Graduated with a 1st, no job

Luckily I did my degree at a good Russell group university, which does carry some weight when compared to people with a 2:1 and above from a non-russell group uni. This may not be true in all cases, but it certainly has been for me.

Were you actually told this?
 
That was what I went through 3 years ago. I'm actually doing well at the mo, but got there by going to a graduate fair. Got a lot of interviews out of meeting them in person.

In a nutshell, you went to the buyer/customer direct (you, being the product and the future employer being the customer/buyer) and you sold yourself. They liked the product (ie. you) and they decided to offer you an interview and hear more about the product on offer.

That's what I like to see.

The problem is that a lot of new graduates lack confidence and are actually scared (or too modest) to sell themselves. Some even rely purely on their stellar grade without even attempting to give the employer the hard sell (ie. explaining to them what you have to offer them, apart from a good academic background).

In sales (and interviews), leave your modesty at home.

If you've got poor grades, schmooze a potential employer and focus on your good points...not on your poor grades.

To use the cliche: a good salesman can sell ice to an Eskimo.

Good luck people.
 
Did you all find jobs before the economy went ***s up though?

Got on my Grad Scheme in 2008 with a 2:2 and after my previous employer started going up the spout, left then found the right role 6 months later after hard searching. Well they found me after I turned down another role and pathetic salary offer.

You just have to persevere!

Were you actually told this?

I've found this to be true, mentioning Nottingham and my Masters always got an approval nod or 'ohh tell me more'. Course rankings might matter for some jobs and sectors, but I very much doubt employers care too much about how well the course is rated. E.g. Mechanical Engineer 2:2 Master from Nottingham vs 1st Mechanical Engineering from Bangor.

Employers certainly realise there is a lot more to people than just their University grade, it is after all just a peice of paper showing them you can do some course and pass exams and not a true indication of how you will work within a compnay, role and sector.
 
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Yeah it was harder to get into my current job with the 2:2. I overcame that by taking a pro-active approach. I arranged a pre application tour where I got to know the people I would be working with and people who were going to be on the interview panel. They remembered me and how well we got on, which became the deciding factor in me getting the job.

During the interview I was asked why I had straight A's at A-level and only got a 2:2 at degree. I did have some mitigating issues at uni which was the main reason for my under achievement, I explained this and it seemed to go down well with the panel.



Luckily I did my degree at a good Russell group university, which does carry some weight when compared to people with a 2:1 and above from a non-russell group uni. This may not be true in all cases, but it certainly has been for me.

For the majority jobs, you get automatically screen out with a 2:2. No human actually reads it. I went to graduate fairs, you have chat, than ask you to apply online, sometimes with a code. But still get filtered out.

I have a 1st, but not 320 ucas points. I have been forced to do contract/own businesses work with small business, its a constant battle to get enough clients. Constant battle. People think its awesome to have you own businesses, but in reality most micro businesses are tragic, you only hear about the good ones. I earn reasonable money for a graduate, but I probably work almost 12 hours.

I might go back and do my phd with stipend if i can get it, at least its stable.
 
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I love how people give up so easily lol

KaHn

I know!

One google search and reading some doomongering and that's it.

Will give you a call when I'm back onshore, been a bit mental lately! Need some beers :D
 
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Should have gone to a Uni which would've helped you get some experience, such as having a placement year where they find you a decent company to work at for a year, which will help your CV.
 
Employers certainly realise there is a lot more to people than just their University grade, it is after all just a peice of paper showing them you can do some course and pass exams and not a true indication of how you will work within a compnay, role and sector.

Totally agree, trouble is I am better at the latter than I am at the former, but in order to get a chance to show a company that I am good I need to avoid a 2:2 as it will make it harder to even get a chance to talk to a lot of companies.
 
Oh, I will, just preparing myself for the worst when I finish!

It's not all that bad, it really does depend on you as a candidate.

When I was looking for jobs in the spring/summer of 2010 I didn't struggle getting past the first few stages and ended up getting to quite a few final round interviews . Admittedly I got rejected from a fair few of those before getting my job, but some of them were for various reasons outside of not doing well enough in the final interview/tests.

You just need to persevere, sign up to graduate recruitment agencies and job sites, search job for some of the smaller companies in a sector on google, keep applying etc.

It's not easy but no one ever said it was.
 
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If you graduated with a first then that puts you in an awesome position of getting a job at McDonalds in the drivethru!!
 
I know!

One google search and reading some doomongering and that's it.

Will give you a call when I'm back onshore, been a bit mental lately! Need some beers :D

Nice one mate, always up for more beers :)

Oh joined pure gym the other day so may end up seeing u there as well.

KaHn
 
Oh, I will, just preparing myself for the worst when I finish!

Totally agree, trouble is I am better at the latter than I am at the former, but in order to get a chance to show a company that I am good I need to avoid a 2:2 as it will make it harder to even get a chance to talk to a lot of companies.

You've certainly got the right attitude, just try not to let it get you down as it will do that unless everything falls into place (unlikely).

2:2 wasn't as bad when I graduated in 2007, but these days with the lack of graduate jobs it really does seem a little worrying.

Nice one mate, always up for more beers :)

Oh joined pure gym the other day so may end up seeing u there as well.

KaHn

Beers then gym to burn them off!

Good one, I've hardly been! Not sure how much longer I'll stay there as it's 25mins walk each way and even the evenings after work coupled with the glorious Aberdeen weather it will become boring quickly. Training partner time for added motivation and spotting ;)
 
You've certainly got the right attitude, just try not to let it get you down as it will do that unless everything falls into place (unlikely).

2:2 wasn't as bad when I graduated in 2007, but these days with the lack of graduate jobs it really does seem a little worrying.

I suppose I'm like that because I have worked before I went to uni and know what job hunting is like! I think it'll be much better having a degree from a decent uni than not having one at all.
 
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