Forgot how bad job searching was :(

Graduate job hunt is dire at the moment. Wish I had applied at the start of the semester when they had just opened. And then I got too bogged down with coursework and now exams so need to focus on that. Plus I don't want to move to London where most of the jobs seem to be.

Got to the 5th stage (assessment centre) for one firm before getting rejected. That was hard to take.
 
Starting job search now... hopefully get something in the new year.

I quit my job 5-6 months ago now! Initially was planning to have a decent amount of time off, as a career break. Now it's time to get back on the horse.

Part of plan, is to ensure every Monday you re-upload your CV to all the job boards, with a minor change added to ensure you're always at the top of recruiters stacks.
 
I think I'm going to join you chaps on the recruitment merry-go-round. It's been a while since I looked outside of my organisation for opportunities but I really feel like I need a change.

I'm currently a Business Development Analyst working for Local Authority in Cambridge, I've been with the organisation in various roles for 5 years and it's got to the point where cut backs have effectively eroded the career pathway.

I'm pretty jaded so fancy a shift to the private sector, I want to work for an organisation that feel like it has some direction. I also accept that I'm probably looking at a commute to London, but that is actually weirdly appealing at the moment, we'll see how I feel should I land myself a job there.

Quick question for those of you in work and looking, how active are you in your search? I've sent a few applications through but I feel like I might need to set a benchmark for application per day/week as a way to motivate myself.
 
FortuitousFluke said:
I think I'm going to join you chaps on the recruitment merry-go-round. It's been a while since I looked outside of my organisation for opportunities but I really feel like I need a change.

I'm currently a Business Development Analyst working for Local Authority in Cambridge, I've been with the organisation in various roles for 5 years and it's got to the point where cut backs have effectively eroded the career pathway.

I'm pretty jaded so fancy a shift to the private sector, I want to work for an organisation that feel like it has some direction. I also accept that I'm probably looking at a commute to London, but that is actually weirdly appealing at the moment, we'll see how I feel should I land myself a job there.

Quick question for those of you in work and looking, how active are you in your search? I've sent a few applications through but I feel like I might need to set a benchmark for application per day/week as a way to motivate myself.
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Set whatever you feel you can do. Some applications will take longer than others. I try and stick to the rule of no zero days though, so apply for at least one to two jobs a day. I had a few weeks off a while ago though because the rejection was burning me out.

I think with five years of BDA experience on your CV you should be okay finding your next job however, London is very competitive so adjust your expectations accordingly.

I think you would do well to get on some agency's books ASAP whilst also checking out the usual job sites.
 
Nix said:
Set whatever you feel you can do. Some applications will take longer than others. I try and stick to the rule of no zero days though, so apply for at least one to two jobs a day. I had a few weeks off a while ago though because the rejection was burning me out.

I think with five years of BDA experience on your CV you should be okay finding your next job however, London is very competitive so adjust your expectations accordingly.

I think you would do well to get on some agency's books ASAP whilst also checking out the usual job sites.
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Not quite five years of BDA unfortunately, 2 years admin, 2 years contract monitoring and 1 year BDA. Thanks for the suggestions though.

I think the next few days I'll spend sorting out my online presence and registering with as many relevant agencies as I can find. My CV should be okay but I plan to take another look, then I'll work on my LinkedIn profile (I've heard this is an increasingly large aspect of recruitment processes for larger organisations) and update the CV hosting sites I'm with. I don't put too much stock in them myself but it's only a case of updating the CV really so I may as well.

My future brother in law has also done me a solid and passed my CV on to the HR Director at his place (massive venture capitalist/IT company) so I may hear something there.

I may even give speculative applications a shot, only for organisations I'm particularly interested in though, it can be quite labour intensive to do it well.
 
Just to remind people - jobs seem to come in quarters, January will be initially slow but make sure things are uploaded and refreshed now. Also ensure you keep a log.

I turned down the interview that company - it didn't feel right.

I have, since, have an initial interview for another role tomorrow :) but also got turned down by Burberry and Bloomberg over the weekend so that's an automated system, wasted a day of writing CVs and for one of the roles I was an idea match (even with using terminology). Funny how employers moan about not having skills when actually it seems that the skills that are missing are in setting up the automated filtering systems.

Life continues :)
 
Found out today I've been turned down a senior role in my existing team. Two of us went for the job, both started at the same time, both would bring very different strengths to the role. They lumped for him, I'm gutted as this will put him above me in the pecking order for the rest of my career if I stay here. I like the guy and I respect him, but I don't feel he is competent as I am, and I cannot imagine working under him. Not looking forward to going back to work.

