Young adult son can't find job

[BoyJob]

Does anyone else have a young adult DC who is unable to find a job?

DS graduated a year ago with a 2:1 in a very specific artistic/technical subject. He has wanted to work in this role since being quite young. Unfortunately, neither he nor any of his peers, even those with contacts in the industry, have found a job in that area, although most have found some other type of job. Almost all of the adverts are looking for someone with experience.

He is sending off applications for all sorts of jobs, but usually gets no response whatsoever and, occasionally, a brief "no thank you" email. We are very concerned that the longer this goes on, the more unemployable he will become.

We are in the South East. Is anyone else in the same position?

Has he had a look for things like competitions and animation film festivals that he could enter? I had a friend who entered something like that a few years ago and won. She ended up eventually being offered a job in kids tv. It might sound a bit pie in the sky but could be worth it.

I think lots of people who work in animation and special effects design are self employed OP. Your DS would need to be able to build a network of contacts and approach them regularly for work. If he's not able to do this, is there something related that he might enjoy working in?

@BoyJob

I met someone from the Mouth that Roars organisation at a meeting recently.

I wonder whether your son could help some of the young people there with workshops etc.

https://mouththatroars.com/in-focus/

Not RTFT but I have a similar age son and when he and his friends were looking for first jobs/tide over jobs they had the most luck with Co Op (food shops) Wetherspoons and Nisa Locals

(Wilko used to be great for this too but alas, no longer an option).

I know it’s not what he wants but if it’s a matter of earning some cash and getting a work reference I would deffo recommend trying Co Op, lots of branches and opportunity to move over or pick up extra hours in a different branch.

The National Autistic Society has a lot of useful information in employment and also runs an e learning course on finding employment. I wonder if you have any family friends, preferably people in managerial positions who could help him with applications and in particular interview practice. It’s often easier if this is done by somebody who isn’t close family.

I had a friend who started his career in animation by doing animated assembly videos for an engineering company! Not the most interesting thing ever but this is the type of sideways entrance there can be to get experience. He now has a career in animation for tv.

Sorry I have not read the whole thread so someone may have already said this. Is he asking for feedback each time he is not successful at interview/application? My son was unemployed a few years ago and did this, helping him learn how he needed to improve interview or get more experience. Can he use his skills in a voluntary capacity while waiting for something or sign up for temp work via an agency, that will be good for his CV? Anything so it looks like he is getting out there, dealing with people and learning about team work. He may have to think broadly. Has he considered work as an IT technician or assistant in an art department at a school?

Could he produce mock up videos as adverts, say for a local glazing company?

So many things online, instruction manuals, adverts, video has boomed recently online, so perhaps it's about looking at places he could his skills in at first.

Even if he offered a few local small businesses a freebie at first to build up a portfolio of work.

I understand it's not animation as such.

Or find a student writer who they could work on a project together and put it out online. If it's popular people will become interested.

Look round and see if there are any nooks his skills and passions might be able to be planted.

OP I'm a software developer and know a lot of people in the game design industry etc. Unfortunately the competition is tough. Companies invested thinking the COVID boom would last forever, but it didn't and people are being laid off.

I know some people who took 4 years to get a job in the industry and it's OK the question is what should he take as a stopgap

Also OP having read all your posts he does have work experience - just on a self-employed basis. I'd be happy to have a look at his CV if it would be useful.
It could also be the way his skills are presented in the CV

You are such a supportive mum! I can understand your worry.

My DH is on the spectrum. He's amazing at what he does but he does not interview well at all. What has helped him in the past is to let HR know about that so they can interview him accordingly.

He could do some research on companies that offer a neurodiversity hiring program. Microsoft has one: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/diversity/inside-microsoft/cross-disability/neurodiversityhiring

Here's an article on how big companies are hiring more neurodiverse staff:
https://www.worklife.news/talent/neurodiversity-autism-adhd-hiring-interview-microsoft-ey/

He could also reach out to recruiters. They can definitely help in terms of role searching and he could also ask for advice on the industry, interviewing etc.. Here are a few that pertain to animation:

https://www.ukscreenalliance.co.uk/subpages/job-vacancies/

https://www.talent-outpost.com

https://www.mustardjobs.co.uk/fx/

https://rachellelewis.com

https://thecrewingcompany.com

https://wearepeas.com/moving-image-film

Good luck with everything! I can imagine it's nerve-wracking but I'm sure he will find something in due time.

I met a law graduate yesterday who works as a Care asst. the market is saturated and the universities don't care whether there is employment from a degree, as long as they are getting their fees.

He could look at an apprenticeship. Graduate entry schemes. Self employment.
Is he claiming UC?

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Is he aware of the International Animation festival held in Annecy, France every year. It’s a good place to meet people and network, plus a lovely place for a holiday.

(Sorry, missed this year’s festival)

Poor lad. Not having much of a CV can make job hunting harder. Is there any volunteering he can do which can help him build skills for his CV? A library or foodbank or something like Conservation Volunteers or Good Gym? If he has very specific interests, these should be on his CV and he should tailor his applications towards one of his interests so he has subject knowledge and understanding. Lastly, is he doing a scattergun approach, dashing of CVs with a very general covering letter? He needs to make each CV and covering letter relevant to the job he is applying for, highlighting how he meets the person specification. Have a chat with him and offer to help him with his next few applications. And Good luck!

