Son desperately looking for employment

[YourPoisedWriter]

Why aren't employers giving younger generations a chance. My son is 20, he studied I.T and media studies at college, he is desperately seeking any employment, but every interview he has, always ends in knock backs, he either has no experience or isn't successful this time.

He always dresses smartly with a shirt, tie and trousers and always arrives early to interviews, he's polite and helpful, and is keen to learn new skills, it's just so frustrating, it's making him feel really low. I feel terribly sad for the younger generation, why aren't the job centres helping them?

For IT entry roles he needs the A+ certification.

Good luck

If he’s getting interviews then the issue will be interview technique.

We were recently interviewing for an entry level role and the lack of preparation or even knowledge of the organisation they had applied to work at was shocking. Basic question of why do you want to work here seemed to flummox them.

Preparation and practice is key.

He's getting interviews, so the posts about companies cutting down on hiring are missing the point.

@YourPoisedWriter Next time he gets an interview, he should plan very carefully. Research the company, look at what's important to them, take every opportunity to show them that those things are important to him too. Talk enthusiastically about his current voluntary job, everything he's learned. Note everything they say in the job description and talk about how well he fits that. No talk about how he needs a job, lots of talk about how he'll be good for them, what he can bring. Including being reliable, keen to learn, working well in a team etc.

A PP gave good advice about polishing his CV - please get him to do that. There's far too much detail about the GCSEs. Just needs subject and grade. And he needs to say more on his CV about his current job. What does he actually do? Employers will want to know and it showcases skills he's learnt.

He should be eligible for free training courses - many are online so he can do them when he has free time - and he could really benefit from doing some.

I do a lot of interviewing and have often had to reject people who fit the bill, but were pipped by someone who had a bit more. He'll succeed, but it might take time. When I graduated in the 80s I applied for over 80 jobs before I got one, this isn't new. Tell him not to get demoralised, and good luck!

If IT is something he wants to go into he could look at BCS and do their HE courses which start at level 4 (no entry requirements) and go upwards. Or Pearsons do a BTEC level 4 in computing available at different colleges. He needs higher qualifications on his CV as well as general work experience alongside it.
As others have said the networking is important too. It’s important to build those skills. Does he play a sport or similar that he could build coaching skills in to demonstrate his reliability and work ethic?

Is there anyone in your friends or wider family who can recommend him for roles??

always best to start there. Or even friend of a friend?

It also sounds like he might need some more qualifications and or work/study training

Get him to sign up with recruitment agencies - they’ll have direct sight of vacancies that aren’t on job centre boards - in fact, I hardly know anyone who posts there.

Many people get jobs through their networks. Get your son to find his people. Join in or attend local groups or seminars.

Join indeed. Join LinkedIn.

Ask for interview help. Is there anyone you know can give him interview practice and feedback?
Most interviews will use STAR. Research it and practice some answers.

His CV is getting him interviews, so that’s good. Now work on the next stage.

It might be worth asking for genuine feedback - but often, there will just have been someone better suited for that particular job.

Dont limit the search to the ”perfect job” - Employers will recognise transferable skills.

To those of you saying B\C equivalent grades are shit, you’re talking nonsense.

He needs to get his driving licence and drive.
unfortunately the uk has less jobs than before, so it is very competitive. He needs to be able to move geographically

He's 20 with no work experience, no driver's licence. Hirers might be worried if he has enough maturity and life skills compared to others of similar age who can demonstrate a bit more independence.

Connections are really important these days and especially in a competitive market so I'd encourage you all to really think about who you might know, in any industry, who might be able to give him a foot in the door.

This isn't just your son. Its an epidemic of under-employmemt of young people. And they certainly don't all lack interview skills or experience.

Both my sons. All their friends. Our neighbours kids. My nieces and nephews. All round the UK, ages 17-26 cannot get their first decent roles into careers (not door work, care work, shift work etc).

We have to ask as a country why employers are no longer willing to train them up.

I know where Eastleigh college is. If he wants a job in IT, he needs to drive. He would have to be very lucky to find a job he can get to on trains and buses. But realistically, how many small and medium sized companies have IT staff? They are usually contracted out Se IT support companies serving SME will want staff who can drive to different client sites, in addition to remote work. There are very few bigger companies with their own IT teams in the Eastleigh area.

