Generic degree = No job?

[toyland]

Ds has just finished first year of a History undergraduate at a decent Uni (Top 10 ranking).
He is feeling he hasn’t helped himself by not actively pursuing gaining career skills from looking at how poor the graduate market is at the moment.
He will likely get a high 2:1 (possibly a 1st), but knows it is leveraging relevant experience that matters - of which he has none.
He has joined clubs, but not put himself forward to any positions next year. He has tried to get local summer retail/hospitality work, but hasn’t found anything. He is thinking of volunteering- either at the local museum or citizens advice whilst at Uni next year.
He has started a few Forage courses in Insurance and Finance over the summer (he does have Maths A level) and was looking at Coursera for free courses - was thinking of a Data Analysis visualisation one and Excel skills.
He said he needs interview practice for applying for Internships, but is unsure where to look. He has set up a Linked In Page but connected with 500+ other students mainly! He had a couple of careers 1:1 half an hour sessions at uni -but this was more exploring career thoughts.

I did a degree that led directly to professional exams and career, so I can’t advise him. He does have ADHD and can struggle with focus, so I do try and help if he asks.
What has helped your dc gain skills that helped them get a job -from a degree that doesn’t lead to a specific career?

Seen on another forum lads having success via agency or direct approach for warehouse work. I know you said he’d tried shops/bars/restaurants but factory or warehouse worth a try too.

@LondonPapaIt is listed as a target uni .
I thought a mathematical component to the degree (like electrical engineering @Lampzade) would be necessary; so that’s really useful to know it’s not (he does have A level Maths).
I will get him to connect on Linked In @LondonPapaand try messaging any alumni . Is there any way of private messaging on Linked In that they are likely to be receptive to?
I agree the short courses do look a bit underwhelming and any recruiter is unlikely to place any value in them. Would you say the Microsoft data visualisation Power BI or Excel longer courses are of any value?

Update: The Citizens Advice volunteer role application looks positive and can be done remotely beyond training, so hopefully this will show some skill set. Better than nothing.

@TizerorFizzThe competition for training places seems intense. His uni has a law fair, finance fair and general careers fair in the first couple of weeks back. @BlueandWhitePorcelainadvice on law vs accountancy seems to come up on threads here in favour of accountancy, but I can see there’s a difference between the City and In House. I wonder if he’s cut out for the competition in law places.

There is a town that has warehouses not too far by bus and he did look for any vacancies as well, but he can try agencies thank you @Cakeandusername. I did factory work one uni holiday and it was a real eye opener to hard work for low pay.

CAB is great. My last paralegal used them for a reference and example in interview of dealing with disgruntled members of public.
Yes I’ve done warehouse work as a student, certainly worth a try.
Have you tried council website? Had a quick look on ours and tourist info place was after someone no guaranteed hours but good bet will be busier and have staff away over summer so should get hours. There’s also some ad hoc cleaning ones. Council offices will be accessible by public transport.

@Cakeandusername DD did cab during GDL and some clients were more than disgruntled! Threatening, potentially dangerous and fighting outside before they opened. They had panic buttons.

Maths is not a requirement for all entry routes into accountancy, finance, or consultancy (on double check particular graduate requirements). For the exceptionally bright and connected, it’ll play a part but then there are things like the CFA which holds significant weight for example, and can lead to amazing ops. I’d suggest he aims for what he wants in finance (investigate and make sure he understands the different areas), with back ups in accountancy (B4 audit), and consultancy (B4/MBB).

You may find when he looks into it, he doesn’t want to do it. And his odds are rather low in the first instance as competition is fierce. Others are already on (or due to go on) internships and they’ll have the edge - he needs to close the gap. Good luck.

@LondonPapa He’s only just finished first year. Internships won’t have been open to him yet. He’s got all the applying to do next year. Others won’t be ahead of him in his cohort. However some will have had jobs and volunteering but organised internships - not yet.

@TizerorFizz@CakeandusernameCAB certainly sounds like it may be a suitable challenge. The office location is in quite a deprived city, so I’m sure it will make him step up to the real world quickly.

He is going to keep looking for paid work and pass his driving theory. @CakeandusernameCouncil site was a good idea as there’s quite a few roles , but there’s nothing temporary for the summer.

All the things suggested so far there may be things if he looks earlier for next year, so he has noted them down for the future as well as to keep looking back this summer to see if anything appears.

Any data related courses are fantastic opportunities :

data science
data visualisation (power bi, qlik), reporting , dashboards
CRM( Microsoft dynamics or salesforce)
if he can do cloud data too that will push him to the top of the list (GCP or Azure)

any of the above help from a product (digitalisation) and IT/tech perspective so it’s a win/win. If he want to go down even the investment bank route, digitalisation and data management will set him at the top

I hire graduates and senior professionals all the time and always go for ones with the above

you do need to go to LinkedIn for internships, there are loads (I tried to PM you to show you) but not only via Job searching. The good internships are in the linked in posts (by recruiters). I’m very happy to show you if you like

Also @toyland i messaged you some good internships just came out fresh couple of hours ago near your area x

@BrentfordForeverSuch a helpful post, thank you.

My history degree led to my career in print media - research and writing, then features editor. I moved away from journalism but took those skills and moved to pr. more recently I’ve found myself fairly senior managing a large organisation’s websites and intranet plus some other areas in my portfolio.

focus on the skills he’s gained through studying history - critical analysis of sources is a great skill. History students are very employable imo.

