Thread 53 - Covid GCSE Cohort - Happy New Year 2025 to our fab young people

[Delphigirl]

New thread! Looking forward to traversing 2025 with this fantastic group 🎉😘

@Piggywaspushed yes I read that thread. It's all really worrying for them. Sorry to hear about yours finding it hard too. We spoke to DS on video call last night which was nice. He was frustrated more than anything else. It took almost a year to get to thst point!

@craggyrat I’m really sorry to hear your boy’s news on RAF after such a long slog.

And to the DC of others who are trying to get their first rung on a decent ladder to a potential career path. I don’t know which thread you are referring to, but know that those in DD’s cohort that are graduating this year from UK, the search is tough.

So sorry @craggyrat ,he must have invested so much into the process too. Sorry to hear about your sons too @piggywaspushed 😬

Which of our offspring has a grad job, was it @EwwSprouts ? Perhaps they can give some tips - is it about relevant work experience/confidence/connections made during internships? Or something intangible? I assume most of them get the roles eventually, as per that other thread, but it can take much longer than you’d expect and be disheartening in the process. And incredibly time consuming! 😕

Dd is on a different path, trying to get 2-3 years relevant experience before applying for the clinical psychology training doctorate. She’s got an interview for work in a crisis centre for women who’ve been sexually assaulted this week. She’s also on the books of a SEN supply TA agency but so far she’s not been able to do anything because they’ve rung on days she’s got a dissertation supervision. It will be easier once she’s finished her degree. She’s looking at short mission trips and internships abroad for next year too - ds has inspired her!

@piggywaspushed I got too many 68s in my degree too, I was so close to a first but just missed out! I read that most grad schemes just want a 2:1 minimum though and don’t differentiate above that so hopefully it won’t make a difference either way.

@craggyrat sorry to hear about the RAF disappointment. I'm very nervous for my two finding work next year. Especially DS who has little drive, no real experience of anything and doesn't have a clue what he wants to do.

@Piggywaspushed I feel for your DS and his 68's. DD got 69 in her last exam. She didn't expect such a high mark at all, but if you're going to give 69, why not just give 70?

Sympathy @craggyrat . After all that effort. I agree that the end is approaching too fast, I think DS is going to really miss uni after this summer. I was ready to move on after I finished my degree, perhaps because I enjoyed my placement year so much and felt ready to get out into the workplace. But even so it was a strange summer being back at home, missing friends etc.

I read the first pages of that thread too @Piggywaspushed it was depressing. I'm sure they'll all find their way in the end but it is a hard slog nowadays that's for sure.

@craggyrat hope your DS isn't too disappointed, but I don't blame you for being a bit relieved. DD had a friend who had his heart set on the Marines - straight from A levels. It was all he ever wanted, but the hoops he he'd to jump through were endless. He failed at the last hurdle and his Mum was so relieved! He headed off to uni instead.

My DS has just landed a grad job - possibly a bit different as it's construction industry - surveyor (as was his degree). Whilst I was frustrated he didn't apply last year, I can now see that he couldn't really have applied himself fully to either applications or dissertation if he had tried to do both. He seemed to be being quite successful - getting invited for online assessments from most of his applications so I think spending time on the initial application was vital. Few wanted a standard CV, and required specific questions being answered on the application portals. He took time researching each company's mission statements, goals, current projects and job spec so that answers were clearly related to that specific job.
I think the online assessments are often just luck if the draw, but if he did get through those, the next stage was often assessment days with group work and maybe a question to research in advance, so again tailored specifically for that company.
The whole process takes ages, and trying to remember which is which if you have several on the go was complicated! He had no placement year or relevant work experience, but did have previous non-industry jobs.
As I say, other sectors may have different approaches.
Good luck to everyone!

So sorry to hear your ds was unsuccessful @craggyrat . That is such a blow after all that hard work and the hurdles ge successfully jumped over to get to the very last stage. The bit about him cracking a joke made me quite annoyed actually, I doubt a small joke by a probably nervous interviewee is what tipped the scales. As they say, it's a redirection! Praying he finds his new path, anyone who got as far as he did with the RAF is bound to be snapped up very quickly.
@Piggywaspushed Sorry to hear DS1 is still struggling to find his feet but he is definitely a resilient young man and continued drive will eventually get him in a role he loves. As for ds2, g4ad schemes as far as I'm aware even the top employers mostly are now asking for a min 2.2! In ds1's time it was 2.1 but it's all changed so he is totally untracked to meet degree requirements for all sorts of employers.
Your/ mentioning of the media outlets reminded me of a young family friend who graduated in 2020. She worked for the uni radio station throughout her degree, doing various time slots and also did some writings about stuff going on on campus for campus rag or some such, She got offered an internship by the BBC but unfortunately never took it because of COvid. Does your DS do anything like that to pad his CV with?

Thanks everyone. @Seeline - well done to your DS! Mine has done quite a few assessment days but so far has only got first reserve... He really needs to concentrate on finals now as workload is awful so putting a pin in any new applications for the moment I think

Yes, he has had work experience at Reach plc and is the Sports Editor of the Uni newspaper. Got a proper portfolio. Lack of digital media experience may be his undoing.

@craggyrat Sorry for DS that he didn't get in after jumping through so many hoops but can fully understand the maternal relief!

