Jobless graduate sues her college

The Americans always seem to have a way about doing things. The woman refered to in this article has taken the unemployed student senario to the next level.

Does she have a point though? My degree was was distrupted heavily by poor teaching and incredibly poor administration, (a senario where I feel that if I had been taught to the level I expected, I would have recieved a 1st or at least a good 2:1 rather than the 2:2 I got)

Albeit I may not have worked particularly hard at the end of my 3rd year, but this was purely a result of the frustrations the university had caused me.

Speaking to a friend who graduated this year (the academic year below mine) it appears as though the University is still failing the students, I was dismayed to hear that the students had had their results reduced by 10% as a result of university marking systems.

If students are paying for a service, why does the service seem to fail so often?

I find it incredibly hard to try and understand this situation, granted the universities have thousands of students graduate every year. However, most students are now graduating in my position, no job and over ten thousand pounds worth of debt. With such a bleak existance facing the graduates, maybe getting their money back isn't such a bad idea after all?

It's all a game of chance

I read this article today, 2.38 Million unemployed across Britain.It also dawned on me that I myself, like many who graduated last year have just reached the one year anniversary of leaving university.

In the Twelve months since I moved home from university I have worked for roughly four months, three months in paid employment, and one month worth of volunteering.

So for nine months I've been invalid, unable to claim benefits from the state, and no one, not career advisor, family friend, employment officer, friend or professional has been able to offer advice which can work. Why?

The job world at the moment is about two things, chance and luck.

It's definitely chance rather than deserved if you are offered a job in the current climate, and there's nothing more than luck in keeping the job and getting more work from it.

From a personal perspective, it's taken me a year to work out which field of work I'm best suited to. Ironically it's the field I've spent the last year trying to get into.

But what about the other graduates, and what about those who unlike me have a rent to pay and a family to feed.

How do they work again?

The most infuriating and painful fact about this question is that no one can find a good answer for it.

Some have claimed, the BNP for example to have a answer, as disturbing their answer is however, they've managed to do what the other political parties cannot do, which is suggest an answer to the problem.

Let me just make it clear right now that in no way do I think the BNP have made a good suggestion nor do I support any political views that the BNP have ever held.

The question I have is what hope can the unemployed have if the powers that be (government) cannot think of a realistic answer to the problem in hand.?

A new batch arrives

The summer is approaching, the sunny weather has been and gone (for the time being at least) and more and more students are returning home from university.

In a situation similar to last year many of these returning students will find themselves labelled as 'Graduates' with a degree and struggling to find full time employment.

I've managed to keep myself busy as a graduate, I've taken nearly every job that's been offered to me and worked as hard as I possibly can while employed to at least suggest to my employer that I'm a keeper.

Last week I received a phone call asking if I could be in Lakeside shopping centre (in Essex) the very next day to act as a product demonstrator. I had never done this particular job before, but I jumped at the opportunity for paid employment, the job in question is only for Friday, Saturday and Sunday (Six days over Two Weeks) so my second stretch of demoing starts tomorrow.

To keep myself busy this week however I volunteered, I may have only done half a days worth of volunteering on Tuesday, but I did it, and I'll go back next week if the job hasn't been done for someone else.

Why? I hear you ask.

I do it so that when I next go to a job interview and they ask me what I've been doing. I can give an answer that I'm proud of.

I'm proud of my volunteering,

This is the part where I could give a gushing speech about the wonders of volunteering, but I wrote that article a few posts back for my old Student's Union (See below)

I am proud of the volunteering aspect of my life however, I like that instead of graduating from University and stacking shelves, or going back to working in a petrol garage, I have instead done something a little bit different, I've decided to get as involved as possible in a charity that I genuinely care about.

During this period I've also developed some very useful contacts and received some very good advice from individuals who have been in the exact same position as me before.

So if you're reading this and wondering what to do having just graduated, I recommend looking at what everyone else in your position is doing, and maybe try something different.

Statistics and the claims

I recently read a news article which stated that currently 900,000 graduates are unemployed in Great Britain.
Combine this with the thousands due to graduate this year; the apparent 2 million other people who are unemployed (some with degrees, many with job experience, and those that don't want to work) and you are left with a right old mess.

As I write I've been talking to the Government, I'm trying to find out if I need to pay national insurance or not. I've been out of work since I left Uni (nearly a whole year ago) during that time I've demolished and re- decorated a bedroom (unpaid) helped to look after my grandparents (unpaid) re- joined the gym (I paid for that) and done the equivalent of one months worth of paid employment (which went really quickly and I wish it hadn't ended.)

