3 years out of college- Should I still be applying for graduate positions?

unitedrover

Its been 3 years since I finished college. I haven't had any success in finding anything yet. Should I still be applying for graduate positions? To me, it seems to be the only of getting interviews seeing as I have no work experience. But is it only recent graduates employers are looking for?

allibastor

unitedrover wrote: »

Its been 3 years since I finished college. I haven't had any success in finding anything yet. Should I still be applying for graduate positions? To me, it seems to be the only of getting interviews seeing as I have no work experience. But is it only recent graduates employers are looking for?

Yes, of course you should as you are a graduate still and these programs are excellent ways of getting in the door and learning loads.

starlit

Hi OP, what field of study are you qualified in? I'd suggest to keep applying to Graduate programmes if you can get the interviews keep at it. Volunteering organisations or a jobbridge or offer somewhere to work unpaid that isn't a jobbridge/internship or work shadow for a few days. Publicjobs.ie might be another avenue to look at if you haven't looked into the public sector or is it a mixture of that and the private sector depending on your field of study. Local or small businesses might be places to look into too if you haven't done so already. I put an advert looking for a work placement into the local news paper and local advertiser magazine unfortunately I only got one call but you might be lucky if you live in the city rather than a rural area/small town.

Keep an eye out for part time work at shops/bars/cafes or temp office work if its harder to find something in your field. Some people say to go abroad or leave Ireland, stick it out If you can. Emigration or going back to college is a last resort really. Look into maybe a night course or part time/springboard course/fas course to just keep skills up to date. Even if it to do an online course, but choose wisely! If you ever go back to college in the meantime i'd suggest if it has a placement in it then I'd highly recommend it. Then again its hard now even to get a job where it lead to a another one.

If you are getting interviews maybe you might need to go to someone who is a professional job coach/careers advisor or to a recruitment agency that specialises in your field of study. No harm having them look over your CV as well. 'STAR' approach when giving examples in an interview be important too and mention projects/assignments that stood out especially if group ones. Work on competency type questions and have answers for them also practise aptitude tests and presentations. Most jobs I've applied for have had all those in the mix not just the interview (phone/face to face)

pauliebdub

You could try but if you have been trying for the past 3 years without success I can't really see anything changing, the competition is tough. What is your qualification in? What have you done in the past three years in terms of upskilling and gaining experience?