from paying for experience….
@Anon
Have you read this? I think you’ll find it helpful
Should I do an unpaid internship
https://graduatefog.co.uk/2014/3701/should-i-do-an-unpaid-internship/
The unpaid internship have offered me an interview. A charity so covered by the NMW exception.
Really I could do with purchasing a new suit or two if I am to be commuting again. I’m all for recession frugality but a suit is the kind of thing where you need one that actually looks good. Not some cheap and nasty one. How on earth am I to do this on a salary of £0.00?!
@Anon – That’s great you’ve got an interview – well done. But what a shame the position isn’t paid. Stories like this make it so obvious to me that charities cannot justify expecting someone to behave (and dress) like a paid member of staff if they are not prepared to offer them a salary. You are quite right to point out how impossible it is to exist on a wage of zero. The situation is crazy – not you!
As a possible solution, I’d suggest you borrow a suit from a friend or relative for the interview – worry about your day-to-day wardrobe if / when you get the position. I’d be surprised if you have to wear a suit every day – very few workplaces expect staff to be that smart, and charities tend to be smart/casual or business casual I think.
If anyone ever makes a comment about what you’re wearing, I’d say you’re perfectly entitled to (politely) say that you are ‘saving up’ for some new clothes but that it’s difficult when you’re doing an unpaid internship! Perhaps it will make them think a little bit about whtehr the conditions of your employment are fair, even if they are (strictly speaking) legal.
I hope this helps – good luck with the interview!
Well I had the interview. The suit was a bit ill-fitting but perhaps that is a sign that I need to lose a stone more than anything. A second suit will have to wait…
I hope they want me. Being rejected from an unpaid internship would be the ultimate insult really. If you can’t even give your labour away for free what hope is there?
Unpaid internships are rubbish but you reach a point where you think they might be a way out. When you are tired of Universal JobsMatch, tired of rejections and the CV black hole, tired of the victim mentality that being a dole claimant seems to breed and the tired of the general stigma of unemployment.
@Anon Well done on the interview – I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you. I know what you mean about it being the ultimate insult if you don’t get it – but try not to think of it like that. It is the job market / shark employers / lack of enforcement of min wage / dodgy loopholes for charities in the min wage law that’s the problem, not your inherent value or usefulness!
Also, make sure you’re not selling yourself short by only applying for unpaid internships. Are you sure there is nobody who is willing to pay for your work? And have you tried the Graduate Fog Job Board? All the roles we advertise are proper paid roles. Yes, paid internships and jobs can feel harder to find, but if you put in extra time tracking them down, it is a good use of your resources in the long-run.
nowbody said it was eassyy
its a shame for us to fall apartt
the boss is behind me he’s gonna shoot me
down
Well I’ve just been REJECTED from the unpaid internship. As you can imagine that is not great for my sense of self-worth. I came to accept an unpaid internship might be necessary for getting experience. But to be rejected from a relationship where I’m basically giving my labour away leaves a bitter taste.
An update on the suit situation for anyone that cares? The suit trousers have split and I’ve reached the conclusion that purchasing a suit is something I’ll just have to do now given I currently have 0 suits.
Like Vicky Harrison (who overdosed after being out of work for too long) I’ve lost touch with friends as I can’t really afford to socialise. Getting this would not have provided any money but it would have meant being able to phone up old friends without facing awkward questions about what I’m currently doing.
Forgive the sob story. I don’t know why I’m even typing this really. I just feel rather embarrassed that I’ve reached a point where I log into Facebook and see my old friendship group socialising at an event I didn’t even get the chance to turn down because I wasn’t invited in the first place.
All this after getting a First from a top 20 university….
@Anon:
You don’t live in or near a city do you? Cos I’ve managed to meet a lot of new people in Birmingham through sites like Meetup.com – thought admittedly the events cost money (though the pub meet ups could cost the price of a half pint or even nothing plus travel).
If you’re in the countryside then I’m not really sure what to suggest (I was lonely and angry when I was un and underemployed in the Hampshire countryside before I did my near worthless degree) though I find righteous anger towards the government and unjust economic system helps reduce my depression and self loathing, as does joining Facebook groups and forums of like minded people.
And if you are remotely thinking like Vicky Harrison phone Samaritans or go to a doctor. Don’t let the bastards grind you and don’t give them the satisfaction of the claimant count being reduced by one.
You can blame the government/system till the cows come home but it doesn’t change anything. Where is public opinion? If you are in any doubt just take a look at the hashtag #mybigbenefitsfamily.