On the plus side have a second interview for a similar role as my own, however this role would be local, a saving of about £5k after tax on travel and pays considerably more. Pinning all my hopes on this one now.
 
Had an interview on Wednesday for a role that was basically asking for someone to be a project manager, service manager, supplier manager and bizzarly (which I found out in the interview) a front line troubleshooter for end users! Also included managing a 1st/2nd line team and presenting to senior level stakeholders.

I didn't get it as an internal candidate had more experience in the sector - makes me wonder why they even bothered interviewing externally (is it an HR thing)?

I am not overly upset as the salary was fairly low considering the responsibilities but it was a role I was looking to get into for experience, working customer side as opposed to supplier.

The big third interview is on the 15th January for the role I really want but I'm not getting my hopes up so come monday I will be working with a recruiter I have gotten along well with to identify some roles.

I also think I am gonna stump up the cash to do Prince2 to have something formal against my project management skills.
 
Bloodshot said:
I got promoted to Lead Game Designer, woop! Good luck everyone still looking for work, I know you'll find something soon :).
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Oh bog off :p This thread is for us jobless to cry into our beers. You can start your own thread about how easy it is to get a job/ promotion :p
 
daveydave said:
Mate its just at tedious for us grads who aren't willing to whore themselves out at all these rubbish jobs promising 80k OTE (basic 12k), I've got a years placement on the cv and I've had two interviews both roles 22k+ but its tough competiting for those jobs especially when everyone is graduating now too. Just get on monster/reed and keep looking and keep clicking apply. Good luck pal
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Depends what you graduated in. There are surplus opportunities in STEM courses. But they are hard. Many years ago I did an MSc in Geophysics and worked in that field.
 
Nix said:
Another rejection email.

/sigh
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I was watching the BBC programme Question Time sometime ago and a young graduate female in tge audience stated to the panel that she'd emailed her cv to over a 100 companies and majority did not reply, nor has she still got a job. Then one of the panellists (initials DB) stated had she tried going to the company personally/knocking on their door. Her response was 'no'. The panellist said "well there you go then". The questioner was nearly in tears.
 
In mid-October, I spent a whole day going to the offices of recruitment agencies across London.

Every single one of them turned me away. Rather than viewing it as a form of seriousness and initiative, I was treated like I was a nuisance.

The days of face-to-face are gone. It's an employer's market and everything is online now. If you can't get past the auto-filters and HR harridans, you're ****ed.

The panelist sounds like a privileged idiot.
 
lunar said:
On the contrary. The panellist started of small and became a self made millionaire. Initials are DB.
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Doesn't mean that his life circumstances are applicable to everyone else.

Chance and timing play a crucial role in our lives. You can do everything you feasibly can to find work, but if no-one will take a chance on you, you end up in a poor career or have poor mentors, that doesn't mean you're to blame. It just means that's the cards you got dealt.

DB sounds like he's let his ego get the best of him and deluded himself into thinking that meritocracies exist and everyone should be able to succeed if only they try hard enough. Sadly, life is a little more nuanced than that.
 
Quit my job in August (npower) as I couldn't stand being on the phones anymore, it was making me physical sick and mentality unstable taking calls from people call after call with no breaks in-between apart from 2 15min breaks and 1 30min lunch. It was at the point where I was miserable pretty much all the time and I got headaches after being in work about an hour which lasted throughout the day. My managers told me every week to cheer up and smile and I just wanted to punch them right in the face and tell them to mind there own business.

I was put on a warning once during a team meeting as I wasn't smiling or talking which I found utterly appalling. I put in a complain to the higher ups about that particular manager for harassment, nothing came of it.
That said I'm a quite person, I don't like talking to people and any opportunity I get, I will avoid it.

I was there for 1 year and a few month. I tried to get off the phones multiple times and expressed my concerns with my managers (we changed team allot), but I just got messed around, told they will get to it eventually and to just wait. They even blocked my pay rise 3 times by switching our department with very little notice and changing our goals for pay rises in the process which made me miss my pay rise 3 times by a few days because they forcably changed our role in the company (general enquires -> complaints -> websupport -> home movers -> back to general enquires -> back to home movers)

Anyway, been looking for jobs ever since with no luck.
 
You should have secured another job prior to departing at npower.
The problem is if an employer considers takingbyou on, what deters them from thinking that you may just decide to quit.
 
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