Just to give you an idea. I am in software so I work for tech companies with own IT operations teams and data centres. Last time I was looking for work, I was willing to commute as far as Bournemouth, Portsmouth and Basingstoke. When I had a job in Eastleigh, I had colleagues commuting from Poole, Salisbury and further then Basingstoke on the M3. With hybrid working, I would imagine people are interviewing for even longer commutes. I think your most likely place to find a tech job with no car is London.

As someone in this age group I do and don’t disagree. A lot of people I know found it hard to secure graduate jobs, but equally I do think most people landed where they wanted to, there’s just much more competition.

I have been involved with recruiting and hiring for roles between minimum wage to £50k and having seen loads of CVs and been on a lot of panels, younger people are definitely desirable and the right person will be accommodated. But for example with entry level IT roles, everyone has a degree in computer science so someone like OP’s son will be seen as less qualified than average. Pretty much every desirable industry is oversaturated.

If the qualifications are copied directly from the CV then it needs re-doing as it is confusing. It looks as though he is not particularly academic, so he needs to emphasise what he can do. Maybe add information about what the college course involved, any specific projects, any teamwork/groupwork exercises, specific skills he learned that might have some direct or indirect relevance to an employer. Similarly with his volunteering, what has he learned and can now do that may be useful to an employer. Skills might be practical or technical, or about communication and working with others etc. The other thing he could do is build up a list of questions he has been asked at interview and work out answers to all of them for future use, and practise those answers. You may be able to help with this. Finally he should consult your local careers service to see if they can offer any advice or help. I wish him luck, it is tough for young people.

Sorry meant to say they used to find the cost of SIA badge a few years ago so they may still do it now
but search free SIA courses in your area
the cost is around 200 so worth it as it can open a lot of doors in security area from pubs and clubs to gigs festivals to the NHS / MOD

I think the issue is that young people aren’t getting their training/education in skills that are needed. Long gone are the days when you can decide to study a particular subject at uni just because you enjoy it. They need to be looking at where the skills shortages are.

What industries have major skill shortages though? In my experience the shortages are in senior roles, not entry level. Ie roles not easy to backfill.

This. I work in IT. I've worked in Bournemouth, Southampton, Reading, Basingstoke and Portsmouth. You can get to most of those directly by train from Eastleigh, but most of the bigger employers aren't so close to the stations, but out on the business parks. If he can drive, it will massively boost his options of where to work, and probably wouldn't work out too differently from the cost of peak time trains and buses. (The M27 is probably the most annoying commute I've done, mind you.)

But as everyone says, if he's getting interviews, it's probably his interview technique. Does he get feedback from any of the interviewers? When I was young, my mum got one of her friends in a corporate job to do a mock interview with me - is there anyone you could ask to do that?

And as a PP mentioned, learn about the STAR technique. Build a bank of examples that can be adapted to a number of interview questions- there are often questions about teamwork, working to deadlines, conflicting priorities- get examples for these sorts of standard interview questions and practise answering them.

I can anecdotally answer the last bit. At my work there 4 over 40 and 4 under 25 in one area. The over 40s might phone in sick maybe once a year tops. The under 25s we have a 50/50 chance of them turning up for work. It’s costing my company a fortune in cancelling customers. I don’t know if that’s representative.

I've just added a second intern to my team, he's doing great, as did his predecessor. Where I work has 60 people and I don't see any large differences in sick leave amongst different age groups (anecdotally), but we are flexible employers.

Is this how his cv is presented?
He may need to improve his cv.

As far as interview skills go - he needs to research questions he might be asked depending on his role and company and practise his answers.
It’s tough for a lot of people out there right now. There just doesn’t seem to be many jobs.

What jobs are being advertised locally though? Here there’s vacancies in hospitality and care work principally, I’m guessing you are southern based , near Southampton - has he tried warehouse jobs, plenty in the area. Getting a drivers licence could be very helpful too

By the way that cv is totally confusing. A simple list of subjects plus grades is all that’s needed for GCSEs with the two grades with & in between for double science. My dc have done GCSEs in the last decade and still that list is confusing