As a recruiter I always feel two ways about these stories.
Firstly, yes the numbers are massively stacked against you. 300-400 applications a role and I deal regularly with people where the feedback is just… yes you could have done the job. And yet they probably weren’t even in the top ten.
That being said, if you take that 300-400 and narrow it down to the number of people who actually read the spec, tailored their CV to it, and included some kind of letter or paragraph outlining their specific suitability, you are soon amongst dozens, rather than hundreds, of candidates.
These days you can very easily shoot off the same CV for 50 jobs in an afternoon. So pure numbers say nothing about your job search.
That being said it sounds like this guy has been very proactive, attending events and trying to network. It’s a sad situation for many graduates.
AgentOk8737 on
He’s got to pump those numbers up. 270 since October 2024, thats rookie numbers. Im at 250 since Febuary and im being deliberatley gentle and thoughtful about it to try and keep my medication doses down.
supergodmasterforce on
I personally believe a major issue for anyone looking for a job, whether a “skilled” or “unskilled” position (terms I hate as all jobs require a skill of some kind), is simply the amount of people applying for the role. The article touches on this and also the subject of the article does mention that employers in the field he is looking to gain employment in, are preferring people with industry experience as well as the necessary qualifications.
This person has seemingly been in education up until 2024 when the applications commenced and if I were to play [devil’s advocate](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xm8kW1sXWs) I would gleam from the article that he has not sought employment outside his preferred field during this time with the exception of being an Army reservist.
This could potentially be holding him back too as as much as employers will be looking for industry experience, they will also be looking at general work experience. If a person has gone school to college to university and then nowhere else then it may be an advantage to seek work *anywhere* in the mean time.
FlyingRo on
Personally if I’d applied to lots of jobs and failed at the competency test stage, I’m not sure I’d be running to the press about it.
It’s one thing if you’ve got well qualified candidates not being able to get hired, but if you’re failing screening tests that’s almost certainly a you problem.
Yes we need more high skilled jobs, but we also need high skilled individuals to fill them.
Sad-Basis7411 on
Number never reveal the full picture. I could be applying 270 jobs to only at top investment or tech firm to be management trainee and obviously I will get rejected becuase I am not from wealthy family or didn’t get a 1st from oxbridge.
user97532567 on
Yep the combination of an anti-business government and AI is the perfect storm. My field especially has been broken by AI. It’s unclear if a junior software developer would ever gain the necessary skills given that AI can now be used to do most things.
CharacterMaybe7950 on
Need to take some responsibility. 0 out of 270 looks like mindless spamming.
coffeewalnut08 on
I feel like we need to develop stronger school > trades pipelines, rather than just sending everyone off to uni and letting them compete for the same jobs.
A lot of schools only focus on preparing students for uni. But the trades – builders, plumbers, electricians – are in constant short supply with an ageing workforce.
I also think employers using AI to screen job applications should be banned. Like wth? AI can be faulty and it feels disrespectful when the applicant has made a real effort into their application, it deserves to be seen by a human.
J1mj0hns0n on
the support for everyone in the job market is next to nothing,
CrabPurple7224 on
The problem I’m facing in my industry is that graduates are struggling with fundamentals and thinking for themselves. If ChatGPT can’t answer it they just stand there and wait for someone else to answer.
We don’t want AI to replace your job but if you rely on it so heavily then why wouldn’t we?
I’m not struggling with someone with a degree, I’m struggling to find someone with competence that can adapt.
thehighyellowmoon on
Had the same experience. But soon learned there is sadly no god-given right to being given a grad job just for having a degree, there are too many of us around now. Took a minimum wage retail job for a bit but within a year a really fulfilling career role came up. It just didn’t happen at the point of graduating.
jessh164 on
if you’re applying for 270 jobs there’s no way you’re tailoring your cv for each role, writing a decent cover letter etc.
PotentialMulberry677 on
If you can’t find a job, lower your expectations. I went from day rate of £330 in financial services to working in a milk factory (agency) on minimum wage. Throw ego out the door and keep earning – it ain’t permanent and continuity of employment displays a better attitude, IMO. Edit: graduates need to assess the economy and job prospects before they commit to years of qualifications. The amount of masters qualified individuals I worked alongside in entry level call centre jobs when I was a young person was ridiculous – I earned more than them, despite leaving school at 16 because I had no student debt. Still made it to £330 a day in financial services; why? Cause attitude counts.
NoExperience9717 on
Does he have unlimited right to work? He says he’s part of the reservists but possibly you can be Commonwealth and be a reservist. So it is a bit racist based on the name but if he’s needing sponsorship in a tight jobs market he’s going to find it a lot harder.
MultiMidden on
Info needed: What degree? What classification? What university?
EmergencyDefiant5381 on
My first post-grad job was working in a minimum wage job on a call centre where no one else had a degree. It was very humbling. The reality is that they need to start a job somewhere and then keep applying potentially over the months and years to get what they want. Just having a call centre job on my CV for over a year was enough to get me job interviews for my desired career direction. It’s definitely rough out there don’t get me wrong, but to some extent graduates need to understand the market is terrible right now with the AI focus, and retail / call centres still need humans to speak to humans.
