Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi there,
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest
Can't get a job anywhere
-
17-01-2012 8:09pm#1
Comments
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
I'm in more or less the same boat as you. I'm also 21yo and have a qualification from college/courses etc but no job as of yet. Just do what I do which is to keep trying. Keep those CV's going out to shops and online, looking on the Fas website for work etc.
Right now I'm looking for a job but considering getting back into education for a few reasons. Mainly because all of the jobs advertised in the papers are for things I'm not currently qualified for and for something constructive to do with my time. Don't let it worry you too much. Just remember you're definately not the only person in this situation and I'm sure we'll get there eventually
Good luck! 0 -
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
OP, I was in your position up until very recently, as was my uncle who'd just completed a PhD. I graduated last year, did a very good degree, but one that, if I wished to work in that sector specifically (which I most certainly don't!! But if I did, probably plenty of jobs) I would need a postgrad, which I couldn't afford and frankly I was sick to death of studying and couldn't wait to get out into the world and earn some money and independence. I spent months and months traipsing around, looking for a job *anywhere*, any job at all. I applied for the dole but I wasn't eligible. I was all over certain websites constantly making applications, applying for intern programs, applying in the UK. I took a TEFL course as a last resort, thinking I would do it and head off to China or somewhere for a couple of years, and return with more experience and possibly/hopefully to a better jobs market, even though teaching was something I most certainly didn't want to do, but I was ready to do nearly anything as I said! My parents were getting just as frustrated as I was, lots of tension and arguments, they thought I wasn't trying, was lazy, should go abroad, etc etc.
But then I found one particular website, gradireland.com, very useful website as it's specifically employers looking for people with degrees. I made a few applications on this and got four job interviews, after months of applying and getting *none*. From these, I got offered three! I now have a very good, "proper" job and loving being financially independent and having moved back to where I went to uni and a lot of my friends.
I'm not writing this to gloat or boast, I'm writing it to say there are (some) jobs out there, and if you have a degree, make the most out of it, even if you don't use it for the specific purposes it trained you. A third level education is a very valuable and privileged thing to have, whatever people may say, and if you learn to sell it properly you can make a convincing case for how it fits into something totally unrelated! For instance, you've spent three or four years working to deadlines, working under pressure (exams/dissertations/presentations), working in teams (hopefully), being involved socially, prioritising work that needs to be done, leading your own learning and work schedule. These are all thing (and there are a lot more) that you can use from your time as a student to sell yourself to a potential employer.
Get yourself a good book from the library on how to do up CVs - this is your first selling point after all. Sit down and spend some time on it, ask others (somebody good at English in school perhaps, or creative writing, who has a way with words) to help. Do that first. Target each one for each individual application, don't send them out en masse, think about what you need to emphasise in each application and tailor the CV to that. Get yourself a good book on interview technique - I found this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Interview-Book-Definitive-Perfect-Technique/dp/0273721755/ref=pd_sim_b_16 to be excellent. Spend a couple of days going through the book, writing out answers to the questions using things that apply to you and use a bit of imagination. I don't mean lie (veeery bad idea), but think outside the box. Got involved in a society? You used your initiative. Got an A in one subject? Why, you must have the skills needed to be good at that subject! Think about it, think about how anything in your life has taught you lessons you can apply to any potential job. This is all stuff that I did, and I like to think it paid off! My uncle that I mentioned earlier had the same problem, he has a job now too, again using that site mentioned above to make applications, which is I why mentioned him and that particular site, it does seem to be very a good one from what I can tell, unlike other more high profile ones that are anything and everything, and target everyone.
I hope some of this will help, if nothing else to show that there was at least someone else in your position (there's lots and lots of course), and it's all so far worked out well for me, I have a job I never even dreamed of getting, let alone my first one straight out of college. Hang in there, have hope, and put in the elbow grease! I really believe the CV and interview prep really pays off, you can really target yourself for each individual employer, and you will hopefully stand out from all the people churning out the same CV to every single person! Think of it as a sport, to beat the compeitiors you don't always have to be better, but always be better prepared
I really wish you the best of luck, it's a tough, tough market out there but it is still a market after all...0 -
OP, I was in your position up until very recently, as was my uncle who'd just completed a PhD. I graduated last year, did a very good degree, but one that, if I wished to work in that sector specifically (which I most certainly don't!! But if I did, probably plenty of jobs) I would need a postgrad, which I couldn't afford and frankly I was sick to death of studying and couldn't wait to get out into the world and earn some money and independence. I spent months and months traipsing around, looking for a job *anywhere*, any job at all. I applied for the dole but I wasn't eligible. I was all over certain websites constantly making applications, applying for intern programs, applying in the UK. I took a TEFL course as a last resort, thinking I would do it and head off to China or somewhere for a couple of years, and return with more experience and possibly/hopefully to a better jobs market, even though teaching was something I most certainly didn't want to do, but I was ready to do nearly anything as I said! My parents were getting just as frustrated as I was, lots of tension and arguments, they thought I wasn't trying, was lazy, should go abroad, etc etc.
But then I found one particular website, gradireland.com, very useful website as it's specifically employers looking for people with degrees. I made a few applications on this and got four job interviews, after months of applying and getting *none*. From these, I got offered three! I now have a very good, "proper" job and loving being financially independent and having moved back to where I went to uni and a lot of my friends.
I'm not writing this to gloat or boast, I'm writing it to say there are (some) jobs out there, and if you have a degree, make the most out of it, even if you don't use it for the specific purposes it trained you. A third level education is a very valuable and privileged thing to have, whatever people may say, and if you learn to sell it properly you can make a convincing case for how it fits into something totally unrelated! For instance, you've spent three or four years working to deadlines, working under pressure (exams/dissertations/presentations), working in teams (hopefully), being involved socially, prioritising work that needs to be done, leading your own learning and work schedule. These are all thing (and there are a lot more) that you can use from your time as a student to sell yourself to a potential employer.