I have also had 3 formal job interviews (of which I didn't get a single job) applied for so many jobs I couldn't tell you which ones (I think I've passed the 1000 applications though, can I have a medal please?) and generally felt a bit rubbish as I can't understand one seemingly simple question.

How did I go to university in a world where it was suggested it would be easy and lucrative to find employment, and I left university to enter a world where I have to fight even to get voluntary work.

I hope this trend doesn't continue.

The worst knowledge that I have currently, my best friend returns from a round the world trip at the end of the month, she left in September.

In the 9 months since she's been around the world, I still haven't found a job.

Depressing reading doesn't seem to do it justice.

When will they learn?

I was rather dismayed to read about the debate currently occurring as to whether universities should be allowed to charge more money to students who wish to earn a degree.

I was dismayed by this news subject for a number of reasons;

1: I went to University, I graduated with a 2:2 BA in Journalism and Video Production. I am proud of my degree.

As a result of my degree I currently owe the student loan company several thousands of pounds in unpaid debt which is currently not being paid off (I don't earn enough money.) and which is continuing to gain interest on a monthly basis.

There is one way that I could pay of my student debt in realistic terms, however this realism does include my becoming a contestant on Deal or No Deal and being fortunate enough to pick the £250,000 box.

In the current climate, I will be shocked if I'm ever able to pay off my student debt.

On top of this, I believe that if the universities want more money, they should be giving value for money in the first place at least. (this brings me onto my second point)

2: I spent my university life in an average of 4 hours a week worth of lectures. If I had been taught during my degree, I am certain I would have gained a far higher grade.

I can be certain in this belief as a number of friends of mine who went to university and received real teaching graduated with much higher grades than I did (We're talking shiny proud 1st's here).

(and finally the 3rd point)

3: Since then I have heard from my university once, I received a telephone call a few months ago asking what I was doing now as the university were trying to record the paths of students since graduation, I explained my situation fully and was told that if I emailed David Shacklady who is the Head of Careers & Employment at Buckinghamshire New University I would be given advice on my C.V.

I did this immediately, anything to help find me an opportunity...

David replied with a note that read;

Hi Matt

I will check your CV and get back to you shortly.

Best Wishes

David

That was received by me on January 15th 2009.

I think we have different ideas on what the definition of shortly is.

(Conclusion)

As it stands I'm in a situation now where my outlook towards the future is incredibly positive and I'm really looking forward to finding out what happens next in my life.

The point I was originally making however is why should I or any of the future generations be expected to amass this much debt when the university do such a shoddy job?

If this suggested fee rise goes ahead I will urge any children I may have in the future to not go to university unless they wish to go into a profession that demands a university education, as it seems to me to be nothing more than a big waste of time and money.

How to prepare for the Big Bad World.

I was asked to write an article for the newspaper at Bucks Student's Union this week. Below are the wise words of advice that I offered for the current students.

How to prepare for the Big Bad World.

My name is Matt Fricker, this time last year; I was the Media Officer for Bucks Students’ Union. I spent my spare time volunteering and generally just got as much enjoyment out of my final year as a student as I could.

Then the recession hit.

And I, along with many of my fellow graduates became stuck in a pigeon hole, “Good but not close enough to the brief for this position.”

As a result I found myself fighting for jobs against people who had just been made redundant from doing that very same job, so it was a bit of a loosing battle.

Never the less, I persevere, and my C.V. is noticed by a number of employers. Why? I hear you ask.

Well, as I mentioned earlier, I spent my spare time at Bucks volunteering, I volunteered in the role of Media Officer. A position that allowed me to chat with Bradley from S Club and get splattered with cold sponges for Children In Need among other things.

More importantly though, I also spent a lot of time in meetings with other members of the Students’ Union debating, devising and then implementing ideas and projects that would benefit the cause that we were fighting for. Whether the cause was raising money for Child Poverty Day, or gaining the biggest election turnout in Bucks Students’ Union history, I was there, giving up my spare time to make a real difference.

It’s because of this that my C.V. looks the way it does, employers love volunteering, as it means that you’re willing to get up and do something different, not just sit about and get drunk or just study like many students.

Employers love candidates who volunteer, as through volunteering you learn those life skills that no classroom can teach you.

A month is a long time

In the four weeks since I last updated this blog, I would say that things have changed for the better. I'm still not in full time employment so to say, but my experiences over the past few weeks (Last week in particular) have asked me if I really want to "settle down" job wise.