Thank you @TeenLifeMum. I agree that a history degree is valuable learning and it’s good to hear there’s different paths it can lead to in future careers.

you do need to go to LinkedIn for internships, there are loads (I tried to PM you to show you) but not only via Job searching. The good internships are in the linked in posts (by recruiters). I’m very happy to show you if you like

@BrentfordForever would you be able to show me how to search Linkedin for internships. Digitalisation and data management sounds interesting.

For any students over 18, can I highly recommend volunteering as a school governor.
Gives access to a lot of certified training, and is excellent to show experience of strategic thinking, working with others, dealing with data, handling problems and navigating difficult decisions as part of a team. Plus most bodies allow people to specialise so could get in depth experience in monitoring finance, estate management, HR, safeguarding, It/data protection as well as education, and lots of other areas. Schools are set up with most business functions.

Commitment is usually 4 years but can be flexible. Usually around 6 meetings a year (many schools can do some of these online) plus flexible visits into school for meetings related to monitoring their particular governor roles. Eg a finance meeting with school business manager to review a budget or meet a headteacher to follow up outcomes from a staff or pupil wellbeing survey. Governors may also meet with teachers, pupils or sit in on lessons depending on what they are monitoring. These visits might be once per half term and may also be online if necessary but often better to be in school in person where possible.

Schools are crying out for governors. Theres a massive national shortage. Either contact a local authority who can normally place in appropriate school or organisations like Governors For Schools. If you're in the Southampton area, contact me!

If costs are an issue all schools are required to have policy for reimbursement for governors who need it.

He needs to focus on internships and other career-specific things (e.g. conferences where he can network with others in the field). In my experience employers are not interested in all the other social things students do at uni (e.g. society committee roles, student ambassador/outreach etc). Ditto student jobs (e.g. till monkey). Do them for fun/the money respectively by all means, but not because you think it will help your career (it won’t). Sadly employers are not as interested in transferable skills as you would hope they would be.

If he's anywhere near a football ground he will be able to get work as a steward/ catering.

That's just not true, what you do at uni and jobswise is important to getting a job if you show what you've gained from them.

I forgot another benefit for students in becoming a school governor. The networking opportunities with people from a very wide background. My governing bodies have magistrates, finance directors, marketing managers, health professionals, it professionals, programme managers, business owners, and a lot more, from a range of industries. In addition you get to meet similar governors from other schools at networking events/training and there are also national conferences.

There aren't many volunteering roles that give this level of senior experience (equivalent to executive oversight of a multi million pound business), whilst also training them!

Have I sold it well enough yet?

Dd just got a competitive internship with a generic degree.

She's worked in retail all the way through her uni plus set up her own small etsy account. She said not one question was asked about her degree!

Depends what the internship is but I'll be advising dc3 to enjoy uni, join a sports society and get a job in the real world rather than on campus. She has friends that did a lot of on campus things like ambassadors etc who haven't had a single interview.

@CasparBloomberg I think that’s possibly a good idea. So many people think volunteering doesn’t reap any rewards. It does. University “jobs” don’t mean much but dealing with the public does. There’s also CAB.

Being a school governor can be fairly time consuming though and training is required if governors are to be any good. Also the GBs co opt. Their decision and they should be looking for skills they need. Bums on seats is not what is required so a student might not fit the job description.

My DD has very little paid or other experience unfortunately, due to various reasons. However she has a first class degree, and a now a Masters. She is taking a year out, and hopefully, will find something to keep her occupied, paid or volunteering.

However, one of best ways she is finding of connecting with her area of interest is to network with past teachers and tutors. Drop them emails, see them for coffee, in her experience they are pretty helpful in putting you in touch with colleagues, and friends in their subject areas.

@HostaCentral I’m not sure how that works if you studied, say, History or English unless dd wants to teach it. What job insights and networking do tutors have? I’d try and get something that is useful and taking a year off is a bit of a luxury for some dc. Mine did 4 year degree, 3 years post degree courses and training. She needed to earn money!

Well..... She must be lucky with her tutors then as they all seem to be very interconnected with others within their field, which is, History!

@HostaCentral Yes but that’s continuing her subject. It’s not getting a job in marketing or studying for law or doing HR is it? It’s very very narrow employment and a continuation of a school subject. I thought the idea was to talk about moving into the wider world of work?

We have students on some boards now and have in the past and they can be very effective. Sure, not all are suitable but there's a process to identify those who are. Just as sometimes parents are elected without specifically needed board skills, they can still make excellent governors. Its not just skills that boards need, but diverse attitudes/experience and commitment. What students often bring is an eagerness to train, an understanding of the wider issues affecting a younger demographic and recent experience of being a pupil. They can develop into the role very quickly and may bring relevant knowledge from courses, such as business, social work, psychology. Most subjects mean students are used to reading reports, analysing data, and questioning what they read.

Some boards may choose not to, others recognise they can benefit a lot from it.

The time required is usually less than a weekly shift and apart from board meetings, very flexible. Perhaps 10-15 hours a month (unless picking up a bigger brief or joining referral panels when more experienced). Training is of course mandatory.

Ps I've also been a CAB advisor and trustee, so agree with you on the CAB too!