Getting Desperate - New Graduate

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OK Guys I'm getting deperate now. I am fresh out of University with a very good IT degree. I have a years experience in Blue Chip IT sales and a years experience on a desktop support helpdesk. I ahve been applying for jobs now for 6 weeks and have had very little interest. I am applying for jobs in the Manchester area and so far have been offered one interview, which was too far away for me (don't hold a driving license). I ahve a strong background in Networking and Operating systems from university and the course content was equivalent to and A+ and Netowrk+ from 2 of the modules.

Anyone give me any advice on how to land a job? I wish it wasnt so pressing but I have come out of uni with £16k in debts and affording to live is becoming difficult. I may even have to claim job seekers benefit if nothing comes up in the next week. Strange. I seem less employable now with a degree than I was with just A-levels under my belt.

Cheers in advance guys
Jodsclass

 

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I sympathise with you over this - it can seem very hard getting a good job sometimes.

You may have read very recently that the jobless total was now at the highest for some time. This indicates a difficult time ahead, so you need to have everything possible going for you.

IMHO one item that you *will* need is a driving license! Except perhaps in London, you really need one, as you have to trawl for jobs over a wide area.

Harry.

 

I guess its going to come down to temping crap office jobs to fund a driving license then, until something better comes along, joy of joys, office work!

Cheers for the advice though Harry, will get onto this driving malarky asap

 

Right lets get something going here because i can see myself in your position in a few years time with double the debt!

Are you applying for 1st level helpdesk roles? i.e. fixing pc's and repairing windows etc etc? If so you got a degree in Web Design, Content & Management. You say you did some modules that look like the A+ and N+ but that might not be enough in the eyes of someone wanting to employ you... they see your degree title and job role you applying for and maybe they cant put 1 + 1 together?

What 'keywords' you looking for in job sites? Try some of these:

1st level support
Junior Support
Helpdesk
Junior Rollout

(Anyone else want to add anymore?)

The other thing is try get some IT certs... A+ and N+ have something to prove that apart from the degree you have... You need a job so that should motivate you to get going quick on this and i hope you have studied alot for A+ and not given it a back seat.

Like AJ said to me the other night it looks like the market is pointing towards Certs and Experience and its made me thing what will be the value of spending so much money on a degree and not just finish on the HND?

Chin up man because you will get me depressed too!

also check out www.cwjobs.co.uk they look very good...

Good luck m8!

 

Gotta agree with the driving licence bit, it is essential in any industry, even if you have a fixed place of work you never know when being able to drive will come in handy.

What sort of jobs have you been applying for thus far?

Because IT is such a wide field it has to be one of the most difficult of fields to break into.

 

I have been applying for 1st level support, helpdesk and desktop support roles. Like I said I have a years experience in this, but they seem to be ignoring or overseeing this. I could possibly change the degree title on my cv to something like BSC IT as opposed to BSC Web Content Management. i have had loads of callbacks froma gencies saying they will put be forward but then I hear nothing. I'll start working on the driving cert, costly affair these days. I am also tempted to work this year in Any kind of role I can get, go back a year from september and do my MAsters degree in Computer Science and then lecture the damn subject.

Jodsclass

 

I may sound a little harsh here, but even though you have a degree, it isn't really in the field that you are looking for jobs in. I don't think having the degree isn't going to help you, your experience on the other hand will.

You say that the module you took as part of the degree was equivalent to A+ and N+, but would a prospective employer know that? All I think he would be looking for is the A+ and N+ certs not disecting the degree you've got looking for it.

Not trying to kick you whilst you are down, just a big dose of truth. I'd try and grab any job going for the moment, even if its temporary at least then you can start putting a dent in your 16k debt.

I so desperately want to break in to IT, I don't have a degree, so I'm having to look for jobs entering data or filing to make ends meet until I'm in a position where I can start getting certs.

So the bottom line is, if there are no IT jobs out there, don't just sit around at home, grab some other work in the mean time.

Good luck and sorry to sound like a grumpy old git (at 32)

 

Top advice!