I realise that the previous point can be argued simply that no one really settles down job wise, but hear me out.

Last week I spent my first full week working in six months, I have done a number of odd days of work here and there, but nothing from Monday to Friday.

For the job in question I was an Events Host, I met a number of very interesting people including a Doctor of Genetics who was searching for a new path. During one of the many conversations that we had, the subject of "what makes you happy" came up, personally, I love writing, I wrote my first book at the age of four, I've still got it, it's riddled with grammatical and spelling mistakes, but I wrote it, and I'm still very proud of it.

The point I'm trying to make is that as an individual and as a employer/ prospective employee I believe that it is imperative that you are working towards a goal that will make you happy. For example, I as an individual am not driven by money, I have nothing against money and I'm sure that first class flights and all of those flashy things are lovely, but I'd rather be happy and proud of what I do.

As a result I currently find myself at a bit of a crossroads, the question, do I keep applying for jobs and take the first full time one that comes along? or do I simply keep doing what I'm doing, take the work when it comes and see what happens?

Personally I'm opting for the latter option, unless my dream job comes along, but I think that won't happen for a few years yet.

A New Year with New problems?

Happy New Year, (albeit a week after New Year has passed)

2009 is predicted to be a dark year for the British economy. This week we have seen the full closure of all Woolworth stores and the announcement that Marks and Spencer will cut a thousand jobs within the next few weeks. Britians retail intdustry, it would seem is currently plunging down a very steep slide.

At the same time, there are preditictions that in two weeks, when Barack Obama becomes President Obama the American economic crisis will get significantly better, as Barack Obama instills faith in the American people that, "everything is going to be alright."

Sadly, I don't think any of Gordon Brown, David Cameron or Ming Campbell could have the same effect (Bring back the Monster Raving Loony Party, at least you felt their joy was genuine.)

So what does this mean for people like me, now unemployed and as good as forgotten by the system. Well, retail work is going to be a lot harder to come by, but then again, it was near impossible to come by in the first place. Companies will be even less likely to take a chance on an unproven student.

Of course, don't forget, there will be more unemployed than previously.

So, nothing's changed really.

Myself, I'm keeping busy and applying for every intership and volunteer position I can find.

I'll be in touch.

"It's not what you know, it's who you know."

Is the above statement true? is it really the case that in the current state of affairs I, along with everyone else who cannot find work, have a better chance of gaining employment thanks to someone I know opening the door for me?

As painful as it sounds I'm starting to believe it to be true. You see, out of the few tiny rays of light that I have in my personal quest for employment, the brightest one was introduced to me by my own father.

I'm not saying that I'm not happy that my family were able to suggest to me an opportunity, no matter how small that opportunity may be at present.
However, I chose to move back into my family home after university with no job in place, what about people who aren't in my fortunate situation?

What about those who didn't return to live with their parents? It can be assumed that they will all be living somewhere paying rent and bills; so, what can be done to help them?

The answer to these questions I simply do not know. What I do know is that I've been unemployed since July, and unable to even get a job stacking shelves. I also know I've applied for nearly 300 jobs and if I wasn't fortunate enough to have the family that I have, I think I would have probably found it very tough to survive financially in this climate. Worst of all, I know I'm not alone in my predicament, as there are, according to official figures, nearly two million people unemployed in Great Britain.

It sounds incredibly despairing, and the problem is simply what can be done? It's not that help hasn't been asked for, it's just that help cannot exist at this time.

The System

I've recently been thinking that the education system is a good place to lay blame for every graduate who cannot find a job. Why? well, the education system (in my understanding) works as follows;

Join school aged 3-5 years old (Nursery - Pre School)
Move through the years to aged 16, by which point we collectively have been through a number of tests to determine our intelligence, and lessons which should have hopefully taught us to read, write and do arithmetic (In varying levels of success I should add)

At 16 years of age you take your GCSEs, when you receive your results you make one of your first "grown up" decisions, you either stay in the system or you leave the system.

Those who leave after GCSE level will in many cases will find themselves in either a trade industry (Plumbers, Builders and so on) or in the public services (Armed forces etc...) Admittedly these are both still education systems of sort, as you learn a huge amount and gain invaluable skills to help you on your path.

However, for many (including myself) you stay in the education system and move on to Sixth Form (AKA College) here you begin to specialise, get a slightly higher graded piece of paper and supposedly plan for University.

