Graduate jobs!

[Mblaster]

The 'we need someone with more experience' argument is part of the reason I am doing a sandwitch degree course (2 years at uni, 1 year working, and then final year at uni). So when I come out of uni I'll have a full years worth of work experience in a relevant field, as well as the other part time jobs I've had before going to uni.

[chicken]

I'm looking for a new job at the moment around Kent, Tunbridge Wells area and I've seen a few IT graduate jobs listed on places like Reed.co.uk, not sure about Law though.

Also I posted my CV on Monster.co.uk last night and got up this morning to a good hour's bombardment from agencies wanting to know more about me and suggest jobs to put me forward for. So I'd recommend you try there as the agencies are obviously watching that one!

[tiggerai]

The 'we need someone with more experience' argument is part of the reason I am doing a sandwitch degree course (2 years at uni, 1 year working, and then final year at uni). So when I come out of uni I'll have a full years worth of work experience in a relevant field, as well as the other part time jobs I've had before going to uni.

Can't say how much that has helped me. I'm still getting jobs off the back of that. (Sandwich year in 2003-2004 - LlkoydsTSB Web Systems) It really counts for something. I've been outta uni 3 years and the experience in my field is worth a million degrees. I've now got my 3 years commercial, so I'm looking at more money. Yay!
It also helps that you're a "rounded" person... just because you can do exams doesn't mean you can work in a different environment... Need to show that you can do other things too (Teaching/Coaching, Volunteering etc)

Just stick with it, apply for everything... Grad schemes aren't always the answer, depending on what you want to do (Web Development grad schemes are few and far between)

I started in Support, worked through to Web Support and now got where I wanted in Web/Interface/Application development. Took me a while to work out what I wanted to do too, but I'm so happy with this job (if only it were closer to home!)

Good Luck Guys... a lot of us have been there and it's never easy!

[Kumagoro]

I think it can be very hard to find a job after doing a degree. You often wont be able to get an
average job because you are over qualified and they think you will just leave soon after. By
average job I dont mean something like Tescos etc I mean something in your related field but
which really is a piece of piss.

Where I live there is an electronics company not massive but not very small either, and on there careers website they say they want people with at least 3-5 years experience in that field.
about 5 years ago I thought I would write to them and inquire if they take on any graduates, they
said no...

Then a few months ago they were in the local paper saying they have had to go and open a
branch in india to find enough electronics design engineers. So i checked their careers page again
and lo and behold they still want 3-5 years experience.

Where do they think they will get these people with the experience they want it just makes me
laugh with disappointment as I think this attitude is common among many of britains companines.

[TheAnimus]

no the problem with this is that many graduates are shockingly piss poor.

Seriously some of the people i've interviewed for dev rolls straight out of uni are just awful, so very many can't even begin to explain the idea of atomic operations or transactions.

How can you even apply for a dev roll when you didn't understand that at uni during your CS degree.

Worth noting the job i do now advertisied asking for 5 years experiance, considering i'd been out of uni by 18 months, people are generally flexible with these things if your able to show your better than average (in my case acolades from MS over my programming + design skills).

[grizzla]

I had no end of trouble after graduating last summer, i got a 2.1 degree but it was in film and media studies. I applied for quite a few jobs and didn't get very far, i never thought i was the kind of person to get depressed but after applying for numerous jobs and not getting very far you start to wonder.

I immediately applied for a job in the same university in the brand new media building working on a completely new project in a research role. I did so because my lecturer said that it would be worth applying for, he said i was an ideal candidate; the uni were keen on employing ex-students and my degree and personal experience would be a bonus to getting the job. Needless to say i didnt get the job or an interview come to think of it.

So my next course of action was to get a temp job, this was relatively easy, signed up at reed, they gave some aptitude tests to do, they said i should take the advanced ones because my cv surpassed the normal experience that they were seeing. I had never really had any office experience but this 30 minute (5 if you can switch on a computer) test tells them what kind of positions they should be putting you forward for. My first temp job was christmas '07 at Business Link doing data entry, mind numbing but endless tea and we could listen to personal music etc. That ended about 3 months later and i then went onto a role at the DVLA again a data entry position. As mind numbing as these jobs were it meant i had time to think about and apply for other jobs. Initially i was looking around Preston (not a good place to find jobs as a graduate even if the uni is about the 6th biggest in the UK) then i started looking closer to where my parents live around Bristol.

Eventually i got wind of a job going in a company in Scotland, sent a CV had an interview and got the job. Started in May and moved up permanently in August. Couldn't be happier, i work for a new company as a Lab Technician with a little IT thrown in for good measure. Pay is about what you should expect as a graduate outside of London and it will indefinetly go up in the next year purely because of the amount of work myself and my colleague can do for the company.

I would say that i only heard about the job from my father, he works in a company within the same business park so i may have been lucky, the other bonus being that as he has a second home up here i didnt have the added worry of finding a place to live.

My advice would be to sign up for as many agencies as possible, reed are good only if you can go into a local office, they will see you are keen to work and will help you a lot more than if you purely apply online. You will find initially that you will want to get a job near where you are currently living but after a while your opinion will change and your horizons will broaden.

