Graduate DD not qualifying for job seekers. The buck stops with us

[drivinmecrazy]

DD1 graduated this summer and moved home to us in October.
Since then she's been applying for entry level jobs in publishing and copywriting in London.
We live in a rural town with limited employment opportunities, for which we feel really guilty for, but that's another story.
We agreed to give her until the new year to focus fully on finding the ideal position before we expected her to apply for local jobs which would tide her over.
Since then she's applied for job seekers allowance. Found out today she does not qualify because doesn't have enough NI contributions.
She's certainly not work shy, she supported herself largely through uni and spent time from graduation until she me of September working full time at her uni job so was paying NI and tax.
Now she's home it falls to us to support her. She has dwindling savings so has enough for her socialising and we obviously don't charge her for board and lodgings.
But at 22yo surely she should be treated by the state as independent.
What if we didn't have the means to support her at home?
TBH I was hoping she'd qualify for the £200 odd per month for job seekers so she might be able to contribute £20 a week to the household, which would obviously not come close to what she is 'costing' us , but might give her some self worth.
We are fortunate we can accommodate her but it's a hefty weight for us to carry with the cost of living etc.

We have never claimed anything as a family but surely as an independent 22yo woman she should have some autonomy.

I realise probably shouldn't have put this in aibu cos I know I am, but where do our parental responsibilities stop?

She has obviously started applying for local jobs in what she has experience of and her cv is fortunately full of work experience so shouldn't take long.

But I guess my real AIBU is what would happen if we could not or would not cover her living costs

Letthecarhuntbegin
Going even further back things were even easier for youngsters. I lived in the South East of England and my girl friends and I wrote a few letter each to either banks or insurance companies and we all got jobs straightaway. We were 16 and had just finished our O Levels. These jobs would be good graduate jobs now.

Why not? If my taxes have to support anyone, I’d rather they support OPs daughter short term until she gets a job, than paying for some of the people out there who make it a lifestyle choice to never work, and are still bumming around in their 30’s, 40’s. Surely that’s what UC is there for - to plug short term gaps in unemployment

Sorry if this has already been mentioned, I can't read through all the comments here, but based on what you have said about your daughter's qualifications there is no chance she will be able to get an entry level job in publishing.

She will need lots of internship experience (usually this is unpaid) and even just getting an internship in a publishing house is super difficult without a relevant degree/job experience/connections. Usually this is got through doing a master's in publishing, or at least marketing or design etc. A bachelors in English lit isn't worth anything I'm afraid.

The best strategy, if a masters isn't an option, is to branch out and look for graduate level jobs in pretty much anything that will give her some related experience. E.g. My first graduate job was working as admin in the marketing department of a company selling info between investors and funds. They published their info in book format with a small in house design team and that was my first bit of industry experience, although it was totally by chance. From there I went on to a do a master's in publishing which helped hook me up with internships, although in the end I dropped out went down a different route.

I hope she eventually gets to where she wants to be x

The OPS child could get a MN wage job of which there are many. However she will be paying minimal tax and NI and not paying a cent back to her student loan.

Oh stop. you get a rubbish job (or two or three) while you apply for the ones you really want. Both times I was in this situation it took about 10 months to get to where I wanted to be. But I could support myself while looking.

Same. Everyone I knew got a rubbish job while they applied for the ones they wanted.

And it is perfectly possible to do interviews while working. The beauty of casual work is that you can organise your shifts to suit. Or take annual leave if needed.

Even if she doesn't qualify for JSA or UC (although I'm fairly certain she should be entitled to one income-based, she maybe applied for conts-based instead) she should still apply for UC even if it is just to get her NI contributions.
(It's been a good 10 years since I worked in the benefits office and know a lot has changed but there should definitely still be an option to get her stamp)

I get what you're saying, but it's not that it's particularly 'hard' to get a career nowadays, it's just there's a real lack of nous being taught to kids about how to do it.

There are significantly more graduates than graduate level jobs becoming available each year, therefore picking the right degree, internships and work experience are significantly more important than just getting a degree, and there's still a weird view amongst thousands and thousands of graduates that having a degree will automatically equal success. That hasn't been true for the past 20 years at least.

The OPs daughter has been caught up in this, she's come out of uni with a degree and is simply waiting for an opportunity to come up. Time's ticking because a whole new batch of graduates with the same degree will be out in the wild in a few months time and she'll be further down the pecking order. My issue isn't necessarily with the child, though she's clearly not got the biggest drive hence the lack of... anything, it's with parents not helping guide their kids properly so they end up in these situations and then wondering why.

I haven't read the whole thread but there seems to be sense on this page. I agree with the poster whonsays a BA in English Lit won't get her a publishing or copywriting job unless it's a 1st from Oxbridge and she has existing connections.

The op's dd needs to compromise and while she's thinking about compromising she needs to get a job, any job, rather than claim benefits providing she has no significant disabilities. Like many others I don't pay tax to support fit, young graduates looking for their dream jobs.

🚲 🚲 and pedal hard.

I think that's a tad defeatist. I work in publishing. It pays my bills. I'll admit its not amazingly well paid at the moment, because I career changed and might as well be a fresh graduate. As I get more experienced I'll be able to command a higher salary. Dreaming of being a fulltime poet is unrealistic, working in publishing isn't. I don't see why she can't multitask interning/freelancing and an evening and weekend job. She's young and child free. It's the time to hustle.