@crazycrofter Well remembered. My guess would be that it was his non-related work experience that got him in the door. He's worked as a sports coach and last summer in a bar, so could prove communication skills (but not loud). No internship. I feel he was also lucky in that the online interview was with two real people! (The company is FTSE250 and takes on 50 graduates a year.) Some of the others at the assessment centre graduated last summer or had done an industrial placement year (with other companies).
DS applied for some really big name companies too eg Nestle, Arla, Environment Agency, some of big civil engineers and didn't get beyond the AI interview with any of them. It really does seem to be a numbers game. My goddaughter graduated with a masters with distinction in the summer and it took until January to secure a grad job. Sorry not to have more helpful insight. I really hope others get an offer soon.

@Seeline Whoop! Congratulations to your DS. (Cross post as I wandered off before pressing post.)

@Piggywaspushed It may not be the direction that your DS wants to go in but the young person who I know who graduated in journalism a couple of years ago got his first job inhouse with one of the premier league teams.

That's interesting @EwwSprouts . I know when I've interviewed people for roles at my previous big4 firm, we were most interested in their work history, rather than degree grade. And in my limited experience, some of those that came onboard without any real work experience behind them were hard to manage initially and a bit clueless!

I'm sure that experience of interviews can only help too. @seeline - I've heard that a lot about tailoring your application to the firms/requirements. It must take so much time, but presumably it's better to do a few good quality applications rather than firing off loads of generic ones.

@crazycrofter yes - I think he probably applied for about 15-20 and I think only got rejected by one after the AI stage. There seem to be so many steps after that though and it takes so long!

He definitely would! If something Loke that came up, he'd bite their hand off!

Hello! I wandered off for a while … too
late for a HNY isn’t it?!

DD has ticked off the three things she wanted to get sorted - get a summer school booked, sort accommodation for next year, and get a job. Each of which has opened up new worries for me, but she’s in a reasonable place. The job should take her up to May when she goes away for a few weeks, if she’s not fed up with it and they’ll have her back after, so much the better. She started on Valentine’s Day and has racked up lots of hours including 11.5 on her first day. It’ll quieten down soon though as it’s a very family-oriented tourist attraction so half term has been busy.

A bit over 3 weeks until her 21st. No idea what to get her, she doesn’t want jewelry and only recently got a new bag (not that she’d want some expensive investment bag anyway). It’s me rather than her that thinks she should have something special - she’d be happy with money to spend on holiday!

@Piggywaspushed I used to volunteer in a marketing role for a charity based in Watford. It was 60% digital marketing. They're always looking for volunteers in this role and it's with the support with one permanent marketing stuff so not just thrown in at the deep end. I don't know if they're still looking nor whether its doable from where your ds is, things might have moved on to a point volunteers only need to come in physically every so often as agreed. If he is interested their name is Paradanceuk - About Para Dance UK | Communities 1st, its a sports disability charity and the only one certified to enter the olympics. Great working team! I contact them also (if they remember me!) to say he will be in touch.

Just to add, looking at their website they another role now called as 'digital champion', which might right up your ds's street. They also pay for some roles if you negotiate with them, they might not necessarily list that on their website but it is possible.

Hi, thanks, that is lovely of you, but its the digital stuff he can't do and has no interest in. He wants to be an old fashioned written word journalist which he is genuinely good at. He should have built up his digital skills.

That's such a shame, jounalism has evolved significantly & digital skills have become an essential part of the role and most news is now consumed online. Digital content creation, social media and multimedia story telling skills are all in great demand. Is he sure journalism is really what he wants to do because there will surely be other careers that can make use of his writing skills that do not lean so heavily digital media? 'Grant writer' springs to mind, I manage a small charity & charities are begging for grant writer's to obtain funds but need someone who can write a compelling story, or he could be an 'Editor' or lawyer. Loads of options out there.

He's massively into writing about sports. He'd like broadcast journalism as well. Will have to see how he goes. I've told him to look for press officer roles too.

There are a few sports writer jobs on Indeed at the moment @Piggywaspushed .

Dd had her exam results back this week and it seems that they fairly adjusted for the impact of their contradictory instructions, as she's actually done well! Which is a huge relief, as otherwise she'd have had to decide within a week whether she wanted to retake the two affected exams in August and graduate in December!

She's also made a sudden decision to move back onto the integrated masters, as next year's modules look interesting/there's a lot of flexibility and it will reduce the impact of her mediocre second year marks. Plus having a masters level qualification will be helpful if she does go for clinical psych.

So I'll be here for another year with everyone else whose kids are doing 4 year courses!

Oh that is good news for your DD @crazycrofter on all counts, especially you joining those of us in the 2026 grad camp ;)

Oh that is good news Crazy.

Ds1 got his results yesterday of his latest accounts paper sat in Jan, 57%, needs 55% for a pass, so a close shave (Gromitt) but passed none the less, phew.

@crazycrofter Excellent news. Well done her.

@Oblomov24 A pass is all that is needed! Well done him too.

Well done @crazycrofter DD and @Oblomov24 DS. Must say, it's been a relief not having to wait for Nottingham exam results this week 😁

Good to hear of some reliefs!

DS has got onto next stage of a job so secret I cannot even mention it, had his News Association interview yesterday (basically it trains journalists) and has a few more irons in the fire, so we'll see.