To think I’m unemployable?

[23andbroke]

I’m 24 next month. I graduated university (psychology) in 2019, then decided to take spend time travelling before entering the world of work. When the first lockdown happened I had to immediately return home, and I haven’t been able to find a job since!

I feel like a complete failure for having a massive career gap on my CV. I have had retail jobs in the past but there aren’t many retail roles available right now, the jobs are in high demand due to pandemic redundancies etc and I’ve been unsuccessful each time.

Would really appreciate advice on how to get out of this mess as it’s honestly depressing

How are you at writing? There are a lot of requests for content writers on freelancer sites at the moment. Having your degree would give you an edge. Also, you could try getting into HR and employee engagement.

OP have you considered working as a support worker in a children's home? A psychology degree would be an asset for those roles, they are often keen to have staff of a range of ages, and it would give you experience of working with children who have experienced trauma, training in therapeutic parenting approaches etc. Some organisations have clinical staff attached to the homes so could be good for networking for future opportunities too. Re interviews, a bit of enthusiasm and passion go a long way in the sector!

Everyone saying care work I've done it before and honestly you need to be a certain kind of person to do that job it's not easy.
I can honestly say I'd pick being on benefits to working as a care worker for the elderly again.

For reference it was a care home a lot of the residents had dementia it's a very mentally and physically demanding job.

If you do something like care work, you can then put a positive spin on it in future applications:
"I was unable to obtain an entry-level post when I first applied, due to the pandemic, but I have spent the last two years working as a care worker. This has given me experience of working with a range of people with various mental and physical health problems, and a much greater understanding of the impact these had on their everyday lives. In particular...."
You can probably find all sorts of things to talk up - working with other health professionals, liaising with clients' families, etc.

Voluntary work also has to be worth considering alongside, especially anything related to areas you might want to work in.

Sign up for Universal Credit and speak to your Work Coach about the Kickstart Scheme. It’s for 18-24 year olds (and you’re eligible until you turn 25, not 24)

It's a really challenging job market so don't be disheartened. Jobs like HR and classroom assistant will expect experience and closely matched skills and potentially even in a more stable market there will be better qualified candidates.

Definitely use your Uni career service, also sign up with some recruitment agencies for permanent and temp jobs.

Best of luck

What have you done to get work?
Where are you aiming for?
What additional skills have you learned during lockdown- a new language, a musical, instrument, cooking, coaching, further IT skills? If not, why not?
What volunteering have you done to stand out from the crowd?
How many jobs have you applied for?
Have you applied for graduate schemes?
Would you move?
What about armed forces?
What about apprenticeships?

Feels like you’re finding barriers instead of solutions.

If you have a psych degree, you will probably have used or be familiar with a variety of stats analysis methodologies and programmes.

Analyst roles are ALWAYS in high demand in the energy/finance/information systems/management consultancy sectors. They can often be done remotely (although I appreciate that may not be what you want as a recent grad) and even entry level roles are relatively well-paid.

LinkedIn is a good source of info for who's recruiting.

You could volunteer in something related to the field you want to go into. What is the podcast about? You could also work as a support worker in mental health, have you thought about things like being a social prescriber? I think trying for retail is a waste of time as it’s not the career you want. While you are unemployed you might as well volunteer or try to get work that’s at least partially related to your field of interest.

You’re very young and it’s a pandemic. Stop focusing on the short term with retail, a lot of people think they can walk into retail roles as a stop gap so those jobs are actually often really competitive.

I think you did retail to support your studies and you’re still thinking like a student. But now it’s time to think about your career. Volunteering is a great way to add to your CV and grow skills, and it can lead to permanent jobs. I know two people personally right now who got jobs they love from volunteering.

If you haven’t dine so already claim UC in order to access training abd advice in work skills.

Do you drive? There are loads of delivery options available : Amazon, Hermes etc using your own vehicle. Warehouse jobs too. You need to have the mindset of any job is better than no job at this point. Employers know what’s going on in the world and won’t judge you for not doing what you are qualified for but they will judge you for not being proactive and showing a bit of gumption.

