Or at least that's how it seems to me. Every week there's at least two threads about horror stories or requests for advice regarding getting a job, and lots of people always reply. This could of course be just me, but as an undergrad you guys are scaring the crap out of me with your experiences.
Why are so many of you guys unemployed?
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ThisHoplon said:
On top of that, think about the target audience for The Escapist...18-24 year old males sound about right (obviously there's more than that here but that crowd is a big target). Now this is anecdotal evidence so maybe there are studies that prove this wrong but what groups are also usually the ones looking for jobs? People just graduating high school and people just graduating college and that's exactly where most of the 18-24 year old are going to land.
As to being worried, you probably should have a sliver of healthy fear about it. It took myself about nine months out of college to get a job but (here in 'Merica at least) the job market wasn't the greatest back in 2008 when I graduated college. Hopefully you have an easier time of it than I did because having no job is far more over-rated than you'd think...
No one means to scare you but the truth about the steps you take just to gain minimum wage employment alone, has changed dramatically over the past 40 years. Well in the Western world maybe.
Been unemployed for some time now and the way employment consultants and their officials treat you and think you are a scrounger who doesnt look for work and think everyone is the fucking same, is often disrespectful and patronising. In the past year I have been on temp work, zero hour contact, part time that was just temp, even working for free and at the end of it all when you have nothing left to give, it just feels exhausting. It doesn't help either that I have depression but I keep going out, looking, trying, but I think is September I may have to go back into education.
Main thing to just keep in mind, even if its in the corner of your mind is to never give up. I even know many Uni graduates who are in the same position as me and question everything.
Honestly OP, don't be scared and don't ever lose hope cause climbing the ladder takes time. There will be hard time but the good will out weigh that.
Good luck with your studies.
Been unemployed for some time now and the way employment consultants and their officials treat you and think you are a scrounger who doesnt look for work and think everyone is the fucking same, is often disrespectful and patronising. In the past year I have been on temp work, zero hour contact, part time that was just temp, even working for free and at the end of it all when you have nothing left to give, it just feels exhausting. It doesn't help either that I have depression but I keep going out, looking, trying, but I think is September I may have to go back into education.
Main thing to just keep in mind, even if its in the corner of your mind is to never give up. I even know many Uni graduates who are in the same position as me and question everything.
Honestly OP, don't be scared and don't ever lose hope cause climbing the ladder takes time. There will be hard time but the good will out weigh that.
Good luck with your studies.
Be afraid, be very afraid! Sorry but that's reality for you.
Chance are those who are umemployed here are unemployed due to the excuse "lack of experience" which itself is a vicious cycle. The whole point of having a job is to gain experience but they won't hire you if you don't have the experience for it!
Chance are those who are umemployed here are unemployed due to the excuse "lack of experience" which itself is a vicious cycle. The whole point of having a job is to gain experience but they won't hire you if you don't have the experience for it!
Too right. I have a degree and I'm still expected to scrub toilets and work in McDonald's for a bit before my CV looks appealing. There's this idea that work is easiest to find when you're already working which I suppose is true because immersing yourself in the "job market" is the best way to trojan-horse your way in. Well, second best way. The best way is by being related to someone that is in a position of authority in a decent workplace.Scarim Coral said:
It sucks. I lack the enthusiasm and determination to hunt for jobs because I'm very introverted and many of the lowest-level jobs require constant interaction with customers. My sister got me a job in a bar for a while and I hated every moment of it. Well, except the end of the shift because free booze. This probably makes me seem lazy and ungrateful but seriously, I became less and less comfortable with customers as time went on and I doubt it's something I'll be able to easily "get over" as many would suggest.
Economy is still shit. An anxiety disorder which make me break down every now and then. ADD so I am horribly inefficient with managing time due my short attention span. Can't seem to get any help for any of it due to doctors and psychologists being to lazy to actually do their jobs. And I have spent all of my adult life fighting the healthcare system due to previously mentioned practioners who hate patients that want more than a bunch of anti depressant pills. And as a result I have practically no work experience nor an education.
I'd say the second easiest way would be to come from a wealthy family...but that aside, even here in Europe it's not easy. Any decent job requires you to either have prior experience or be over-qualified. Or even worse, it's almost impossible to find a job. And any remaining jobs are things like cleaning, taxi driving and McDonalds. Which mostly rely on a system where you get guaranteed pay for a part-time job, and the rest is uncertain. I know someone who's signed for 45 hours a month, yet she usually doubles that with 'extra work'. Sure, she gets full pay for the extra work. But she can be called at any time, and sometimes she barely gets calls at all. It's stressful and messes any other plans you might want to make during any day of the week, to say the least.DizzyChuggernaut said:
As to the actual topic of the thread, I think it's been answered already. People with more time on their hands have more time to browse forums like these.
Also, it's not that there are no jobs to be had, but entry-level positions have become more valuable then more middle management. With so many choices I feel a lot of positions are staying open because they're trying to find their perceived best employee, rather then the right employee.