I don’t feel I’m really in a position to form new friendships until I’m earning. I couldn’t even buy you a pint if we met in the pub. I’m tired of fielding the embarrassing questions “and what is it you do?”. One of my old friends works up the city in accountancy. It is nobody’s fault but we just don’t have anything in common now.
I’m a bit worried about what being rejected from an unpaid internship says about my status within the labour market. Worried about affording the stuff that keeps life ticking along let alone treating myself to luxuries. Worried enough to be typing this at 4 in the morning.
There comes a point at which unemployment becomes a bit self-perpetuating. What an utter mess.
@Anon Can you email me via the Contact page please? https://graduatefog.co.uk/about/contact-graduate-fog/
As I said before, try not to take anything from being rejected from an unpaid internship – other than that is it proof that this is an INSANE situation for young people to be in. I’m not ‘blaming’ the government / system, I’m saying that your situation is a direct result of their failings. 1) that there is an oversupply of graduates 2) that you’re in such debt after paying so much for your degree and 3) that unpaid internships are still being allowed to happen, at charities and profit-making organisations. I know none of this helps you to get a job, but it IS important to recognise that you are battling in a situation where an awful lot is stacked against you, and these are all things that you can’t control.
If anyone else reading is in the same position, do see if you can find a tenner for my book How to Get a Graduate Job in a Recession. It covers all this, talks a lot about confidence and motivation (as well as job hunting strategies) and is £10 well spent. If you don’t get a job after reading it, I’ll refund your money, AND you get to keep the book! I’m not giving it a hard sell – I hardly make any profit from individual sales! – but I’ve genuinely seen it help so many grads to re-frame their job hunt and I’d love others to benefit from it too. Grads like you are exactly the reason I wrote it! 🙂
@Alex W Thanks for your kind words of advice and support to Anon. I’ve been ill this week (bleurgh) so haven’t been able to check in as often as usual – I usually keep an eye out for comments from grads who are really struggling.
Anyway, it’s so nice to see that other members of the GF community chime in with exactly what I would have said, in my absence! Thanks again for taking the time to support others, I’m so proud of this site. Nothing else has its heart and soul (blub! Sorry, I’m still not feeling 100%…!) x
I don’t want to give my e-mail out Tanya. I wouldn’t say any of this under my real name due to the general stigma that comes with unemployment.
My suit situation has been solved. My father bought me a nice new M&S suit. Bit embarrassed that I am not buying my own clothes but there you go. I bought some new shoes and a belt though. I now look the part for interviews.
My problem is that I have been out of work for so long that employers rightly worry. Sure I graduated into the worst recession since the war but there is only so long that washes. After a while unemployment becomes a barrier to getting a job. Some academic evidence suggests you stand a better chance of getting a job with a criminal conviction! That is why Vicky Harrison ended up overdosing. It becomes very difficult bias to overcome even when the economy improves.
I could self-refer myself to some Job Centre workfare programme but it would be stacking shelves in Poundland and the like. It would not be anything remotely graduate level and an unpaid internship is clearly preferable in that regard.
The thing is I used to work in Portcullis House which is the one opposite Big Ben. (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Westminster_Station_Building.jpg) I have a First from a Russell Group university. This makes my position all the more humiliating in that I have clearly fallen a long long way.
“I have a First from a Russell Group university.”
There are people with Firsts from Oxford are in similar situations – I met one Oxford graduate who was working in Greggs.
I’ve signed on about 7 times since Jan 2013 and am on the dole at present, and might be on the street – or in prison (warmer than the street) without my family.
And it’s only dumb luck I haven’t been unemployed since 2011 – calls from agencies seem to arrive completely at random with very little relationship to how many jobs I’ve applied for.
None of this is a reflection on your intelligence or the hard work you put into your degree.
It isn’t your fault we have a completely and utterly messed up socio-economic system and a government who treats the next generation like they’re a problem who’d be better off emigrating or jumping off a cliff.
And don’t let anyone tell you it is, or that you’re lazy. Did 60% of unemployed young Greeks and 50% of unemployed young Spaniards suddenly become lazy or “workshy” after the economic crash? I think not.
“You can blame the government/system till the cows come home but it doesn’t change anything. Where is public opinion? If you are in any doubt just take a look at the hashtag #mybigbenefitsfamily.”
And with your point above, I don’t care what public opinion fed on austerity and scrounger propaganda thinks of me any more.
Especially when so many of those people are up in commercial debt up to their eyeball’s and a month’s pay or less away from homelessness, in a country that has – despite claims of a “housing shortage” – actually most like has sufficient food and housing for everyone living here.
I used to care though and I see where you’re coming from. We are essentially put somewhere just a sliver above rough sleepers, criminals and immigrants as far as the tabloids are concerned in their pecking order.