So, you've done your A-levels (NVQs etc..) and you have two choices, get a job or go to uni where, "Your employment chances will become much greater, as employers love degrees."

You go to university, learn a lot about life and yourself, and get another piece of paper with your name on it. The problem is, for the majority, the system finishes here, graduate courses aren't for you, and you haven't trained to be a Architect, Doctor, Lawyer, or one of the other fine professions that will give you a job by the time you have completed the course.

As a result, you find yourself, having spent the best part of two decades in the education system, lost and feeling all alone thinking, "I've got a degree, why can't I get a chance, I know I can do it, all I need is that one shot."

It's that feeling of helplessness that I know I've had and I'm sure nearly each and every one of you has had at some point or another.

Is there a way to change this? I keep seeing politicians talking about rising unemployment rates and genuinely think that there is nothing beneficial they could do for me (the graduate).

Maybe if I had taken an exam similar to the American SAT exam instead of A levels I would have had a better chance of getting into a first rate university and along with that I may have had a clearer idea of what I wanted to do for a job.

Or maybe the degree that I received from the university I went to has absolutely nothing to do with anything, maybe this feeling of helplessness that the unemployed get is really just another part of the system, there are two questions raised, they are; At what stage will you experience it? and how will you cope?

Talk to your friends and family, they will tell you that they have all been in this situation before.

Job Fairs - Will you be my answer?

Last Wednesday I visited my first job fair in nearly five years. The last job fair I had visited was while I was at Sixth Form.

I find the whole concept of the job fair rather odd to be honest, a market place for employers in basis. Chances are, if you've been to a job fair before, you can at least in part predict which organisations will be represented. The Armed Forces for one are frequently found recruiting at the job fairs. Similarly are the public services (Police, Fire Ambulance).

While I have no problem whatsoever with these organizations recuruting at job fairs, they aren't the sort of jobs that I'd like to do. I've thought about the Emergency Services, and I came to the conclusion that my path in life doesn't lie with them. I've had the Armed Forces try and recruit me before, but the idea doesn't interest me as a potential career.

At this particular job fair I visited I admit to spending roughly Thirty seconds at the fair itself, I entered seeing if there was a stall that might interest me and found that I was greeted by; a) the aformentioned public services, b) a number of universities and c) a small number of banks and insurance services who were merely trying to gain new customers, not new staff.

Did the experience dishearten me? Not particularly, from previous job fairs I felt as though I could guess at what to expect, and I was right. The target audience for this particular fair wasn't the graduate field from what I could tell. As a result, never mind, something else will come along before too long I'm sure.

The Job Interview

Earlier today I had a job interview, my second interview since I started applying for jobs all three and a bit months ago, the job in question that I had applied was for a receptionist, a position which, should I be successful shall be very grateful for, however, I'm not going to lose sleep over it (I have far more important subjects to loose sleep about.)

Anyway, the point of this article, every interview is exactly the same. Is this a revelation? not really no. So what's the point in writing about it? Well, its good to be prepared and it's something to talk about.

Job interviews are a very peculiar occurrence, for starters, the layout for an interview; (in my experience as someone who has been both an interviewee and interviewer) follows the layout of...

A welcome from the reception area, usually, "Hello, welcome, please take a seat so and so will be with you in a moment, would you like a drink?"

This is followed by the interviewer (AKA so and so) entering the reception area and greeting you then leading you to the interview room.

Once in the interview room the candidate is met with a small barrage of questions such as; "Why did you apply for this job? What do you think you can bring to this role? and something specific to prove that you have read the job description.

After this exchange the interviewer poses the question which I'm beginning to believe really is the highlight of the interview for the employer; "Is there anything you would like to ask us? AKA Do you have any questions?"

The employer loves this question as it means two things, firstly, (Interviewers thoughts ahead) "The interview is now as good as over, I can have myself a nice cup of tea and a biscuit." (or a similar snack) and secondly, "Chances are I'm going to hear a new question, which is nice as the questions I've been asking have become a bit boring to hear."

May I just note that I'm not criticizing any interview that I've ever been a part of, I'm merely generalising in summation.

The odd thing is how much job interviews resemble quiz shows, there's a prize at the end (A Job), several contestants all trying to win said prize (The Job) and a number of rather trivial questions that stand in the way of the contestant (Interviewee) and the prize (Brand new Job).

I think I'd like to see a new take on the interview, doubt it will happen though, even when I'm the employer.

