New graduate daughter can’t find work

[Bluelagoon02]

This is my first post so please be kind to me. I’m writing about my daughter who graduated last July (2024). Although she managed to get some interviews she hasn’t been able to secure anything yet. Her moods are quiet low and she also lost touch with most of her Uni friends. I’m seriously concerned for her physical and mental wellbeing. She was always very shy but Uni life really helped her develop. She was totally transformed and happy too. She also lived in Spain for a whole year which was part of her Uni business course. This is so frustrating but I can’t get upset with her. She has been looking for anything and keeps receiving rejection after rejection. It’s so heartbreaking to see her so sad and alone in her room all the time. I also looked for jobs for her but she does prefer to keep looking herself. She also applied for volunteering work with no success. I am very scared to lose her if something doesn’t come up soon. Any advice is truly appreciated. Thank you

OP mentioned a business course, plus Spain. So probably Business & Language (Spanish) degree. There are a few unis with this type of course, all pretty good and reputable.

I think temp agencies can be very good in this kind of situation. A while ago now but I was doing loads of stuff like warehouse work, event catering and call centre jobs. It’ll get her some experience, some skills, some references, some money and most importantly gets her out and about and building her confidence. Something more permanent might come from one of the jobs or it might just tide her over until she finds what she really wants to do.

Agree that civil service, local government or NHS jobs are also good ideas. Usually lots of entry level admin jobs or graduate level roles and they’re fairly good employers for being a stepping stone to other stuff.

Being unemployed and facing so much rejection during the job hunt can be really rough on someone’s self esteem. Add to that the loss of independence of moving back home after being away for uni, and abroad in your daughter’s case, and I can see why she’d be feeling low. If you’re worried about her mental health, maybe suggest she sees her GP or looks into what help is available locally.

Someone who works part time through education clearly hasn’t had the time to get proper education.

Er, and some of us left home at 16 and didn’t have much choice. Working party time didn’t stop me from achieving 4 straight As in STEM subjects.

Business degree? Start a business and get a bar job for some extra cash while building it up

Starting a business while you have no dependents, no mortgage and can live at home for a while is ideal

I really feel for you and your DD OP. It’s hard to be relentlessly positive and disciplined after months of rejection.

Theres so much good advice above. I really advocate “look for people not jobs”. I.e. it’s contacts and word of mouth that can be helpful. I hope you come back and say roughly whereabouts you are.

Seriously, you don’t value part time jobs and think they’re worthwhile? Let’s take a standard pool of graduates applying for our graduate scheme. 200 or so applicants applying. All have 2:1 or above. 150 have a masters. 100 of those 150 have had a part time job either during A levels or university, which gives teamwork and customer skills, as well as getting the 2:1 or 1st degree and a masters. Who are you going to put into the pool of 30 who make it to the assessment centre? And yes I’d count summer internships in that, they are very beneficial (as is a part time job).

I've experienced this with DD. She needs to Network, get on as many platforms as possible with the area she is interested in.

Hello OP, she could perhaps volunteer at Oxfam or a charity shop? It would be something for her to put on her Cv.

Does she just need some interview tips or something interview practice? Sometimes just knowing how to sell yourself and how to answer questions/ know what they are actually asking etc can be the crux of it. Or is she not even getting interviews? There's loads of helpful resources on how to ace an interview out there. If she's quite shy morally, does she get nervous?
I remember when I was fresh out of uni, I had what felt like hundreds of interviews. I always asked for feedback from the unsuccessful ones, but one of the best things I did was write a list of every possible question for whatever job I went for then got a friend to mock interview me to practice wording my responses on the spot. Massive help

It's very hard for a lot of young people when they graduate. The loss of the uni lifestyle is like a bereavement and you can feel worthless when the jobs do not materialise.

Someone else mentioned the UK careers fair website: There are loads of roadshows all over the UK, one of which should be local to you.

I think the advise that she should take an interim job while she applies for jobs is a good one. I think some new hobbies and activities that are not employment related would boost her self esteem.

As someone who works in early careers and employers apprentices and graduates, I get really exasperated at tutors at colleges (who have never worked in industry) giving out this type of advice. On an application, I look for reasons for wanting the role, what relevant qualifications they have and very importantly - have they done any work. I’m not looking for relevant experience from the work they have done to the role they are applying for, but just that they have been in the world of work, are motivated to work, can get involved with a team, can get themselves up and in work and know how to behave in a work environment.

I wouldn’t consider a graduate for a role if they had never had a part time job or possibly volunteering.

A level students and undergraduates need to show in their application that they can manage their time well and can juggle different priorities.

What do you mean "I am very scared to lose her if something doesn't come up soon"

Are you worried she is at risk of suicide?

If that's the case, please do complete 30 mins online learning by Zero Suicide Alliance (link to follow). It's a charity that believes most suicides are preventable and they have great resources. We really do need to talk about suicide as it's the leading cause of death in teenagers and young adults. https://www.zerosuicidealliance.com/suicide-awareness-training

It’s really difficult my DS graduated same year. He’s applied for so many jobs. He’s got 2 zero hours jobs and he’s volunteering in something in a similar field that he wants to get into. But it’s hard to keep their spirits up. Also as a parent it’s really frustrating too. No one is willing to invest in young people. Entry level jobs want people with years of experience

OP why don't you come back and respond to the valid questions asked?
Also what was the reason given for DD being unsuitable for volunteering?