Also, job experience is a double edged sword, you want to have just enough to be be seen as competent, but not so much as to look like you jump ship. I've been turned away because of my job history..
"So, I see you where a boxer, and bouncer, and.. welder? What did you do as a loader? Oh, and a psychiatric aid for the criminally insane, right, I.. and a pet store representative, and an artist. Huh.."
Diversity of skills is not as important as working at one remedial job for 10 years.
Also, job experience is a double edged sword, you want to have just enough to be be seen as competent, but not so much as to look like you jump ship. I've been turned away because of my job history..
"So, I see you where a boxer, and bouncer, and.. welder? What did you do as a loader? Oh, and a psychiatric aid for the criminally insane, right, I.. and a pet store representative, and an artist. Huh.."
Diversity of skills is not as important as working at one remedial job for 10 years.
It also shows you have work ethic.DizzyChuggernaut said:
Everyone and their mother has a degree these days, it's not that special if you've never worked a day in your life. Scrubbing toilets in McDonalds may be hard and "beneath" some people but it shows dedication to earning money and putting in a bit of elbow grease.
OP: In case it wasn't clear, I'm currently working in the career I studied for and doing rather well. :3
You don't want to seem flaky.Armadox said:
There's something to be said for resume editing. When I was in university, I had two CVs. One with almost everything on it, with the exception of some jobs I held when I was 16/17, for jobs relating to my degree and one with all of my university qualifications removed and those little part-time jobs included for when I needed a retail job or something to keep me going.
Employers aren't looking for people who're ready to bail on the company as soon as something better comes along.
Yeah, I'm aware of this. I'm probably just frustrated that I put so much hard work into my degree and was told over and over again by lecturers how much it'd prepare me for employment. There's the stereotype that many students go to university to get drunk a lot on the government's dime which isn't entirely untrue. But I got so used to working long days on projects that I actually cared about and now the prospect of doing things that don't require my skills bothers me.Colour Scientist said:
That said, if I could do a mind-numbingly tedious job without having to interact with people constantly I'd probably go for it. That's the main barrier for me, not that certain jobs are "beneath" me. Working at a bar almost gave me a panic attack near the end of my employment and I feel awful about it. The other job I had was as a part-time sound engineer which I could deal with slightly better but it still required me to fiddle about with things on stage in front of a crowd.
Do quiet low-skill jobs exist?
Turns out the employer had unreasonable requests from his employees. You had to actually work when you were at work. Not call your co-workers the n-word. Or the other n-word. Never steal from the customers. That sort of thing.
Thanks man. I just kind of had a realization this year. I'm gonna graduate in two years, I am three months late in learning to drive, I have no idea what I want for my future, and my grades are slipping. I feel sometimes everyone I know that's my age are years ahead in maturity and experience. Life isnt fun right now, so thanks for the advice. I hope you find a stable job soon.Paradox SuXcess said:
Uh, I'm exactly the same. Luckily I had gigs (for editing/translating) I could do from home, but that didn't pay the bills. A friend of mine worked as a cleaner and made it sound very nice, she didn't have to deal with people and her manager was happy as long as she did her job.DizzyChuggernaut said:
I have one standard - don't work any job that involves touching shit with my hands. Thank you Billy Bob Thorton for that. With that in mind, I've left more than one job not long after they explained the process of cleaning restrooms and the fine art of 3 layers of protection, because you don't want to touch those chemicals with your bare skin, or breathe them in, or disturb them in any way, or look at them funny. In fact, lets not talk about the chemicals when they're not looking.
Currently I work packing in a factory job. It's low wage but it has steady hours, it's not 60 miles away, and the people are nice, plus it shows I have a steady work history for the time when I find something better.
Currently I work packing in a factory job. It's low wage but it has steady hours, it's not 60 miles away, and the people are nice, plus it shows I have a steady work history for the time when I find something better.
[HEADING=2]Because the economy is in shambles[/HEADING]
Okay maybe I can't speak for other countries but in the UK there are far more unemployed people than jobs, and a lot of people are being laid off because of budget cuts everywhere, which means even more unemployed people.
Even entry level jobs are being taken up by people with experience because for companies it's expensive to train someone right from the basics so they decide to go with whoever's done it before, even when it's not fair.
I just did a 6 week "Job Based Work Program" to get a job at the Royal Mail, and guess what? I might not even get a job now. Though that's more the fault of someone working at RM than the Job Center. So I'll let it slide on that one.
Okay maybe I can't speak for other countries but in the UK there are far more unemployed people than jobs, and a lot of people are being laid off because of budget cuts everywhere, which means even more unemployed people.
Even entry level jobs are being taken up by people with experience because for companies it's expensive to train someone right from the basics so they decide to go with whoever's done it before, even when it's not fair.
I just did a 6 week "Job Based Work Program" to get a job at the Royal Mail, and guess what? I might not even get a job now. Though that's more the fault of someone working at RM than the Job Center. So I'll let it slide on that one.