Here are just a few of my holiday snaps:
Unfortunately I have since had to return to normality, and am faced with new challenges to clog up my brain once more. Whilst my art work is still very much a priority, it is still on the backburner for the moment as job hunting must take precedence. My current employment contract ends in just a few weeks and so I am surrounded by the usual list of job applications and covering letters.
Getting a job should not be this hard. I realise that everyone is struggling right now, such is the state of affairs, but it is, as reported recently, the youth of the country who are suffering the most, and I would even go as far as to say it is graduates who are paying the price.
I am one of many in a generation where going to University was the ‘done’ thing – only a handful of people in my school year chose not to attend university, and it was the same for many across the country. We were told that if you go to University, you will be able to make the most of your future and make yourself stand out amongst other applicants. They were almost right. Whilst a degree does make you stand out amongst applicants to higher level jobs, every other applicant in the top half of the pile has a degree – potentially putting you in the top half of a list of 300 people. So whilst the degree does give you more of an advantage, it isn’t much of one.
‘You lack the relevant experience.’ Something I hear constantly. Just yesterday I ventured around a few recruitment agencies:
‘Whilst your work experience is broad and sounds really good, it just isn’t what our clients are looking for. You would need 3 to 4 years of experience within an office environment in order to be considered.’
Right then…and exactly how do I go about getting that then? Being as I can’t get a job because I don’t have the experience but no one will give me a job so that I can get the experience?
Catch 22 doesn’t even begin to cover it. Whilst I don’t want a job to be the most important aspect of my life, a career is something that helps to shape and define you as a person. This Catch 22 is shaping the lives of the youth today and unfortunately I can’t see it ending anytime soon.
With the number of redundancies being made across the UK, any previous jobs being assigned to graduates are now being taken by those with more experience; they too need the work and so will accept a lower wage, but can offer the employer so much more in return.
Unfortunately for graduates, choices are slim. I myself have built up work experience in positions that I could have gained, had I left school at 16, in order to try to bridge this gap in work experience, and whilst it has paid off in some respects, I am now in a vicious circle of rejection.
From being told that I do not have enough experience to even be considered for an interview, I am faced with the prospect of being over qualified for others. Companies see my degree on my CV and realise I actually have the desire to progress within a career and challenge myself and therefore do not see me as a viable candidate. Graduates are most definitely stuck, as the saying goes, between a rock and a hard place.
If it weren’t such a depressing situation it might actually be amusing. Many times I have seen the look of confusion on a person’s face as I have explained to them that yes, I do have a degree and yes, my job does involve serving in a cafe. As one customer said, ‘So that’s the degree you need to serve a cup of tea! I always wondered!’ As I said, almost amusing.
For me, it is back to the drawing board, more applications, more covering letters. The trick is to stay positive and keep going, a challenge within itself – it’s just a shame that you can’t use it as an example within an interview, because these days, it really does show strength of character…
Caroline
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