 

All true, and no not at all harsh. Just annoying that I was more desireable prior to my degree. And the fact that I have 1 year helpdesk experience and 1 year IT sales experience isnt helping me either. My wife works for one of the UK's largest banks and has said that she can get me a job there as an administrator or financial adviser support, however I fear If I take a job (any job) the money will be too good to give up and i'll end up comfortable (and not following the IT route which I have been on for years). Even a £12k wage is alot when you have been a student living on £4k a year.

I really don't want to get stuck in a job which I am comfortable because I know me, and I would just bob along doing it. grrrrrrrr.

I'll add details of my education onto my CV, such as Core technologies Module equivalent to A+ and Network Techs module equiv to Network+

Thanks for your words Wizard. Sometimes you need people to put things into some sort of a perspective.

Jodsclass

 

just go yourself a favour get some form of a cert... yeah its good putting on your CV like you going to but its like me saying im studing MCSE and studying SQL and studying CCNA BUT you dont have them yet and in the eyes of an employer they want to see you HAVE got them! Seriously look into getting the A+ and N+ ASAP

 

I intend on getting them. I would just rather work in the meantime on Helpdesk. Even answering calls and logging them. If possible I would like all work experience to be relevant. Possibly a pipe dream but worth a go.

 

i just think it would be good to have them.. JMO

 

Cheers sparky. Sounds exactly the same situation I am in. Glad it all worked out for you, I hope it does for me too. I have decided to go back a year in september to do my MSc in Advanced Computing, then possibly onto my PHD, however I will be wanting to work part time or weekends during this time so any experience I can get on my CV in the next year will be terrific.

I'll stick at it like you did and pray. Signing on this monday, oh joy.

Jodsclass

 

You know what a lot of times when we graduate from schools we have a title like entry level tech etc, thats what we are usualy called. The problem is that most of the times after graduating from school even though your are good the employer doesnt know that, and lets say that they already have a new IT guy that graduaded before you and has been in the company for 1 year and his knowledge is not that good, what are they gonna think? in other words what I am tryin to say is that even though you might be good at what you do the employer doesnt know that, which means that you have to try and try untill someone responds back. They say every 100 CV's sent 1 will call back. Pretty crazy I find.

Also look over your CV and see if there could be any improvements in the structure of your cv, not to say that it is bad or anything cause I havent seen it but usualy an appealing CV means a great deal of importance.

 

Have you tried adding the word 'Graduate' to the keywords you're searching on?

I agree with the CV thing as well, you have a degree and experience, is this very apparent from the word go on your CV?

Does the first sentence of the introductory paragraph read something like:

"Highly skilled graduate with 2 years commercial experience seeks exciting new role in 'x' sector..."

On my CV I bold certain words I want to 'jump off the page' like graduate and 2 years commercial experience.

Read this page on writing a killer CV and try and think in terms of the agent reading a pile of CVs and that you literally have 10 seconds to avoid the bin so your opening 1/2 a page has to make an impact.

Do this with short punchy 'to the point' paragraphs and bulleted lists. highlight inportant words, like 'graduate', '2 years experience' and 'blue chip'.

Do you personalise your CV's/covering letters and tailor them for certain jobs? It's a hassle but going that extra mile can make a world of difference. I have 2 page, 3 page and even 4 page CV's (agents sometimes request them) that I state are available should more detail be required.

Think about any way you can differentiate yourself from all the other CV's in the pile. Use really positive desriptive words like "highly skilled" and "dynamic"

I use jobserve for my job searches, it has a handy feature where you can save your searches so you have have a search for "helpdesk+graduate+manchester" and one for "web design+graduate+manchester". They even email you daily results based on your keyword searches.

Maybe post your CV up (take out any personal details) so we can have a look?

 

I'm away from home right now Pete, but as soon as I get home i'll pop a copy of my latest CV up here for you to check out, advice would be most appreciated.

I think you make a valid point about selling yourself in the first chapter. i have indeed took this approach, however what looks like a hard sell to me, may look awful to others.

Cheers for your time, as soon as I get back to Manchester i'll pop up my CV, omitting personal info mind, i'll have all you certforums wackos knocking at my door! :P

Jodsclass