To be gutted and annoyed that DD did a degree and now works in Tesco?

[whitman]

DD is 21 and also pretty miserable. She has just had to up her hours at Tesco. She worked there part time while being a student and absolutely loved it for a part time job (only working 1 6 hour shift a week). She is in her 3rd full time week and hates it. She is really upset, to the point of tears. We all told her that she would be better doing a vocational degree (one that actually let to a job).

She applied for lots and lots of jobs that didn't even require a degree but definitely matched the sort of thing she studied.

She then applied to be an RSPCA officer, but unfortunately struggled at interview.

She did Biology with Animal Behaviour.

She doesn't have much work experience honestly.

It's just a shame that she spent all them years and money to end up doing the job she was doing before the degree.

She's very upset and is pretty miserable all the time. Is there hope for the future?

Tesco have great development programmes. She needs to arrange to speak to her personnel manager and ask about their 'Options' programme. She could be sent to workshops that would boost her confidence and soft skills.
Its not her ideal role, but it will show continued personal development and make Tesco a little more interesting while she looks for something else. She could then maybe transfer to a company like Pets At Home where she could use her degree.

I agree about getting experience by volunteering or by setting up as a dogsitter/walker.

However, perhaps she should also to talk to her present employer. She is more qualified now than when she started. As she is still working for them they might be willing to start training her in more interesting roles.

It took me 6months to get a job that fitted my degree and started when I was 22. I slso worked in a supermarket until then. Just tell to keep applying.

Presumably, she was interviewed for the Tesco job, so she’s able to persuade people to employ her, so what’s going g wrong when you say she struggled with recent interviews?

You are being massively unreasonable. She's only just graduated. Very few graduates walk into a graduate job a month after graduating. Plenty of good advice here - remember it will probably take a few years to really get going career-wise.

She only has the experience that she did on her degree which isn't too bad as she took all the field trip modules

I think she needs to get some experience that wasn’t part of her degree. Unfortunately she will be up against people who volunteered throughout their degree.

She is 21. This isn’t a disaster or even the start of one. She is earning a living and that is great. Once she works out what she wants to do, she can work out how to get there.

Her sister needs to back the hell off honestly. I know people say about doing a “vocational” degree but there was no point in doing something which her heart wasn’t in, and actually a lot of people who did do something vocational struggle to get a job at the end because of the pressure on graduate recruitment, or fall out of love with that career path. Your older DD will know about all manner of pressure as a nurse, but not about the pressure of finding a job because she has qualified right in the middle of a recruitment crisis. What she is saying to her sister is really unkind and needs to be stopped now.

And my masters didn't help me to GET a good job, but now that I'm in one it puts be at a level slightly above other similar applicants to move up.

Tell her to take a look here if she hasn’t already - Blue Cross had a few interesting volunteer opportunities that I saw.

www.prospects.ac.uk/jobs-and-work-experience/job-sectors/charity-and-voluntary-work/volunteering-with-animals

Right, different degree but dd1 did the following
Graduated . Did feck all for 2 months. Got a job in retail with same firm she has worked at whilst at Uni. In Dec she was offered a 12 week internship by a uni tutor. After that ended slumped again for months. In august was offered a 6 month internship followed by perm job in her field.
Does her uni have a careers service? Any contacts from lecturers?

I think what she is missing to put her over and above other applicants for jobs is volunteer work in an area she wants to work in or lower level work in an area she wants to work in. For example, working in a pet shop or in a vets on reception might not be what she wants to do long term - but it is more inline with her degree and while there she will meet people in her chosen field. I do think its a huge mistake for people to do degrees but then have limited work experience around their career path and then just hope to just having a degree will put them over an above other applicants.

Tesco have great development programmes. She needs to arrange to speak to her personnel manager and ask about their 'Options' programme. She could be sent to workshops that would boost her confidence and soft skills.
Its not her ideal role, but it will show continued personal development and make Tesco a little more interesting while she looks for something else. She could then maybe transfer to a company like Pets At Home where she could use her degree.

This covers what I was thinking. The job she has right now is an opportunity; it will take her somewhere even that's only demonstrating her commitment to a job, obtaining great references, developing all her transferable skills, and providing an income which can potentially be used to support widening her horizons in her free time.

Along with telling her sister to wind her neck in. None of us has a time machine, so "we told you so" is unhelpful and unkind.

Having a plan, or even just the hint of a plan, in the back of your mind can make it a lot easier to deal with a job that isn't what you'd like. Maybe to start with that plan could be "I'm going to use tesco to make myself more marketable and employable when I'm ready to move on".

The huge positive here is that she has a full time job with a company that will invest in her if she pursues it. Don't write off the significant of that. If she can show herself to be determined, hardworking, motivated, and adept at learning new things the then other employers will be more interested (which is what I mean by being marketable).

The other angle here is that there seems to be an undue amount of focus on whether or not she's in a perfect/dream/successful job.

What about making her day to day life meaningful and enjoyable to her? Aside from all the stuf about skills, the job she has now offers financial security and stability. It means she has options to build up other parts of her life.

If she can have more going on for herself other than "I have to get a better job, I have to build my skills, I have to get better at interviews" it will most likely help with her mood, her sleeping, and generally how difficult this all feels for her. Hobbies, activities, socialising, relaxing activities that are not job or employment skills related are very necessary here!