@BoyJob is he in any film and TV job Facebook groups? There's one called People In TV: Runners which is mainly focused on roles on set but sometimes has adverts for runners in post-production houses or people with video editing skills for social media content companies. It's also full of people willing to give feedback on CVs in a supportive and friendly way.

If he got really far through the process with the Dublin company they obviously really liked him.

Im wondering whether between you, DH and him you could thrash out a way to make that job work for a year? Do they have any fixed term contracts or maternity leave covers open which he could reapply for ? Or entry level roles where leaving after a year would be ok?

If either of you work from home could one of you go with him? Or could you both travel back and forth so that he has one of you there every couple of weeks? Or would one of his friends be interested in Dublin if you were paying towards the rent?

With a view to job hunting for a new role closer to home once he has been employed for a year if he doesn’t love living in Dublin.

I book a lot of freelancers for short turnaround work through services such as YunoJuno and Fiverr, getting setup on there is a good idea, though it's a crowded marketplace

Working in safeguarding, with other stakeholders, the police representative on the safeguarding team encouraged applications for cyber security jobs.

He talked of needing young people with computing/IT backgrounds and added that young people who are neuro diverse are really successful in this type of work (detailed, intense).

He laughed about needing young people who would have the skills to be potential hackers as the police struggle to be a step ahead, but need to be!

Not sure if this fits your DS. If it does has he checked out any jobs or training?

It used to be that people who wanted a creative job used to go and be receptionists/secretaries/waiters/bartenders for totally random companies till they got their break. Is that possible?

I'm in an industry with a similar creative side. I didn't get where I wanted to be until my early 30s and that was after several jobs that had nothing to do with my interest followed by several jobs that were tangentally related.

I then spend 6 months or so making a really tailored portfolio. In my industry this is way more important then CV, references or anything else.

It sounds like he has a good evidence of his game design but what about the animation side. I would suggest he focuses in on making a really good quality piece of work that shows his skill and style.

Alternatively he could pivot into gaming if it's an area he is already in. Animation and rigging is very important for game making. The games industry is huge. If he knows people then he could make something himself, start a dev 'company' which would work as previous experience and reference etc.

In the meantime time, agency work.

Agreeing with others that universities offer huge numbers of spaces for courses which don't have jobs needing filled. This is the kind of vocation that needs multiple internships (hopefully your son has some already) to get contacts, industry experience and should help find projects. I have several friends in this industry who are experienced and all are seeing reduced hours/projects. They have limited job stability, generally work multiple jobs (in hospitality etc on teh side), and the whole industry is suffering. Only the people with the real "go getter" attitudes who are pushing every step of the way are consistently getting and retaining jobs. Please get him to an agency to get contract work, any work frankly, maybe an apprenticeship if he can't get internships lined up.

Could he use the ScreenSkills bursaries I suggested to do one of the Aardman courses?

https://www.screenskills.com/your-career/screenskills-bursaries/

https://academy.aardman.com/courses

Just to put a positive possibility out there, I'm mum to an Autistic young 20 something adult thriving in an IT role. They didn't cope in mainstream school and social communication is a massive issue but they're a tech whiz. They now manage an international team. Something five years ago I couldn't have conceived - at that stage talking on a mobile phone was a challenge, they couldn't cross a road or do many tasks you'd expect a much younger child to be able to do independently.

They are working for a company who have a parallel recruitment system for those on the spectrum - its differentiated to enable them to show their skills whilst not being overwhelmed by the interview process.

I've always focused on what they can do, not what they can't, but have also realised that sometimes playing the hand you have and seeking the unique path that presents because of it, opens up different options.

Things like cost of getting to work shouldn't be a barrier. There are various schemes that can be applied for like access to work: https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work

Local council Educational Health Care Teams should be supporting young adults through to 25 with their differentiated needs so if your DS had one of those, they maybe able to help.

The council may also have a disability support advisor - someone who can get you links to what's available in your area.

There are some companies that offer schemes helping autistic people with employability - this list is a few years old but I'm sure many similar schemes will exist am autism list of autism friendly companies [https://i-am-autism.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/autism-friendly-companies.pdf Its not all trolly pushing type roles - its a full range of possibilities.

If he's enjoyed doing a bit of work off his own back then it would no doubt look great on any application to continue with this. If he wants help from other entrepreneurs and mentor support then it might be worth signing up for Small Business Britain Small and mighty programme - its all online and works through the various elements of running your own business with an online community helping each other out. They have a review running called the Lilac review about barriers faced by disabled entrepreneurs that may interest him/ or the findings from it may make their programmes more accessible for him.

As a stopgap and somewhere he may feel comfortable working could be alternative education providers. There’s a huge number of children and young people often with autism unable to manage mainstream school and increasingly being taught out of school. Locally there are some not for profit community interest groups who teach kids animation / video editing etc skills. He could also join tutoring agencies. I think there are masters in cyber / AI which have bursaries /funding avail although I have heard people complain AI courses are basically out of date by the time you complete them.

Got to do an internship these days.