dropped out of college after xmas dont know what to say at interview about this

Dumplin

I went back to college in september as a mature student to do my one year add on hons degree as I already have a diploma from being in college years ago.

I however dropped out due to a combination of

A.Found the course difficult
B.Lack of motivation
C.Lack of interest

I have been looking for jobs since after xmas and while there has been a slow down in the market plus im only looking within a certain area I thought I would have found something by now.

I think the fact I left college and have been out of work is playing against me basically the excuse I giving is something along the lines of

"I left the course at christmas time because I found going back to fulltime education tough after 5 years working fulltime.I am still interested in doing my degree but I think maybe doing it parttime while working or maybe through open university would be the better option for me.I honestly didnt think it would take me this long to find a job but maybe the fact im limiting myself to a certain area is a factor"

Is this ok, is there anything else I can say?

Red Hand

What you have being saying sounds ok-did you put it in the cover letter of your CV or at the interview?

I was out of work after I left my previous job and location, and like you, I thought I'd pick up a job in the area I was qualified in pretty easy. But it wasn't that easy even though I did get some interviews and stuff.

I took a temporary job doing something that wasn't related to the job that I was interested in, but once I had that stop-gap job, I found I got more interest and interviews, and a few weeks later, I'd gotten the job I wanted.

So, my advice is to take any temp job going, and keep plugging away sending out CVs etc. The stop-gap job shows in a potential employer's eyes that you're a worker.

kerry4sam

done something similar myself and what you could say is: It was a phase in my life ... the time just wasn't right for me to continue with that course/college ... it wasn't what i was expecting and have opted to do something more fulfilling and enjoyable ... want to do something where you will gain more hands-on experience ... keep it positive

AARRRGH

Dumplin wrote: »

"I left the course at christmas time because I found going back to fulltime education tough after 5 years working fulltime.I am still interested in doing my degree but I think maybe doing it parttime while working or maybe through open university would be the better option for me.I honestly didnt think it would take me this long to find a job but maybe the fact im limiting myself to a certain area is a factor"

That sounds fine, however it's nearly May so the employer will be thinking "he left college in December; what has he been doing for the past five months?".

I would take Jeremiah 16:1's advice. Get a temp job so you can move on past your "I dropped out of college" to "I'm looking for a better job".

pow wow

Fib about going traveling?

kerry4sam

ellscurr wrote: »

Fib about going traveling?

I would advise against this being honest...I've done a fair amount of travelling over the past 2-3years and it was tough enough talking about it without the interview panel thinking i couldn't settle down etc etc ... just my experience

Solarball10

Dumplin wrote: »

I went back to college in september as a mature student to do my one year add on hons degree as I already have a diploma from being in college years ago.

I however dropped out due to a combination of

A.Found the course difficult
B.Lack of motivation
C.Lack of interest

I have been looking for jobs since after xmas and while there has been a slow down in the market plus im only looking within a certain area I thought I would have found something by now.

I think the fact I left college and have been out of work is playing against me basically the excuse I giving is something along the lines of

"I left the course at christmas time because I found going back to fulltime education tough after 5 years working fulltime.I am still interested in doing my degree but I think maybe doing it parttime while working or maybe through open university would be the better option for me.I honestly didnt think it would take me this long to find a job but maybe the fact im limiting myself to a certain area is a factor"

Is this ok, is there anything else I can say?

The exact same thing happened to me. I just didn't bother putting it down on my CV - what's the point? It's not an educational achievement!

I normally tell interviewers what happened - the course wasn't for me, and I didn't see the point in continuing something I wasn't enjoying. I always got the job too, so don't worry about it!

pow wow

kerry4sam wrote: »

I would advise against this being honest...I've done a fair amount of travelling over the past 2-3years and it was tough enough talking about it without the interview panel thinking i couldn't settle down etc etc ... just my experience

I've done it and had no problems. I don't advocate telling lies in interviews, but some people do react badly to the fact you dropped out, however well you can articulate why you did it. Some people do look beyond it (and admire the decision rather than finishing something you hate/don't want/don't need but not always. For the sake of it I don't think there's anything wrong with covering it up, if the OP wants to.

Dumplin

I actually have 2 gaps on my cv do you think its ok or a good idea to explain these gaps in any cover letters I write in the future