Since I did a Politics degree I think I turn my depression into righteous anger against my oppressors, which helps me at least, and recently started volunteering for the Green Party.
I know it’s not for everyone of course.
“There are people with Firsts from Oxford are in similar situations — I met one Oxford graduate who was working in Greggs”
I get that graduates are ten a penny and that therefore I am nothing special. It is just that I worked my backside off for that degree. I worked so hard for it I became ill at one point. I just feel like I’ve let everyone (and myself) down if I don’t end up somewhere that vaguely justifies the expense. Maybe I am wrong to feel like this but it is how I feel.
@anon Do you think your dad could stretch to buying a copy of my book for you? I offer a money back guarantee, so if you don’t get a job after reading it you get a full refund. And you get to keep the book! It’s helped thousands of grads to find jobs, I’d like you to be one of them! Think about it?
Tanya
@Anon
I’m more than willing and happy to invest £10 in you if you think the book will help? 🙂
@Mandy – What a kind offer!
@Anon – If you’d like to take her up on it, just email me your postal address via the Contact page- click here: http://bit.ly/9Kt3VD
My father has just learnt that he is out work so I don’t think he will be purchasing your book Tanya. He works(worked?) on a North Sea oil rig and has become a victim of the plummeting oil price at the moment. I will check out your book at a public library. I don’t want charity.
Following an inheritance we received last year (equal to what was outstanding on the mortgage) we don’t have any worries about losing the house this time which is good. That was the big worry last time we went through a period like this. But if you have a roof over your head what is the worst that can happen?
It does make my applications to unpaid internships seem rather indulgent though. In such a situation I need to be bringing in income whether that is dole money or ideally a paid job.
Another interview for an unpaid internship next week. I know it seems indulgent given my situation but I have been out of work a long time and it feels like the only way to get “back in the game” so to speak.
Some of the American literature talks of “99ers”. People who have exhausted long-term unemployment benefits there. The key point is that the longer you are out of work the worse things get. The greater stigma and risk aversion of employers and obviously you walk into interviews with less confidence.
I volunteer alongside a guy named Andrew. He has been through the Work Programme (unsuccessfully) and is now on some Prince’s Trust scheme.. In a completely different situation to me in that I have a degree but he is a warning that there comes a point when you basically cease to compete in the labour market due to be being out of work. I find it an utterly terrifying prospect.
@Anon – Can you tell us a bit about what you’re looking for? It sounds to me as though you need to check what job hunting strategies you are using, and whether they are the right ones for the positions you are hoping to secure. Are your goals achievable using the methods you have chosen?
I would also suggest you check your mindset. You’re not going to want to hear this but I’m going to say it anyway…(!) some of the things you have said suggest you’re heading towards Victimsville and that is not a good place to be when you’re looking for a job. I know it’s really, really tough to stay positive, but it’s vital.
I know it’s hard to hear (and I’m not expecting this feedback to go down well!) but people like Graduate Fog because we ‘tell it like it is’ and it’s important to me that it’s not just a place where graduates come to moan and I tell them it’s not their fault and everything will be fine, or collude in this idea that all employers are evil etc. While I agree that employers need to do their bit to invest in potential and young talent, I also believe that it’s up to jobseekers to demonstrate they have that potential. Nobody owes you a job.
Also, while I understand your reasons for not wanting to accept ‘charity’, @Mandy made you a good offer and if I were you I would take her up on it! You can always think of it as a loan and pay her back the tenner when you get a job 🙂
That BA in Psychology wasn’t wasted on you Tanya. However, as I understand it, a victim mentality involves blaming others for your plight. Perhaps I did at one point but now I just blame myself. It is more a kind of internalised stigma something reinforced when even Graduate Fog is unsympathetic.
I had another interview today. Accuse of whatever you want but don’t accuse me of not trying. I feel under pressure with these interviews because the longer you are out of work the more difficult it becomes to obtain a job. Call that a “victim mentality” if you will but the academic evidence is clear on that point. I’m getting interviews which is good. My point is that given enough time there is a point where you don’t complete in the market. I don’t want to end up there.
I won’t comment on here anymore. Every other LinkedIn article these days is about the apparent sense of entitlement of “millennials” (urghh — loathe the word). It seems I’m only reinforcing that view.
Getting interviews puts you way ahead of me right now.
As for Millennial’s so called “sense of entitlement”, since I’m quite left wing I don’t know where to start tearing that one apart.
Presumably wanting a sufficient income to rent a one bedroom flat or even a room after with a bit left over after 3 or 4 years of uni is “entitlement” these days.
