For as long as I can remember, I've wanted a part time job to do alongside my studies yet it hasn't happened yet. For at least the last few years I've wanted a job but haven't been able to get one and I have no idea why. It's starting to get frustrating but I'm determined to not give up.
I think because I'm now 20 and have only ever done voluntary experience, the managers behind the jobs I apply to now may think that I'm lazy because I haven't had a proper job but this is certainly not the case. I have always put my education first which has paid off so far, achieving high grades at GCSE and maintaining these grades throughout A Level and into University. In the past I thought it was time I got a part time job but now I think it is definitely my time to get one more than ever. I will hopefully be graduating University this time next year when looking for a proper full time job will become a serious matter and I think I need some more experience behind me in a working environment before I graduate or I may struggle even more to get a full time job.
My sister who is a school year younger than me and my brother who is three school years younger than me have even had jobs as well as the people around me at University so I honestly don't know what is going wrong. This last month has seen me have more interviews than I have had in the last three years of job searching so I must be improving, but only slightly.
I believe my lack of experience is to blame but how am I supposed to gain experience in the work place if no one will give me a chance to prove that I would be of benefit to the company?
Because I'm done with University for the summer, I spend my days job searching on sites such as Gumtree, Indeed and the Universal Job Search on the Government's website yet I apply and most of the time don't even get a response. I constantly check my emails; even an acknowledgement that they have received my CV would be nice. I have had a couple of interviews this week who said will ring me next week but I have been told this before so I haven't got my hopes up too high so my job search continues.
I feel like my summer is being wasted away. I would much rather be busy gaining experience that would be of benefit to me in the future than sitting around on my laptop.
Have you struggled to get a job? Have you got any tips in getting a job?
Job hunting is so competitive I know how you feel! Definitely use the volunteering experiences you have had so far as well as any group work you may have done at uni and use your skills such as teamwork in these areas as well as organisational/meeting deadlines to beef out your C.V. And maybe see if you can volunteer a bit more until you find paid work or sign up to a temping agency! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteDanielle's Beauty Blog
Thanks for commenting! And thanks for the advice! I will definitely be making some changes to my CV x
DeleteJob searching is, as Danielle said, really competitive. What are the sorts of things you searching for at the moment? Even if it's not what is ideal for you right now, getting something in retail is great starter job for everyone. Try tailoring your CV for the job too, so volunteer experience is great because it shoes your committed and a team worker however try and point out the things you learnt from that experience that are relevant for the job your applying for. For instance if you volunteered at a school, a retail manager isn't going to be interested in teaching experience as much as it they will be managing a group. On your CV it's really about manipulating your skills in order to catch the attention of possible employers.
ReplyDeleteI've mentioned so much about retail because I work in one of the UK's leading department stores so if you're interested in that sort of job and want more help just let me know. I'm quite good at CV's and what not and don't mind helping at all :)
Melissa
www.melissa-lou.com
Thanks for commenting! I'm just looking for something part time at the minute as I'll be starting University again in September and I'd like to have a job whilst I'm studying and thank you so much for the advice, I may take you up on your offer if I'm still being as unlucky over the next few weeks x
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