I also didn't go to Oxbridge and have a 2:1. Copywriting really isn't as competitive as all that.

I know several people who have English Literature degrees, not 1sts from Oxford, no connections, who got jobs in publishing soon after graduating - as either a first or second job.

She needs to apply for universal credit, she’s applied for the wrong benefit.

“She will have weekly appointments to discuss her work search and applications. Help and advice will be offered as well as some opportunities to meet local employers or do courses.”

This makes it sound very professional but the other poster was spot on. The clientele these are aimed at aren’t graduates. The courses are for very very basic skills. Opportunities to meet local employers 😂= bring forced into an early morning shift cleaning at Asda that starts before the very first bus can get there or your payments will stop.

So what did she do for the 6 months she decided to have “off” after finishing her degree op.

I adk this as someone who graduated in the 80s and spent 6 months before graduating applying for grad schemes, and as the mother of a 2021 graduate who’s working her arse off in a bar job while she looks for her career job.

must be nice to have the luxury your dd has.

why can’t she get a job while she looks?

The job Center really helped my graduate DS. They lined him up with a 13 week online course that was free and also what should have been 6 months minimum wage 25 hours per week social media job in a London art gallery (WFH). It actually turned out to be just 4 months and then he got the job he was after. The art gallery job looked really good on his CV.

No she needs to look for a job while she looks for something permanent

Some of these comments are unreal.
OP, I hope your daughter finds something soon, I know it isn't easy x

It's true that most of the jobs actually coordinated by the job centre are not aimed at graduates but most of the customers are not graduates and graduates are usually better placed to source their own opportunities more easily. However there's still a lot of help which can be offered.

@OpportunityKnockss - a job in an art gallery?! Ds was offered from the job centre a job as a swimming instructor… all very well but ds can’t swim…

People say there aren't 'secretarial' jobs, but it's just that they tend to be called 'admin' nowadays or something.

There'll always be a need for people to do stuff like that.

Aren’t they? What an ugly ugly side to mumsnet. She can’t do right for doing wrong. This young woman is being portrayed as what, lazy? Not worthy of benefits? Not allowed a social life?
you all need to have a word with yourselves and be kind.
When the financial crisis happened I had been in my graduate role for a year or so, after that the graduate scheme more than halved its intake and has never really recovered. I’m glad I’m not trying to start my career now.
The lack of good will and empathy on some of these comments is terrible.

Alternatively, she could do what I encouraged my DD to do when she graduated. Claim UC, agree a 'commitment with her work coach that she would apply for local jobs (also lives rurally where they are few and far between) as well as applying for graduate posts. The £240 per month supported her while she did that. I certainly couldn't. 5 weeks later she landed a job after 5 interviews. 3 of which were face2face which cost £36 a time by train alone. There is no way a MW job would have allowed her that time off for interviews even if there was a job available nearby.

Or she could have done what my DS did and work 24 hours a week mostly at weekends and evenings, earning the £240 without need for UC and still having plenty of time to apply for jobs and attend interviews, many of which won't be face to face these days (he only had virtual interviews) depending on the type of job you are applying for.

I’ve worked in books and publishing for going on 20 years. There’s a lot of misconceptions about this industry. Firstly copywriting isn’t really a job anyone does as an employee very often. It’s either contracted out or over seas. If she’s qualified in that there’s services you can registered self employed for but I wouldn’t recommend it. Firstly no one hires a recent graduate for the kind of job that would put publisher on your cv. But following is my advice. Good linked in profile is better than a CV, look at publishing specific recruiters. I’m in contact with a few, feel free to contact me. Inspired selections is excellent and would be my top choice. Next, the jobs she’s looking for could include stuff like marketing exec etc, google have free online digital course in marketing which are very good and worth doing with a certificate and it gives at the very least concepts and language. Sales exec is also a solid starting choice, I’m a more senior sales manager with projects on product development, training and authorship, but you need the right language and knowledge base for it. My company have multiple roles available it just depends on how she presents herself and cv. Happy to PM you the details. I would say whilst any income is better than nothing, no one really cares about a gap after university, and certainly every employer I’ve worked for and hired for has looked carefully at what you’ve been doing not just having been in work. If she’s going to take an irrelevant job on for the cash she needs to be doing something in her spare time which is relevant such as a marketing course, sales course etc. Or community work as a volunteer, but simply working in a shop is not building her cv in any meaningful way. Publishing courses are probably a waste of time but there are often fully funded courses on library studies and those are very worthwhile doing. You’ll never be rich as a librarian but there are jobs and you can easily transition from library to publishing as that’s what I did. As competitive as publishing is, most applicants do the barest minimum and are immediately excluded. Inspired selections would do interview prep with her if she needed it, there’s also telfer partners. Big companies like Pearson are near London, sage, etc, but their entry level jobs can be a bit like the grinder. Don’t discount non London based ones. I’m happy to give more specific advice and details of where I work on a private message if it would help.

My daughter did the same after uni. She worked at a burger place and lived in slightly crap flat while she applied for jobs. It was much easier to get a job in London when living there. It took her a couple of months to find something she wanted.

If she is not working

If she applies for universal credit, this also pays her National Insurance contributions towards her state pension & other benefits

She can check her National Insurance contributions per year on www.gov.uk

She can also check her state pension forecast too on www.gov.uk