And teach first is always worth a look .

OP I manage and recruit in to the roles you have mentioned. We are just one organisation but and have lots of vacancies at the moment and I know the charitable sector always carries vacancies. We take lots of Psychology graduates, I was one myself. I interviewed one yesterday, she got the job.

Please look at local charitable organisations to you i.e. CGL, Humankind, We are with you, Practice Plus Group, Phoenix Futures, Turning Point etc

Agree with the 'tough love' suggestions ... I manage a charity shop, a young psychology graduate started volunteering with me last summer.... keen and enthusiastic, after 3-4 weeks she told me that she'd been found a care in the community job, of course that doesn't sound glamorous but in the current conditions it was an excellent job to get earning and have something in your CV.
My DS is at Uni - not graduated yet but couldn't get his usual holiday job in hospitality so set up a car wash business never washed my car you have to show lots of initiative.
There are plenty of volunteering opportunities still available (I am currently furloughed but have two separate volunteering roles plus all the usual caring for neighbours etc).

Of course you are not unemployable. You are only 24 with a lifetime ahead! The employment market is rubbish atm. Take time to think about what you really want to do, do some research on the best way to get there, and then go for it! Further study? Professional qualification? Your own business? Private or public sector employment? Unless you are in dire financial straits, don't just rush into whatever happens to be available, as this will impact on the time and energy you need to concentrate on planning your career strategy. Follow your star! Good luck!

@QualityRoads I’m afraid that’s terrible advice - while OP is sitting considering her dream her more proactive contemporaries will be out there getting the skills and experience (perhaps in a field they hadn’t previously contemplated) that employers in their chosen field will later value.

I’m told by my young person that a lot of recruiters trawl LinkedIn to find candidates so again if you haven’t already, OP, get your profile and CV up there, be active and link to people and companies of interest

I was unemployed for a couple of years after university. Initially I wanted a graduate job, but it took me two years to get it into my head I needed to take whatever was going.

Sign up with agencies, accept any offer of work.

Basically just lower your standards and accept you will have a period of a few years you work long hours in a job you dislike for poor pay.

It's not easy. School career advisers lie when they suggest that hard work in school/uni equals a good job at the end of it.

You are definitely not unemployable!

My initial thoughts...

Get yourself volunteering!
Get yourself on LinkedIn and CV uploaded to Reed etc. If your CV isn't up to scratch then you should be able to access your unis career advice scheme as a graduate.
Apply for other roles outside of retail. In financial services we would take people at entry / admin level even if they had no prior interest in finance previously. You just have to prove your experience in retail gave you transferable skills.
Be kind to yourself! Job hunting is shit enough and probably even harder as a graduate. You will get there, its a tough climate, but you won't be this way forever. Best of luck op.

Assistant clinical psychologist posts are highly competitive. Those people I know who got them already had 1-2 years relevant postgraduate experience such as being a support worker.

You could look at research assistant jobs at university, as previously said HCA & support worker positions within mental health, psychological well-being practitioner roles.

Do you ultimately want to train to be a clinical psychologist?

If you’re not sure yet then as someone else has said working in secure children’s home could be a good role- I know someone who did this and then got postgraduate social work training funded.

You could also apply for mental health nursing for September- lots more roles and if you can demonstrate skills from your first degree opportunities for fast progression & ANP roles.

You need to be mindful of the fact that a question such as this will illicit a lot of projection from people based on their own experiences.

No, you’re not unemployable and no you actually do not have to take whatever work is available and get stuck in a rut of continuing to not break into a career job. Unless obviously out of financial necessity. In which case, obviously, you absolutely do need to take anything. If you are have the privilege of not having to- then I don’t understand how taking anything will be good for you at this point. I’d focus on breaking in to what you want to do and maximising. No, working in a warehouse won’t necessarily make you more employable in your industry of choice. No, at 24 years old you don’t have to overly worry about a career gap. No, your peers are not wildly ahead of you as has been suggested. Yes, you do indeed have the opportunity to select a career of choice - - but you have to work very, very, hard at this part.

