Did your son or daughter struggle to find work after university?

When one of our dc graduated from Oxford with a good law degree her then boyfriend’s father ran a top Law firm in London and Paris and he offered her a job. She declined and said she didn’t want favours. Many others were not averse to saying yes it’s well documented that B Johnson was given a job on The Times to get into journalism MaX Hastings the editor sacked him for making up a quote that he thought this particular person would have said and it was published So he walked into a job that he was unsuitable for and promptly had to walk out Some graduates get jobs because of who they know. It’s an unfair world sadly

@walkingmycatnameddog That simply does not happen. There’s thousands of applicants for top city lawyer trainee posts and they take around 100 or much fewer at each of the magic circle and silver circle firms. The idea that anyone blags a job for someone is just rubbish. There are endless rounds and interviews and tests. It’s highly competitive.

Sorry, but I think it was very naive of your daughter to decline that job offer. It's just silly. Use whatever chance you're given. There is no nobility in not using opportunities that fall on your lap.

Both of mine were offered jobs in their final year for after graduation. DD had done an internship in the Summer before her final year at the financial firm who offered her a job. DS applied for grad programmes during his final year. Both at RG unis and both did STEM subjects.

DD put loads of effort into getting an internship - lots of online screening tests and lots of rejections but she kept going and it paid off. All her uni friends who did internships got jobs after graduation. It’s a three month interview for the firms involved so they’re taking less of a chance with someone as they’ve see you in action and know how you interact with others etc. It made her final year much easier because she didn’t have to apply for jobs whilst studying.