Get yourself a good book from the library on how to do up CVs - this is your first selling point after all. Sit down and spend some time on it, ask others (somebody good at English in school perhaps, or creative writing, who has a way with words) to help. Do that first. Target each one for each individual application, don't send them out en masse, think about what you need to emphasise in each application and tailor the CV to that. Get yourself a good book on interview technique - I found this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Interview-Book-Definitive-Perfect-Technique/dp/0273721755/ref=pd_sim_b_16 to be excellent. Spend a couple of days going through the book, writing out answers to the questions using things that apply to you and use a bit of imagination. I don't mean lie (veeery bad idea), but think outside the box. Got involved in a society? You used your initiative. Got an A in one subject? Why, you must have the skills needed to be good at that subject! Think about it, think about how anything in your life has taught you lessons you can apply to any potential job. This is all stuff that I did, and I like to think it paid off! My uncle that I mentioned earlier had the same problem, he has a job now too, again using that site mentioned above to make applications, which is I why mentioned him and that particular site, it does seem to be very a good one from what I can tell, unlike other more high profile ones that are anything and everything, and target everyone.
I hope some of this will help, if nothing else to show that there was at least someone else in your position (there's lots and lots of course), and it's all so far worked out well for me, I have a job I never even dreamed of getting, let alone my first one straight out of college. Hang in there, have hope, and put in the elbow grease! I really believe the CV and interview prep really pays off, you can really target yourself for each individual employer, and you will hopefully stand out from all the people churning out the same CV to every single person! Think of it as a sport, to beat the compeitiors you don't always have to be better, but always be better prepared
I really wish you the best of luck, it's a tough, tough market out there but it is still a market after all...[/QUOTE
OP here, amazing advice thank you. My degree is a 2:1 in english and history. So I feel gradireland.com wont help me as it seems to be targeted towards business and science related degrees.0 -
[/QUOTE]
OP here, amazing advice thank you. My degree is a 2:1 in english and history. So I feel gradireland.com wont help me as it seems to be targeted towards business and science related degrees.[/QUOTE]
But you can go into business. You need to be able to think outside the box when you're applying for jobs as I said, you have a good level of degree, you've done English, surely some sort of abstract thinking was used for this? As I said, just by studying for 3 years you have all sorts of transferrable skills, regardless of the subject you studied. For instance, my degree is Economics. One of the jobs I got offered was in an admin position in a specialist hospital, cause I sold myself on all the organisation and prioritising and team work I did during my degree, they weren't interested in the fact I could (or couldn't) run a regression or draw a graph or not....The job I have got, in financial services, is sort of related to what I studied, but the reality is (according to my boss) that I got the job because I filled the criteria of having the attitude they wanted in the office, not the technical skill I brought (because I didn't!). At the end of the day, people will employ someone they want to work with. But what you need to get to that point is the right CV to get the interview. Apply for stuff you don't think you'll get, you never know, and any interview experience is good practice. The job I ended up with was not one I wanted or expected to get, but I got the interview, and once I was in there I was able to show my boss that I'm the sort of person he wants working in the office. Attitude is so important here OP, it's so hard to beat yourself down, you have a great degree that's taught you so many skills, not just information (how good do you have to be at analysis to get a good English degree? I think fairly good). Keep your head up, keep at it, and as others have suggested do something ellse, volunteer, etc, it looks great to employer that ou're keeping yourself busy, and you'll meet people and gain more skills and experience. Best of luck 0 -
OP here, amazing advice thank you. My degree is a 2:1 in english and history. So I feel gradireland.com wont help me as it seems to be targeted towards business and science related degrees.[/QUOTE]
But you can go into business. You need to be able to think outside the box when you're applying for jobs as I said, you have a good level of degree, you've done English, surely some sort of abstract thinking was used for this? As I said, just by studying for 3 years you have all sorts of transferrable skills, regardless of the subject you studied. For instance, my degree is Economics. One of the jobs I got offered was in an admin position in a specialist hospital, cause I sold myself on all the organisation and prioritising and team work I did during my degree, they weren't interested in the fact I could (or couldn't) run a regression or draw a graph or not....The job I have got, in financial services, is sort of related to what I studied, but the reality is (according to my boss) that I got the job because I filled the criteria of having the attitude they wanted in the office, not the technical skill I brought (because I didn't!). At the end of the day, people will employ someone they want to work with. But what you need to get to that point is the right CV to get the interview. Apply for stuff you don't think you'll get, you never know, and any interview experience is good practice. The job I ended up with was not one I wanted or expected to get, but I got the interview, and once I was in there I was able to show my boss that I'm the sort of person he wants working in the office. Attitude is so important here OP, it's so hard to beat yourself down, you have a great degree that's taught you so many skills, not just information (how good do you have to be at analysis to get a good English degree? I think fairly good). Keep your head up, keep at it, and as others have suggested do something ellse, volunteer, etc, it looks great to employer that ou're keeping yourself busy, and you'll meet people and gain more skills and experience. Best of luck[/QUOTE]
OP here, so I got a interview for next week but Im really nervous. It's a telesales position, the problem is Ive no experience in this area whatsoever and my issue is, this job is tough, people arent keen on people who ring up to sell, so Im worried even if by a miracle get this job, I'll be let go due no sales. I had a phone interview first and they arranged a second interview but I cant see this going much further. Ive no idea what Im walking into. I know from my own experience how keen people are with telesales ringing.0 -
Advertisement
This discussion has been closed.
Advertisement