You need to buckle down and make moves to add to your CV. This means INDUSTRY SPECIALISATION. There is loads of CPD (Professional Development) and courses you can do, both for free and at a small cost that will help you crack in to your industry of choice. Any undergraduate degree you need to think of as the baseline. The foundation if you will. What will help you now is of course practical industry experience but also taking real initiative towards skilling up and learning. You’re more likely to get industry experience if they can see you’ve skilled up or taken initiative to learn about the specific industry. NOT just general academic stuff.

There are coding courses, Princes Trust courses, charity volunteering. All for free that you can do. You really need to be looking at this free stuff and jumping on it. The support IS there for young people to get on the path to what they want but you do have to capitalise, commit, treat it like a job and work hard.

I’d agree with the points about being flexible with what you want but I’d caveat by saying at minimum selecting a broad industry to specialise in is essential. You need something to aim for otherwise you’re directionless.

FYI general point: starting a business is an option here. There is LOADS of support for this. Look at the Prince’s Trust again. More young people should be excited about this option.

Be positive. It’s a horrible time now but this is an opportunity for you to build resilience. You’ll be fine long term - nothing lasts forever, good or bad. @I hope you’re well supported at home.

Are you still doing the podcast? There's plenty money to be made in podcasting if you market it and monetize it the right way.

Someone already mentioned freelance writing. There are plenty of health websites looking for trained psychologists to write articles. I'd check out Upwork - www.upwork.com/search/profiles/?q=psychologist. At least you'd be doing something in your field and you could mention it on your CV.

You're a psychologist so you should be able to offer a service of some sort online? Life coaching or something like that? I don't know what psychologists study, but I know of a few that write on Medium (and earn money from it) but they also sell courses, ebooks etc. on psychology based topics. Maybe there's something you could come up with there? Have a look on Medium: medium.com/tag/psychology/top-writers

OP apply for the big company graduate schemes.

If you’ve got a 2.1 or above you should get interviews. Some will take you with a 2.2. They often close in October/November so get applying now. Start doing your research.

You don’t need to be a recent graduate to do it either- my DH went back to it in his late 20s at a big management consultancy firm.

Good luck!

Im not sure if perhaps you would be able to do an internship, traineeship or apprenticeship? My friend felt the same after graduating Uni and she did Temp work and then an internship in her mid 20s. Or even set up your own business as a counsellor in your living room if you can become a counsellor once COVID gets lesser...i had private counselling in someone's living room or conservatory many times. Dont lose hope. im 28 and have never had a job, no degree, i have two kids and live in a council house with my husband...hardly something to brag about...but am looking forward to the future when i can do an apprenticeship in something i can be good at. im still only young and so are you.

You're not unemployable at all. You have a good life science type degree. You have travelled. Have you thought of applying for medical sales representative jobs? Do you have clean driving license? Good IT and soft skills? Get your CV out to both recruiters and directly to HR departments. Good luck!

If you are getting interviews then the problem will be from how you interview. If you are nervous it will be lack of how well you sell yourself and probably not giving examples.

I would recommend practicing those skills. If you are going for entry level jobs then it isn't important if you don't have huge amount of experience but you need to find out what the key skills they want are and use examples and tie them to those skills in the interview.
I have interviewed people for entry level posts and it is not always the person with a huge amount of experience who gets the job, it comes down to how they interview. Of course with experience it is often easier to have answers to the interview questions but it is not everything.

Read through the job descriptions and find out what skills they are asking for. Then practice some examples that are relevant and see if you have transferrable skills.
So for example if they ask for how you deal with a difficult situation/problem you want to be able to give an example of how you problem solve, communicate with your team/manager (or other people if not job related example) and how you put something in place for future to avoid same problem/how the outcome was positive.

Do you have a field you would eventually like to work in? If so I would think creatively about which roles in the same industry would still be in demand right now.

For example, say you would like to work in CAMHS, schools etc are still open so I would be looking for TA roles especially in specialist schools, local authority SEND departments, admin work in the NHS for mental health services, paediatricians etc, related charities etc etc.