This is my first post on mumsnet (I’m not a mum though) so hopefully I’m doing it right. I left school at 18 and instead of going to uni I just went straight and got a job and have worked at the same place ever since (admin in a small independent company). I’m 24 now so I’ve been there 6 years. I do enjoy working there but I desperately want to do something different. I’ve been applying for loads of different jobs over the past 18 months and I’ve had 4 interviews in total (obviously haven’t got any of those jobs). I’ve applied for everything from retail to care to cleaning and I just never seem to get anywhere. I understand that it’s going to be so much harder to move jobs now because of coronavirus but I just feel really sad that I’m stuck in the same job when I would love to be getting different experience. I’ve volunteered a lot (in a charity shop, at a food bank and befriending elderly citizens that don’t have much contact with others) but it doesn’t seem to get me any further forward. I often wonder if it’s because I am younger and therefore don’t have varied experience in the workplace and am perhaps still not sure of myself as a person. At the beginning of the year I did a mock interview with a careers adviser at a local careers centre and she seemed positive about my interview answers and said that I came across well. I do understand that it’s hard for everyone but it just makes me feel like I’ll be stuck in my current job forever. I also understand and appreciate how lucky I am to have a job
AIBU?
To think that job hunting is really hard when you are young?
Pupperdoggo · 29/06/2020 20:43
In some ways I actually found it harder at almost 40 than I did in my 20s (IME a lot of employers seem to want younger people who are less likely to need time off for family reasons, and I’ve found that middle-aged or older people are often seen as more set in their ways and therefore make less malleable employees). Obviously this is only my personal experience, so many will have found the opposite. It is definitely a tough time to be young and looking to get a foot on the ladder though - I really sympathise. My advice is to really think about what your own values are and try and apply to organisations whose values align with yours. I wasted a lot of time in my 20s by not considering this, and only found a job I loved once I actively started looking for something that was a good fit with my own outlook/worldview. Good luck 
Ah....more qualified/experienced people. There's the thing. What you can't do is change the opposition. If they are more qualified and/or have more relevant experience then there's the rub.
Well done on the volunteering in the charity shop for experience when you are interested in retail, that probably did get you brownie points but maybe not enough to outweigh other candidates.
If you are really keen on a particular avenue (eg care) then look into qualifications and as others have said, maybe widen your location search, or consider working abroad (not easy just now!). It is tough. You don't have experience, but nobody will give you the chance to get some. It's so frustrating!!
Some great advice from other posters. Keep trying, think about what you want to do, research research research on qualifications or alternative routes in (could you go into nursing first?), think outside the box. If you get interviews and no job offer, ask for feedback, specific feedback or what you could have done differently. Good luck! You sound like you want to progress so good for you 
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