I have a business degree and a successful career in Marketing and Digital. I actually got my first jobs in my field, which I did whilst studying at university in my spare time. I got it through working in the local pub and meeting customers whilst doing my degree.
I also went door to door and got a saturday job at a lettings agency which taught me sales and customer service.

I worked at a double glazing firm, a record company, a lettings agency, I temped reception roles at Sainsburys head office with a shoddy temping agency. I worked in retail, bar work and night clubs. I worked at Phones 4 U and a band agency, I did work experience unpaid at a variety of companies that I approached. All of this before I left university.

The soft skills I learned, the networks and business accumen I gained were what actually got me into my career. Anyone can get a degree but the other stuff you also need to learn before you can land a decent role.

I would say to just start work in anything, build up the soft skills and networks through other roles, it might take a year of random roles before she gets something meaningful.

I remember when I left uni going to grad recruitment days with 30 people trying to get the same job, like hunger games. Mostly I didnt get the job but after trying and trying and building up more experience I got a really great role.

My advice would be to think creatively, go for everything, find any other work to do in the mean time, build networks and meet people. Sign up for free business networking events, just go to them and speak to people.

I now recruit for grad roles in major blue chips and often sit on the panels. There are grad roles out there, but you wont be getting them if you just have your degree and not any work experience. But by work experience I mean, either by starting your own thing ( a blog or etsy shop or whatever) or real world work experience which doesnt have to be in the field or in an office, could be bar work or temping etc just being able to show that you have real world experience and can deal with people and work places and teams and targets is really key.

she might be doing this already but I’d suggest:

• signing up with temping agencies and taking anything they offer no matter how short/long term the contract
• applying for supermarket/retail
• applying for anything in hotels/hospitality

although some of these might not be what she is looking to end up doing, proven track record of working customer facing roles/ a few different work environments might be seen in a positive light.

it’s not clear in your op if she has ever had a part time job so perhaps if she is aiming for something quite specific a lack of job experience might be hindering.

i really hope she finds something. I graduated in 2010 and had a tough time landing interviews until I was able to build up some work experience in types of things I mentioned above.

Wishing her all the best!

Our daughter is looking for her forever job having started in a career that wasn’t right for her. She moved back in with us, and then it was a case of find a job, anything!! She’s been doing bar work and no experience is wasted. Most importantly it’s given her back her confidence and a sense of purpose. We have her back to her happy self. Encourage her to look at anything to get her out of the house and interacting with people again. It does sound like it’s a tough market where you are, but join local Facebook groups, hunt out any where local jobs might be advertised. Approach pubs etc and enquire about vacancies. Both jobs my daughter has had have come about due to social media posts. Good luck.

If you need all A's for a career, better to use the time to get them than stack shelves. Plenty of time later to do voluntary work, shop work or whatever. But in year 13 the advice is to focus on A levels. My dc has a medicine place. Her friends who missed the A in chemistry are doing other degrees instead. Both worked in pubs and were repeatedly asked to cover extra shifts.

What did she study and where?

Would she consider 'Workaway'? It was life changing for my DD. It changed her entire degree path and hobbies, leading to a career she would never have considered.

https://www.workaway.info/en/hostlist

There are placements in the UK, and all over the world. DD did three placements in Germany: with a family, in a school and grape harvesting. It meant her language skills became more fluent and she even learnt new skills like how to make spirits with grape skins!

Get her to email a local secondary school about work shadowing. If nothing else, it will get her out of her bedroom and give her a taste of whether teaching is for her or not

Op said her daughter had a business degree. I think some particular professions require all As such as medicine, but most do not. I have actually never been asked to see my transcript or certificates for any role depsite working at blue chips and global corps. I have wondered if I could have just saved the fees and just said I did a degree instead of actually doing it...

Her university careers office will still help - especially if the issue is CV writing or interview / presentation skills.

There are usually loads of low level civil service and local gov admin jobs available. They don’t necessarily need a degree to do but it’s a foot in the door and will lead to transferable skills

Anyone who can’t cope with doing A levels and part time work at the same time may well struggle with becoming a doctor. The clinical work is demanding with long hours and the students are expected to study for exams at the same time.

I’d say try to get a job in hospitality. One of the big hotel chains. They tend to have very good internal mobility programs to get to leadership roles / specialise in finance / HR & funded training. The pay isn’t great, and the work is hard, but it’s a great way to meet new people and start the career journey.

Medicine is one area where a part time job isn’t needed as such for an application, although I suspect some type of voluntary work or good placements would help.

However, I absolutely stand by what I said about students doing some type of part time work. I won’t entertain even interviewing someone unless they can show me some of the things I previously listed.

Not sure why anyone would want to dispute really good advice from an expert in the field of early careers???