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Jobs after uni

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
edited March 27 in Work & Study
Not sure whether this would go in the student forum or the work forum but anyhow....

Just wondering how many of you people had your job sorted before graduating from uni? I was planning to wait til I finish, partly because I want to focus on doing well in my degree, and partly because I'm a bit undecided on what I want to do.

It hasn't really worried me, it's just all my housemates seem to have a job lined up already, and I know my parents aren't gonna want me hanging around at home for long! I don't want to join one of the big firms or anything that do the milkround and recruit graduates.

So how long did it take you to find a job after university? Was it the type of job you wanted?
Post edited by JustV on

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Depends.

    If you're applying to the big firms, they tend to close their applications around Christmas so unless you want to take a gap year after Uni which I don't, you have to do all your applying before Christmas of your last year which will mean that if you're successful, you'll have the offer of a job before you do your finals, normally conditional on a 2:1.
  • littlemissylittlemissy Posts: 9,972 Supreme Poster
    I suppose it was different for me as I was doing a vocational job. I didn't have a job secured though. Only about half of my friends did. There aren't as many jobs in my field in my area so I am doing supply for a bit.

    As Thunderstruck stated, it all depends on what you want to do and what you want to achieve.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i started looking months before graduation with no luck but in the end the job found me (via a mate), and i started working a month before i finished uni.....was it the type of job i wanted? well i didn't want a job that's why i went to uni damnit! goodbye freedom hello 9-5 serfdom, at least it wasn't a mcjob and it got me where i am now so canna complain too much.....don't worry there's no rush, you've got your whole life ahead of you. :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i've applied for 1 already and will apply for a few more. the 1 i've already applied for is for an intensive training scheme starting in september so i have to apply now really. :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I've not applied to any yet and don't intend to until I graduate. Can you apply for graduate jobs after you have graduated? :confused:

    The reason being is that I am not sure what I'm going to get this year. I'm under enough pressure as it is and I don't need the pressure of searching for a job on top of it.

    I'm intending to apply for graduate jobs after university when I've got the time to really think about what I want to do. I'll probably be temping for a year doing random things.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    As far as I understand it, you can apply for graduate jobs (I'm thinking graduate training type jobs) after you've graduated, but they would probably ask what you've been doing since you've graduated.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    My brother recently got a job interview through his uni and afterwards was invited the job. It wasn't a bad deal, they offered to pay his tuition fees for the last semester and pay him a bit in turn for working I think 8 hours a week or something. Then he'd start working full time this summer -providing he accepts which he's not certain about.

    I am going to decide what to write my final essay on (February :o) and then start considering my job options. I have decided to not go straight to do a masters degree.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Pink Soda wrote:
    I don't want to join one of the big firms or anything that do the milkround and recruit graduates.

    It's really hard to know where to start if you don't want to work for a big firm, isn't it? I'm in the same boat as you but honestly don't worry, a lot of people don't get a job lined up until after they graduate, even if they spend most of their final year going to interviews.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Pink Soda wrote:
    Not sure whether this would go in the student forum or the work forum but anyhow....

    Just wondering how many of you people had your job sorted before graduating from uni? I was planning to wait til I finish, partly because I want to focus on doing well in my degree, and partly because I'm a bit undecided on what I want to do.

    It hasn't really worried me, it's just all my housemates seem to have a job lined up already, and I know my parents aren't gonna want me hanging around at home for long! I don't want to join one of the big firms or anything that do the milkround and recruit graduates.

    So how long did it take you to find a job after university? Was it the type of job you wanted?

    Going back to my final year at uni, half of the people on my course had their job sorted out to start the Monday after uni finished, while the other half were in the "I still don't know what I want to do after this" group - I was in the latter. :)

    If you register with three of four recruitment agencies then you should get temp work no problem at all. Temp jobs can be really hit or miss but if you show you can do more then they'll usually give you more. I started that way after uni and now I'm working for a "big firm" in a great job.