So it's back to the job hunt for me (for the time being at least).

You can expect to hear from me within the week.

Is a degree a bad thing?

I recieved an email on Tuesday evening stating that I had been unsuccesful in my application to work in a DVD and Music shop. This email re-ignited a question I had been asking myself recently, "Does possessing a degree act detrementally when trying to find employment?"

Now I can't prove whether it does or not, however, this particular store, like its competitors possesses my beloved "Graduate Training Schemes" with the intention of turning fresh faced graduates like myself into future store managers.

At this point I'd like to make it clear that I have absolutely nothing against Graduate Training Schemes as I know of a number of major retailers who recruit their next potential C.E.Os in this very fashion.

Back to the point in hand, my rejection from this DVD and Music store read that, "applications to our website has been very high, and the quality is of an exceptional standard."

This to me raised more questions than answering, the application form in question was automated, and, apart from the odd sentence where the candidate stated in twenty words or less why they would be an exceptional candidate the application form was restricted to ticking boxes.

If you're wondering what questions were raised, they included "Did the employer believe that I was lying when I said I possessed an expert knowledge in film and music? (Which I genuinely do, ask my pub quiz team)"

The key question for me was "Did I become less employable when I stated that I had a degree?"

What does the degree have to do with it?

Remember the statement I referred to in my last post, "Graduates can expect to earn up to 20% more in wages than a non- graduate"

Maybe I'm wrong, but I can't help but feel that when faced with the best part of possibly a hundred applications, those with degrees may be among the first to go. After all, would you hire someone for a part time shop position if you thought they could get a "Graduate Job" and leave after two weeks?

I wonder what my chances for part time employment would be like if the next time I was to convieniently forget to mention my degree when sending in my C.V.

Graduate Life

Recently, I graduated from university. Congratulations I hear you say, however, not all is as rosy as it could be, you see, I, like many of my peers graduated during an economic downturn which is being described as the worst crisis since 1929 when the Wall Street stock market crashed.

This is causing many companies to tighten up their budgets, meaning that whereas in previous years they could have had "Graduate Training schemes" this year they can't.

Couple that (the thousands of financial workers who lost their jobs) with the amount of students who became graduates this year and you end up with a rather large number (I don't know the precise number so I'm not going to guess).

The thing that gets me is the old saying that if you are a graduate, your chances of finding a job are much higher than if you are not a graduate (You're also meant to be paid 20% more) that said, at this exact moment in time I have applied and been turned down for roughly 130 jobs which I have been applying for since July.

None of these jobs are high powered or well paid, they are all work experience or interships. The exact sort of role which an individual in my position (arts and media graduate) should be applying for in order to get that first foot on the ladder.

Reading this you may be thinking, "Maybe his C.V. is poor". Well, no it's not really, the only work experience I cannot put on my C.V is having worked behind a bar. Every year I was studying at uni I had a job, (I was an active member of my Students' Union too.) and in the Summer holidays I also found office employment where I did everything from answering the phone and buying lunch to leading meetings and giving presentations.

So I wouldn't say I was inexperienced for the sort of role I am applying for.

Am I alone in my predicament? No. Sadly I'm not.

Out of all my friends who graduated from University this year, about half a dozen now have found themselves employment which can be counted as "Graduate level"

Some of my friends are stacking shelves in their local Supermarkets, others are working in Bars.

The ones that have found employment either spent time on work experience placements during their course which meant they were offered employment after their course had finished, or like me, they spent their spare time in the Students' Union and eventually became elected to a postion of Sabbatical staff.

So far, I've been offered one job and two interviews, all of which I declined. The job was to drive a mini-bus, and the interviews were for a morgage adviser and a job in IT Recruitment.

What was wrong with these jobs? Well, I'm not a fan of driving at all, and the career prospects would have led me to being a bar manager, which isn't what I want to do. If you met me for five minuites you would be able to tell I would be a horrible morgage adviser and the IT job.

The IT job seemed interesting but when I asked the lady on the phone "What does IT Recruitment involve?" and she replied "You start on £25k and it'll rise to about £35k after a year.." I knew it wasn't for me.

If I'm going to do a job, I'd like to know what the job involves. At this stage if she had said "Making tea, fixing people's problems and doing things that other people haven't and won't do" I'd have told them I'm an expert in that field with 3 years experience (I am too!)

So, I've decided that I'm going to keep this blog as an update of my stuggles to find employment and my experiences as an employee, as I fear it maybe a while before a find a job worth keeping.