Graduated and going places ...?

Get a degree they said … it’ll be useful they said … 

You’d think after five long years at uni, I’d be glad to be out in the big bad world … yeah I thought I would be too, but … it’s not as easy as everyone makes out, as I’m sure a lot of you will know. I read an article recently which placed a Literature degree (what I graduated in) at number two on the “Worst Paid Degrees You Could Graduate With” list. Just what I wanted to read...!

I’m sure I’m not alone in the exasperating gap between student life and a big career … the limbo in which many of us graduates are stuck. I like to believe, however, that the right job is around the corner, and that the timing just isn’t right. It has taken me a while to decide the career path I want to go down, but now that I have a better idea, the long, painstaking search has begun.

One of the most dreaded questions from relatives (top of the list being “so … how’s the love life?”) is how the job search is going. What is the correct response to this? “Great, I still don’t have a career!”?? “Not great, there’s not much out there for graduates”? How about “please don’t ask me as I’m driving myself mad asking that very question!!”?? The latter seems most likely for me!!

Although I don’t want to be a student again, I miss the carefree attitude a student can have to life. I’m ready for a career, I’m hungry for it, and this down time after the high of graduation can really get you down. I could fill out a job application in my sleep, I've done that many. Repeatedly filling in the same details over and over again gets very monotonous. 

Many employers are desperate for a new graduate to fill their role, but also expect copious experience in their field of work … slightly contradictory, don’t you think? It’s hard to get the balance between a decent CV and lots of the right experience, as well as trying to earn money and have a bit of a life in between. I have a lot of friends who graduated with a degree which leads them straight into a career - dentistry, pharmacy, politics etc, which makes it even harder that I’m not completely decided yet! 

I have spent the past few months (in between job applications) thinking of ways to improve my situation and better ways to deal with it to save myself going mad! So I thought I’d share my thoughts with you and hopefully make this easier for us all.

• Don’t let it get you down, try to stay positive and find something to take your mind off it 
• Remember that everything is temporary; things will change before you know it
• Make sure you’ve covered every avenue - update/create an accurate 'LinkedIn' profile which can help people find you
• Give yourself a weekly target of a number of jobs you want and actually meet it
• For those of you in the same position I’m in, i.e not knowing exactly what you would actually like to do; think about your key skills. Not just what you’re qualified in, but what you enjoy, and how your passions could be useful
• Most importantly … you're not the only one! Don’t be disheartened as I can assure you, we’re all going through the same struggle!

Despite how it seems, it’s not all doom and gloom! I’m a huge believer in fate, and I like to think that the perfect job for me isn’t out there yet, and that life is waiting for me to discover my true passion or drive to do the perfect job well! Hopefully this is at least one thing I’ll be right about!! I feel your pain graduates, we’re all in it together, all these employers don’t know what they’re missing … !