16 Comments
As a recruiter I always feel two ways about these stories.
Firstly, yes the numbers are massively stacked against you. 300-400 applications a role and I deal regularly with people where the feedback is just… yes you could have done the job. And yet they probably weren’t even in the top ten.
That being said, if you take that 300-400 and narrow it down to the number of people who actually read the spec, tailored their CV to it, and included some kind of letter or paragraph outlining their specific suitability, you are soon amongst dozens, rather than hundreds, of candidates.
These days you can very easily shoot off the same CV for 50 jobs in an afternoon. So pure numbers say nothing about your job search.
That being said it sounds like this guy has been very proactive, attending events and trying to network. It’s a sad situation for many graduates.
He’s got to pump those numbers up. 270 since October 2024, thats rookie numbers. Im at 250 since Febuary and im being deliberatley gentle and thoughtful about it to try and keep my medication doses down.
I personally believe a major issue for anyone looking for a job, whether a “skilled” or “unskilled” position (terms I hate as all jobs require a skill of some kind), is simply the amount of people applying for the role. The article touches on this and also the subject of the article does mention that employers in the field he is looking to gain employment in, are preferring people with industry experience as well as the necessary qualifications.
This person has seemingly been in education up until 2024 when the applications commenced and if I were to play [devil’s advocate](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xm8kW1sXWs) I would gleam from the article that he has not sought employment outside his preferred field during this time with the exception of being an Army reservist.
This could potentially be holding him back too as as much as employers will be looking for industry experience, they will also be looking at general work experience. If a person has gone school to college to university and then nowhere else then it may be an advantage to seek work *anywhere* in the mean time.
Personally if I’d applied to lots of jobs and failed at the competency test stage, I’m not sure I’d be running to the press about it.
It’s one thing if you’ve got well qualified candidates not being able to get hired, but if you’re failing screening tests that’s almost certainly a you problem.
Yes we need more high skilled jobs, but we also need high skilled individuals to fill them.
Number never reveal the full picture. I could be applying 270 jobs to only at top investment or tech firm to be management trainee and obviously I will get rejected becuase I am not from wealthy family or didn’t get a 1st from oxbridge.
Yep the combination of an anti-business government and AI is the perfect storm. My field especially has been broken by AI. It’s unclear if a junior software developer would ever gain the necessary skills given that AI can now be used to do most things.
Need to take some responsibility. 0 out of 270 looks like mindless spamming.
I feel like we need to develop stronger school > trades pipelines, rather than just sending everyone off to uni and letting them compete for the same jobs.
A lot of schools only focus on preparing students for uni. But the trades – builders, plumbers, electricians – are in constant short supply with an ageing workforce.
I also think employers using AI to screen job applications should be banned. Like wth? AI can be faulty and it feels disrespectful when the applicant has made a real effort into their application, it deserves to be seen by a human.
the support for everyone in the job market is next to nothing,
The problem I’m facing in my industry is that graduates are struggling with fundamentals and thinking for themselves. If ChatGPT can’t answer it they just stand there and wait for someone else to answer.
We don’t want AI to replace your job but if you rely on it so heavily then why wouldn’t we?
I’m not struggling with someone with a degree, I’m struggling to find someone with competence that can adapt.
Had the same experience. But soon learned there is sadly no god-given right to being given a grad job just for having a degree, there are too many of us around now. Took a minimum wage retail job for a bit but within a year a really fulfilling career role came up. It just didn’t happen at the point of graduating.
if you’re applying for 270 jobs there’s no way you’re tailoring your cv for each role, writing a decent cover letter etc.
If you can’t find a job, lower your expectations. I went from day rate of £330 in financial services to working in a milk factory (agency) on minimum wage. Throw ego out the door and keep earning – it ain’t permanent and continuity of employment displays a better attitude, IMO. Edit: graduates need to assess the economy and job prospects before they commit to years of qualifications. The amount of masters qualified individuals I worked alongside in entry level call centre jobs when I was a young person was ridiculous – I earned more than them, despite leaving school at 16 because I had no student debt. Still made it to £330 a day in financial services; why? Cause attitude counts.
Does he have unlimited right to work? He says he’s part of the reservists but possibly you can be Commonwealth and be a reservist. So it is a bit racist based on the name but if he’s needing sponsorship in a tight jobs market he’s going to find it a lot harder.
Info needed: What degree? What classification? What university?
My first post-grad job was working in a minimum wage job on a call centre where no one else had a degree. It was very humbling. The reality is that they need to start a job somewhere and then keep applying potentially over the months and years to get what they want. Just having a call centre job on my CV for over a year was enough to get me job interviews for my desired career direction. It’s definitely rough out there don’t get me wrong, but to some extent graduates need to understand the market is terrible right now with the AI focus, and retail / call centres still need humans to speak to humans.