[TheAnimus]

My advice would be to sign up for as many agencies as possible, reed are good only if you can go into a local office, they will see you are keen to work and will help you a lot more than if you purely apply online. You will find initially that you will want to get a job near where you are currently living but after a while your opinion will change and your horizons will broaden.

With a special email address obviously.

I still get Milkround offering me pittyful jobs, they just won't take me off their lists!

[Blitzen]

AledJ, its aug. No one cba to do work.

Also take what Blitzen is saying with a pinch of salt, i think he's been dealing with a very bad batch of people to interview.

Fact is a degree merely means that a door can be opened, it doesn't mean they will be wanting too see you, if you want an above average job, you've still got to be an above average candidate. That said its true that even people with a 3rd, earn considerably more, on average, than those without.

Just spend as much time googling for jobs that match your skills and you would want to do as possible.

Its not bad candidates i have been dealing with.
Its good candidates who rate their own ability far higher than anyone else.

Some of these guys have graduated with a decent enough degree but seem to think that entitles them to start on £60K+.
Its just not the real world for them.

[TheAnimus]

Its not bad candidates i have been dealing with.
Its good candidates who rate their own ability far higher than anyone else.

Some of these guys have graduated with a decent enough degree but seem to think that entitles them to start on £60K+.
Its just not the real world for them.

Their just been stupid. Even in finance you wouldn't get that unless your very special (son of a former prime minister special).

plenty of people will get £40k or what ever, and often you will find that a friend has been head hunted.

Besides, if the candidate is good, they will get a job offered too them, their not going to keep turning down job offers because they want more money, they will soon realise no one wants to pay them that much.

[Zadock]

Its not bad candidates i have been dealing with.
Its good candidates who rate their own ability far higher than anyone else.

Some of these guys have graduated with a decent enough degree but seem to think that entitles them to start on £60K+.
Its just not the real world for them.

an observation that is all too common...

So many people come out of uni feeling very cocky, and I know this because I am guilty of it myself, but academia and the professional working environment are very different. You might think that you can do a particular job, but really! can you? you might have the right degree but it doesn't matter whatever career your going into your going in blind and you quickly realise that you know very little. Experience is king! There is a big difference between knowing theory and applying theory, the ability to adapt is something that comes with experience.

As for general graduate jobs have you considered recruitement consultancy? I know lots of people that do that.

Also, if you want a job do a science (includes IT in my book) or engineering. There is a shortage of both.

Sorry bit of a rant there...

[Twigman]

^^ who you know, not what you know. In that case father.

As someone said earlier, universities and careers fairs do strongly push the idea that "just get a degree and it'll be fine there will be jobs to go to". Which is wrong. Even companies doing presentations etc at unis seem to give that impression as well. No wonder graduates come out thinking it should be easy.

[AledJ]

Going to go down to the Reed office near me and speak to them (thanks for suggesting it grizzla) Got my cv on a number of sites, best to go see an agency directly may get somewhere.

[santa claus]

I have plenty of experience working within in a team from working as an SIA Door Supervisor (aka bouncer) Also worked at a lot of festivals managing a team of 10 people, so I do have some experience.

Another thing that does not help is employees taking ages to get back to you when they say 'we'll let you know end of the week'. Oh and when you have a good chance of getting a second interview the recruiter person goes on holiday lol

Fair enough (you didn't mention it in your OP). A number of very good points have been made in this thread (some less palatable than others but nonetheless valuable). Keep at it AledJ something will turn up and remember whilst uni qualifications are to your advantage, you still need to compete with the enthusiastic and streetwise who may never have seen the inside of a uni but who will take on anything, no matter how menial it may seem. Good luck.

[Zadock]

Who you know... that is true actually, I got my current job as a friend of mine was already working here.

Ajed, another suggestion... some organisations are massive! I work for a large engineering company as an environmental consultant. But we have a large number of departments and some of these departments do have pretty good "general" graduate positions, by this I mean "got a degree don't know what to do" or "waiting to do post grad" type positions. for example we have a department that help us put together tenders for work.

something to think about... so have a look at the likes of Mott Macdonald, Scott Wilson etc you might find there is a nice little spot for you to earn a few quid

[AledJ]

Fair enough (you didn't mention it in your OP). A number of very good points have been made in this thread (some less palatable than others but nonetheless valuable). Keep at it AledJ something will turn up and remember whilst uni qualifications are to your advantage, you still need to compete with the enthusiastic and streetwise who may never have seen the inside of a uni but who will take on anything, no matter how menial it may seem. Good luck.

Yeah sorry should really have mentioned other job experience (will update first post)

I will keep at it as I do not want to sit at home with no job, atm i'm not picky about the job i get. I just want to get one and then work on from there.

Zadock- I'm waiting to hear back from an engineering company called Enterprise (not the car rental people lol) I hope i get a second interview as the job description fits perfectly.

[Blitzen]

I found (from experience, but not myself), that the best way to get your experience, earn good money and use you knowledge at the same time is to join the armed forces as a 'baby officer'.

Also, once you leave the forces, for some reason employers trip over themselves to employ you.