The job she has is just one small part of her life and who she is. It shouldn't be the central or only part of it. I write this as someone who has been there with not wanting to go to sleep because I'm dreading another day arriving. She is not alone with that experience. How she feels is valid, and dismissing it won't help, but there's loads of ways to improve it.

Sorry if this has come up but has she asked for feed back? I have interviewed loads of people for jobs and have frequently wished they would just ask for feedback, allowing me to take over😀 and point of what they need to do to get the job.

It sounds like she needs a mentor. Could she contact a woman’s leafship programme? There are loads of women out there wanting to give back. She has plenty of time - i temped for a few months after uni before I git the job I wanted. Most people take a little bit of time to get the righ job.

Not leafship leadership.

Agree with just about everyone else that volunteering is her best route - it's not just about showing you have experience, it builds up your confidence, teaches you skills you never thought you'd need, and CRUCIALLY gives you contacts. Whether that's people who let you know about job opportunities, can provide you with references, or just getting your name known, it is absolutely invaluable. Not to mention it shows commitment to your chosen field.

She's only 21 - she's got years ahead of her yet. I didn't even know about the existence of my specialist subject until I was 33!

Depending on where you live, what about the civil service? She could try for DEFRA which looks after policy areas she might be interested in?

Could she do a traineeship as a vet nurse?

She’s only twenty one.
When I graduated, I took on a number of menial jobs. It’s a rite of passage
There are many in the same position.
She should persevere, things will get better

I graduated with a 2:1, worked in a bar for six months, then got a job as an admin assistant. Most of my class did similar. It took me a while to get a job doing what I wanted (working in media/PR, so totally different to your daughter, but an equally competitive field) and I did some unpaid work experience alongside my office job which helped get me there. My first few jobs were short-term contracts, paying poorly, but it all helped build my CV, gain interview experience, and make contacts. I am now a lecturer in PR/media and my best advice to my students is to do as much work experience - unpaid if required - while they’re studying.

TL:DR - loads of graduates in the same boat, most eventually come out the other side. It will all be okay in the end. Tbh, I wish I had made more of the bar/secretarial time, when essentially I had no responsibilities as I lived at home, and didn’t have to use much mental energy at work. The idea of blowing all my take-home pay on nights out and clothes, plus not having to worry about work and bills, is like a dream now.

First, be proud that she is working and doing a full-time job.
Second, she's only just out of uni. Plenty of people take a couple of years before finding the right job. That doesn't mean her degree is wasted!
Third, if interviews are a problem, definitely see if you can help her find some help with this. The university careers office is a good place to start.
Fourth, the suggestions about volunteering are really worthwhile. Being proactive and getting things on a CV will help her a lot. Shows initiative and determination, as well as the actual experience.
Fifth, be supportive, not annoyed. It's tough out there, and it's not her fault. She's clearly been trying and needs help to keep persevering.

All this ^ from P1.
It is a shame she dint' do more volunteering when she had more time, at University, but she didn't and there is no point in looking back, She needs to look forward. She needs to realise masses of graduates don't find their 'niche' straight away. She is at least earning and now needs to think about what else she can do.

Any employer will be much happier to take on someone who is working in Tesco, than someone who is sitting at home watching Netflix all day. Well done her. Staying in a job takes guts and taking instruction and turning up for work - all these things show her ability to commit and be responsible.Honestly, loads of graduates don't have that.
She can use loads of examples from her Tesco work in her interviews, regardless of the area she is going for.

• working as part of a team. She is a team player.
• working under pressure. Making decisions on the spot.

Dealing with people. Being able to work with people from all walks of life. Being understanding yet professional. Accepting the tedious and repetitive parts of a job because it needs to be done. etc etc.

I was working in an entry level job at 21 too, hadn't even started my (vocational) uni course. She's working and earning, she's in a good place for a young adult.

Could she do a traineeship as a vet nurse?
Veterinary nursing apprenticeships are very competitive - you'd usually be expected to have some relevant veterinary work experience, and most people work for a year or so as a ward assistant before training. Expect minimum wage if not apprenticeship wages while training.

OP, has your daughter applied for any graduate schemes? If she isn't absolutely set on working with animals, how about civil service fast track? Eg. aiming for roles in conservation, environment, DEFRA, biology related fields?

When I finished uni at 23 (with a vocational degree) I had no job at all for 4 months, then I worked 28 hours a week in the supermarket and looked after 5 kids aged 6 months - 6 years of girls I went to school with for 3 days and 2 nights a week, so they could get English and maths GCSE’s - my parents were in a right flap. All came good in the end.
Honestly- so much can happen. And it’s so common to not walk straight into a job after uni. Give it time.

The days doing a degree and walking into a perfect well paid job are long gone for most. The reality is finishing uni with an undergraduate degree is the very start of your career path. I worked my arse off doing unpaid work wile working part time in a shop after my masters before I got something decent.

I know you probably just want the best for her but I think you're out of touch with the job market. It's really tough out there. She is lucky to have a good education but unfortunately it's not all it takes. I don't mean to sound harsh but I've experienced the same from my parents a little while ago now! They just didn't really get that most people don't walk into jobs after uni and the job market is very different from when they were starting out.

I'm sure she feels rubbish I know I did but I think having a firm plan helps so she doesn't feel like she's in limbo just working in a job she didn't need to go to uni for.