@Anon I don’t mind that you’ve had a strong reaction to my comment – I expected it (not from my Psychology degree, but because I have a lot of experience listening to graduates and picking them up on where they’re going wrong and how they can see more results from their hard work).
But I don’t feel I was unsympathetic – I see it more as ‘tough love’ (and I was also going to send you a free book, that’s why I asked you to email me – but you wouldn’t so I couldn’t!). I stand by what I said. I felt you are (were? perhaps this has now changed) in danger of starting to create a woe-is-me narrative around your situation, and the more you repeat it, the more you will believe it. I felt it is my duty to point these things out. I also felt you were inviting me (and other Foggers?) to collude with you in this narrative, which I feel is not only unhelpful to you, but to others reading the discussion. If you disagree, that’s fine. Perhaps I misunderstood.
Two other things:
1) I have written at length on this blog (and in my book) about the ‘entitlement’ that young people are so often accused of nowadays, which I do not think is fair, when you’ve worked so hard (and invested so much) for your degree. I don’t think you should blame yourself – the current job market and problems graduates are having finding work are down to a whole host of factors which have nothing to do with you as individuals. So I agree it’s important to understand why you’re finding it hard to get a job, but I also think it’s then up to you to work out the smartest and quickest way of getting your career going so you’re earning some money and picking up some skills and experience, even if you’re not exactly sure where you’re going with it all just yet.
2) I never said you weren’t trying. It’s great that you’re getting lots of interviews – you are obviously doing lots right. And I know it’s tough to keep your chin up when you’ve been job hunting for a long time.
You still haven’t said what job/ career you are looking for (unless I’ve missed it in an earlier comment?). Perhaps if you do, we might be able to offer you some more practical help and ideas? Why are you applying for unpaid internships? Are you sure you wouldn’t be considered for paid work in your chosen field?
PS. The offer of the free book still stands 🙂 Just email me your postal address via the Contact Us page http://bit.ly/duLICY
@Alex W What sort of work are you looking for? (sorry if you’ve said this before in an earlier post)
My LinkedIn for some context:
http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/alex-wright/51/557/b21
I’ve been in and out of near minimum wage admin through agencies (and a bit of retail) since I left Aston Uni in Birmingham in 2011, with a lot of periods on the dole. My last temp job – admin in the International Office at a sixth form college – ended in November.
Since I know people in the city I now live in, and it’s a lot cheaper than London or Hampshire where my mum lives, my main aim since leaving uni has been to be able to stay put in Birmingham and not have to move back to Hampshire with my mum or Shropshire with my Dad – which so far I’ve been successful with.
I did a Politics degree with a year in Germany but never tried until recently to get involved in it cos I’m well aware with the main parties you often have to have rich parents, move to London and do full time unpaid internships for years on end.
However last month I joined the Green Party when I heard they were about to overtake the LibDems in membership, and cos I agree with a lot of their policies.
I’m volunteering in Birmingham with the Green Party (I don’t mind some genuine volunteering for them compared to coerced full time unpaid work for Labour) and may stand as a paper candidate for a Birmingham constituency this election (in a constituency they reckon they have nearly no chance of winning) so in the long term that may lead to something career-wise (councillor, admin for the party or something perhaps).
But as far as jobs to live off in the mean time, apart from waiting for an agency to call and applying to Read and other agencies I’m at a bit of a loss for work that will reliably pay the £380 a month rent on my room and get me out of the benefit trap (I get £516.68 a month in JSA and Housing Benefit and until minimum wage work reaches 25-30 h a week it gets complicated whether I can take it).
I’m not that entrepreneurial or marketing miners, and most of the things me or my parents thought I’d be good at are hard to earn a living from/get into now, e.g. journalism, academic (you need thousands to do a Masters), working in a library (being slashed by most local authorities).
Even the Birmingham tourist info hub – which since I’ve lived in Birmingham since 2007 (except a year in Germany) I thought I’d be good in was closed recently and merged into the library, which is also being cut.
Well, after seven years of short temporary jobs in call centres and long periods of unemployment, I went that extra mile in my job search and it paid off – sort of. It’s not a graduate job, but it’s permanent, full-time, and the salary is on a par with a graduate entry-level position. It’s got prospects, too, as the role is with a large international company. The hours are gruelling and the commute is a bit of a killer, but I am more than capable of doing the job and I’m prepared to make the sacrifice – which has not gone unnoticed.
Job search in 2015 is more difficult than other years, in my opinion, and a lot of sacrifices will have to be made on the way. But persistence and patience, and building up a recent work history, will lead to secure employment. Perhaps not a graduate career but a career with prospects and a salary.