unemployed with a degree

And I'D like to refer to the post about there being plenty of jobs.....that may be so, but people just won't take you on.

I've applied for quite a lot of jobs by now, and been told "sorry no, you're not what we want". I'm either over qualified, under qualified or just not right. I heard that on Liveline (is that right) last night, there was someone saying that they were getting "too many" applications for jobs, and they couldn't process them....

I find that so insulting...I don't apply willy nilly to every job on a list, I try and stick to those that I've either got experience in (either recent, or right back to my student days), or those that are generic admin jobs, that I could do with my eyes closed. I tailor the CV, write a cover letter, etc,etc, and here we're being told "too many applications". For f&*ks sake, sorry for being unemployed (due to no fault of my own) and clogging up your inbox.If you advertise a job, be prepared to go through the applications.

I've asked this before - how on earth am I supposed to find anything? I've a degree so I'm considered "over-qualified" for a lot of jobs, yet if I haven't exactly the right length/type of experience, I'm "under qualified". If I apply for a decent job advertised, or in fact any job at all it would appear, I'm interfering with the amount of applications a company gets and so probably don't even get to a screening stage, and yet there's a pile of companies out there saying they "can't get the people". So what????Someone please explain to me exactly what I need to do, because apparently being enthusiastic, well-educated, flexible, willing to try anything, willing to learn new skills, willing to work for a fairly low wage given where I currently am and with 5 years experience in quite a diverse role, is not sufficient for most employers out there.

I'm sorry for ranting, but it's deeply frustrating. I am finding it extremely hard to know what to do. I'm going to try doing a course etc, however it just doesn't seem to be much use. I'm not on the dole long enough to qualify for WPP placements etc. The only solution I can see, to be honest, is to leave altogether and try coming back in about a decade when hopefully modern Ireland will have learned some cop on.

The bottom line is that everyone has an answer, a suggestion as to what unemployed people could and should be doing to get themselves out of this situation. You don't understand it until you've been in it. It is just not that simple. People are not hiring, and those that are want you to jump through a ridiculous number of moving hoops before they'll say anything. And the hoops vary from position to position. I could actually spend a year doing training courses to get the basics of every sector out there - IT, finance, law, accounting, medicine etc, and I still wouldn't be getting it right. At some point you have to cut your losses and say you've enough education and skills, it's time to chase jobs in a couple of particular sectors. I highly doubt that half the jobs advertised even exist...I would suspect that many of them are advertised simply to fulfill competition laws etc, and the positions are already filled.

eire2009 wrote: »

Consider the position of no job, on the dole, finished your degree and having debts.. Cant afford to progress to do a masters/phd if there was a point. No experience is another unavoidable aspect of being young and just out of college.. This is a normal enough situation for most college graduates of which there is a lot of..

1.WPP are a great idea of working for experience the only draw back is the fact there actually just as hard to get in professional roles as the jobs themselves I have applied to any area`s I would want to progress in(not forklift driving or sales assistant roles)
2.Even if your lucky enough to get one it is at a cost of 10-20% of your dole a week which is your loan repayments if you have any.
3.A lot of people have families/kids and cant move anywhere without major disruption or money which they dont have. Great sense in moving abroad where you wont get the dole, see how long you last when your first couple of weeks have to be spent in a B&B forgetting about travel costs...

Cop on is something you clearly lack, personality from your post is insensitive, intelligence is lacking from you obvious lack of understanding of peoples positions and I doubt that you have a degree to suggest that somebody who spends 3-4 years paying to study a selective subject was not determined in finding a job..

But yet you have a job which is a lucky thing these days even luckier if your a person with the above qualities. But even still it is your right to work something that has been taken away from a lot of people and has yet to be given back..

I hope your position stays the same because if it changes with today's market you`ll be even longer looking for a job

I didn't read the full thread so I don't know if the op said he was in debt. Most students I know left college without debt by either living at home or working part-time. He also acknowledged the state paid for his education.

He also didn't mention a family or kids. In fact he said he was young and just finished a degree.

And as for me.. I have a masters and professional exams. I didn't get a grant in college so I had to live at home and go to the local college. While at college I worked part-time in various customer service jobs (therefore no debt) which helped me greatly when I left college. I am leaving my job of 3 years in a few weeks time because I'm not happy with my salary. I will be looking for a new one in Canada. I'm just pretty optimistic and I'm looking forward to the experience. :P Life is good.

You sound pretty miserable so stop projecting your issues onto the op.

So what DO you need to be? I'm not saying "I have a degree, I should have a job".I'm saying I'm willing to do pretty much anything, and by the way, I do have a degree aswell, but my experience counts for more.

I see Brian Cowen has finally decided that this morning is a good time to start looking into the job situation in this country.Nice of him. He's only about 2 years too late. Obviously, since they're happy now with Anglo, and have their plans all approved, it's time to move on to other things. Good to know where their priorities lie.