    It's quite common to not want to fall on to the graduate conveyor belt. A temp job will pay the rent, it'll be stress-free and allow you to find out what you'd prefer to do in the long term.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I've not applied to any yet and don't intend to until I graduate. Can you apply for graduate jobs after you have graduated? :confused:


    Quite a lot of graduate training schemes specify that they will only accept applications from people who will be graduating the following summer or who have graduated within the last three years, i.e. they are still relatively new out of university. There's no problem waiting till after you've finished your degree to apply but (from friends experiences) they may ask you what you have been doing in the meantime so it's good to organise some kind of work experience or something between graduating and applying for jobs, to show you're committed and have something to talk about at interviews.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Mmm.

    Well I'm planning on temping for a bit and going on a few holidays! :D
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    There's nothing wrong with having a rest after uni (call it a gap year) but if you doss about too long you will find that you get stuck in a lower job. And you will also be competing with the following year's graduates too, who will probably have the advantage over you, especially in the law.

    To answer the OP, if you don't know what to do you will be better off temping for a bit and seeing what takes your fancy. If you're not interested in the graduate job it will show at interview, and it will harm your chances of getting the job anyway. The idea of a "graduate" job fills me with horror, as I don't want to be some lackey at some investment bank grounding poor people into the dirt to make my boss rich, and the "graduate" jobs marketplace seems to be nothing else.

    A lot of people don't know what they want to do after they graduate- my office is full of law grads like me who don't really know what they want to do. Most office temps are graduates not knowing what they want to do too.
  • TammyGTammyG Posts: 15 Settling in
    Hi ya,

    I think it's definitely worth starting to think about what you want to do next, but not everyone can reach the answer in time for graduation, especially with the stress of trying to get your degree at the same time! :confused:

    Consider what's your perfect job and maybe start looking around for some part-time or temping work, to give you an idea of what's out there and what suits you.

    You generally qualify for graduate recruitment schemes for a few years after you graduate, the length of time can vary depending on the scheme so it's best to check out the entry requirements early on for any that you're interested in.

    Graduate recruitment fairs are a great opportunity to nab future employers and impress them with your skills, as well as quiz them to see if they're the right organisation for you.

    Once you've managed to secure yourself an interview make sure you're set to dazzle them with the right preparation. :D
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I graduated in July and am currently temping, like you I didn't want to work for one of the big companies where you have to go through months worth of interviews/tests and I didn't want to relocate!

    I have an idea of what I want to do, and I did start applying for jobs straight after I had finished my final exams, but never got past the interview stage in my chosen sector.

    My current job is dull, but my contract finishes next week. :yippe: However, unless I manage to find a job in my chosen sector before January I will be back temping again!

    Most of my friends are in the same position, but we all found temp work easily.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I was lucky as i did a nursing degree and was able to walk straight into a job at the hospital where i trained. My boyfriend on the other hand knew exactly what he wanted to do after graduating and so started applying for jobs near to the end of his course. He is in his ideal job now, but he only started last month, nearly 2.5 years after graduating!! In the mean time he had to go full-time at the shop he worked in part-time through uni....but you know the old saying, "all good things come to those who wait" ...and boy is it a good job for him. Dont be down-heartened if you dont get a fab/ideal job straight away, but it is probably worth keeping your eyes open quite early. If you see a good job then apply, but dont waste so much time on it that your work suffers :thumb:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I've been lucky and have had a job lined up with the company I did my year out in industry with since I finished that. It's taken the stress of needing to look during my final year away and the whole interview process etc.

    I've always wanted a job with a large company and they all seem to want applications in before the end of January, for starting in the summer after graduation. But it does depend what sort of role you're after or whether you want a year off or not. A lot of graduate jobs do start sometime between July and September so you'll probably find it difficult to find a grad job for next year if you leave it till after graduating to apply.
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