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

Well, yes. She will be sanctioned if she's not seeking employment. So how on earth is it 'indulging middle class graduates'?

I don’t see how the parents can suddenly not afford to have their adult child at home when they were there at 18. One extra person to feed is not a lot. Obviously in those circumstances they shouldn’t expect luxuries but I think it’s harsh to say they can’t support an extra few months.

I know, I've interned at publishing firms in London (secured through my uni) but wondering if she can expand her field of applications, if she just wants to kind of stay in an artsy sphere overall or as a first step on her career ladder? I definitely had to start thinking of peripheral industries when I ultimately couldn't land a publishing job in London after graduating

I do agree that she should apply for any work, especially as her current chosen route is likely to be a very long wait, or will need a plan B.

@snowlolo

Paying graduates to sit around waiting for a job in a niche area is not the function of UC. My husband (an established and experienced professional in his field) had to claim for two weeks and applied for, and went to interviews for, bar work, charities and receptionist jobs.

There are fully remote copywriting agencies. She can also build up experience by freelancing, again fully remote.

So this not being suitable to claim job seekers allowance immediately after graduation isn’t new thing. Back when I graduated in the mid 2000’s you couldn’t claim Job Seekers immediately on graduating basically because you hadn’t been working you’d been studying and had the privilege of the discounts of being a student (council tax, prescriptions etc.) Yes, many students work evenings/weekends/holidays but essentially your profession at that time was being a student not a working person also paying council tax etc.

I’d focus on getting any job and keeping looking for dream job.
Even entry level at a council or big company gives you potential to move up.
If she has a Spanish degree then online tuition is an option - lots at DDs school had tutors for gcse.

London has worse social mobility than any other part of England, and young Londoners from working-class backgrounds are less likely to land a professional job than young working-class kids from anywhere else in the country. (33% of professional jobs are taken by young people from low-income families outside London, and only 17% in London)

Not least because of the constant influx of privileged, wealthy graduates whose parents don't live in London.

I worked for an independent publishers part-time throughout my undergrad and postgraduate degrees, so by the time I ended up working in the industry, I had a good 7 years of part-time (and some full-time over the summers) actual paid work experience.

If OP's daughter has nothing more than an English Lit degree, an art portfolio, and a wish to 'work in publishing', she's not approaching this in a realistic or mature way.

I never said it was.

I said that people who are in a position where they need it whilst looking for work should apply for it (such as you and your husband once were).

The point is, applying for "any job", as so many people are insightfully suggesting, can take several months for a young person without much work experience, particularly if they have moved back to a rural home town.

As several people have pointed out, there are sanctions anyway if they are not job hunting, so I really don't understand what anyone's problem is with this.

When my DD finished uni and was jobless, we made a deal. She stayed in the flat she had rented/shared as a student (major city) and said we would pay for one month's rent and food until she got a job. She had some savings from holiday jobs.

She did- in a hospital cafe. Far below her degree (science, top Russell Group) but it was a step on the ladder. She was then offered a pretty menial job in the type of industry she wanted to be in, through an agency she was registered with.

Once in the company someone found out about her degree, in conversation, and voila- she was offered a job in the company that suited her degree.

Yes this is true. Some (not all!) people on UC are unemployed because they're holding out for a "dream job", so their job support people will urge you to apply for more realistic jobs. It's part of their standard protocol. They just - understandably - want you off the dole as fast as possible.

I think UC + applying for "lower level" work with job centre resources is a good start, then try for remote or freelance work on the side (note you can have remote+full/part time, and you can have remote+freelance, those are 2 different categories). I've segued into remote freelance work myself and it pays better than my previous London job, but it takes time to build up.

If she manages to claim anything it will be while she looks for work and that's what she'll get the benefit for.
She may as well find a job off her own back with your financial help than have to meet the demands of a work search where she'll be made to apply and provide evidence for 35 hours job search a week and meet the criteria for payment and accept any job offers.
It's not jus free money while you think about what you want to do.

@snowlolo The sanctions around UC and job seeking are minimal. People play the system. All they have to do is say they have been looking for work which can mean browsing the web, filling in some applications (often badly, because they don't actually want the job), not turning up for interviews (ditto) and so it goes on.

That's great for your daughter.

But one story of a young person who is doing OK doesn't negate the need for UC to be available for others.

Some young people live in areas where there are very few opportunities, and even fewer for people in their early 20's with minimal work/ life experience.

Hence it is a good thing that UC is there to help them whilst they are looking.

@Justalittlebitduckling I worked for an independent publishers part-time throughout my undergrad and postgraduate degrees, so by the time I ended up working in the industry, I had a good 7 years of part-time (and some full-time over the summers) actual paid work experience.

On hindsight do you think it makes sense to work for the same employer through uni? That way you have much stronger references and connections. I did internship stints at various places (added up to a good amount of time) and wasn't able to form good enough connections to land an industry job after graduating. Maybe down to my networking skills though.

OK, well, this is where we get to the truth of it.

Young graduates/ young people are bad. They're 'playing the system'. They're sponging off the state.

If this is truly how you think then there's not really any response that will appease you.

There will always be people who take advantage of any system for benefits. That doesn't mean the system should not be there for those who need it.

I'm not saying that to be judgmental I have claimed benefits for a very small time and I can tell you it was more stressful than any job I've ever done.

Fully agree with you @Hobbi, and for the OP complaining that its only the younger generation, I'm sick of hearing this.

There are plenty of us older generation in our 40s/50s who go back to Uni to better ourselves and have to pay university fee`s and try to save up for a home. Not everyone of us had the breaks or opportunities in earlier life for numerous reasons.

I finished Uni in my 40`s with a huge university debt and could not claim, I even landed a seasonal job for 12 months and still could not claim as I had insufficient credits. With no mum or dad alive to fall back on.

It has been damed hard work competing with youngsters in today's job market but now I made it I'm glad I did and I pay a substantial amount of student loan back each month, so yes I will have it paid back by the time i retire too.

It's called life deal with it.

With English and Spanish could she do some tutoring perhaps?

It's how it is not how I think.

Take the scales off your eyes.

I also did remote/virtual tutoring to tide me over while starting out freelance! Sorry to comment so much on this thread but I do feel for OP's daughter as I think she was being a bit naive about the level of competition/connections needed for this industry

She is attempting to get into a very competitive and low paid field. Does she have relevant work experience etc? The most switched on grads will have been thinking about enjoyment from the Easter/summer holls of their first year, applying to internships, going to career events, networking events etc. she is competing with people who will be on LinkedIn finding connections and getting themselves out there. It won’t be enough to be passive about applying for the post.

It's called life deal with it.

What a lovely message to give to our next generaton of young people growing up in this broken society.

Believe me, they're struggling enough as it is. But I'm sure they'll appreciate that and find it super helpful. I work with young people so I'll pass it on for you.

Care work isn’t just with ill people or elderly people. But yes it probably helps if you can think further yourself.

Anyway obviously not forcing anyone to do it. But if you are looking for a job that is flexible, and leaves lots of free days to do something else - such as apply for a grad job - then it is a positive option to research. It’s also an industry with lots of vacancies (although fewer than there were). Have introduced a lot of new people to support work - many who have never done it before & have been surprised by what their job actually involves.