Been unemployed for 15 months!. What should I do? HELP!?

Question

Finished college last year. Applied to about 15 jobs, not had much luck. Don't want to go back to college. What do you think I should do? I'm looking for an Office job. Would work in a shop but the only jobs in a shop are like 16 hours. I need at least 30 hours. I live in a town and theres about 15 jobs going if you look in the job centre. I rely on public transport.

Answer 1

Getting into a job while you are unemployed is harder because you are creating the impression to potential employers that:
You only want the job because you are unemployed.

First, check your CV; is it in top shape. Could it be improved. I suggest browsing my site for some guidance on the subject, and make sure you are not sending the same CV to every employer that comes along. Adapt it to suit each one.

Now, lets get searching. Jobs rarely come to you. Local Newspapers are a great start, and so is the job Centre. Herald, Guardian, Times and a few others ussually have a weekly jobs day when they have job adverts.

If you have never had a job before, then you want junior jobs like Office Junior etc, and guess what; some of these jobs might involve doing everything from typing letters to making Tea. You need to emphasise your flexibility to do all sorts.

Make sure you have a great cover letter to go with your CV. Personally, I never hire anyone based only on their CV. The cover letter gives you a pre-interview chance to sell yourself to the employer and drive home that you want the job and you are the one.

Lastly, don't forget to follow up after sending it in by calling up and asking "is there any further information you require to make your decision" or "When do you wish to arrange the interview". It is a common mistake of jobseekers to think that when they send their CV, the ball is in the recruiters court, but that is not good sales skills (You are selling yourself here, you know)

I said that jobs RARELY come to you, but how would you like it if they did? Post your CV on job seeking websites like Monster.com, S1Jobs.com or totaljobs.co.uk, but I might skip that last one.

Agencies can be a great source for jobs, drop me a line via my profile to tell me where in the UK you are, and I can point you in the right direction of local agencies.

Best of luck in your job hunt, I am sure you will get a job if you are determined to get one.

Answer 2

When I graduated college I took me a while to find a good job. It seems as though you have a few options: A: do nothing. be broke and unemployed. B get that shop job where you will work 16 hours. I know its not that much but sometimes a MAN has to do what a MAN has to do. The last option would be to move to anther city where the job market is better.

I would personally work 16 hours until I could find a job that i liked.That's part of life. You don't always get what you want. Work, save up your money, buy a used car once you have saved up some cash, be patient and something good will come you way. Hope my advice helped

PS: that work from home stuff will 9 times out of 10 be a scam. You will end up spending more than you make.

Answer 3

dont take this the wrong way but there is no reason to be unemployed for 15 months. i know that a month or 2 of job searching can quickly turn into a year, but you should atleast get a part time job to help bring in some income. Who is supporting you financially right now? Look for something temporary, like working at a grocery store or something of the same type while you continue your job search. Also, do things to beef up your resume. Start volunteering a day or two a week at a school or an animal shelter. The latter may land you a job with an animal lover (its worked for me) good luck.

also, what did you major in, if you took any foreign languages, try to minor in it. it will look good on your resume and you'll only have to take 1 class a semester. if you took one class for each fall spring and summer semester, you could minor in it in 2 years.

Answer 4

Try working in a restaurant. As a server, you make good money and your schedule is usually flexible enough that you can continue looking for a job during the day. It is also a great way to network. I am a server and I have had customers offer me jobs before. The people you work with tend to come from very different backgrounds and usually know someone who could get you started somewhere. Get to know the bartenders... they talk to a lot of people. I do live in a bigger city, but I imagine a smaller city or town would have the same kind of networking opportunities. Good Luck!

Answer 5

Is there any employment agencies in your area? If not find the nearest one. they will look for a job that suits your experience. I can give you a few names of popular ones, and some that I have worked for

Kelly's services
Reed
Adecco
Office Angels (best one, and its not just for girls)
Spring
Blue Arrow

you should be able to look up your nearest branches on line.

if you have no experience in an office job, they may put you on an internship, the pay is crap, but it gives you experience to move to other places, and right now you've got nothing so it will be a bonus. Also try putting your CV on monster, the job website, and then employers will contact you. Anyway, whatever way you go about it, good luck.

Answer 6

Make a Resume...even if it's just including your education history and whatever skills you have. Look for Entry-Level positions that require no experience (but do require a college degree)...believe me...I've seen a lot of those during my job searching. I don't have a degree, but I have work experience...so it's kind of a backwards situation, but still works the same way. I also rely on public transportation for the time...so make sure that whatever jobs are in your local area, you know which ones are accessible by public transportation. Also, some companies that are accessible by public transportation...I've found that they prefer to have someone with their own transportation. So that works both ways, as well. I live near the city of Atlanta, Georgia where pub. transportation is decent; but some companies welcome it and others don't.

There are job boards to post your Resume on and also to search for jobs in your area. The best ones that I've found are:


Monster.com

Careerbuilder.com

www.ajb.org/ (America's Job Bank...will be closing July 1...and this one seems to also sometimes list if a position is accessible by public transportation)

http://careeronestop.org/ajbprsjbl/ - This is a bunch of job banks kind of gathered into one where you can search your area by state or county. This one also lists specifically whether each job is accessible by public transportation or not.

I wish you well...and make sure to list your Resume objective as seeking an "Entry-Level Clerical" or "Entry-Level Administrative" position...Clerical or Administrative is the term employers seem to use more than "Office". :-)


Also, don't listen to those negative people who seem to post a bunch of junk. Job searching takes time. You may want to try local staffing agencies if you have any of those nearby, as well. Again, seeking an Entry-Level position. Staffing agencies have to keep track of whether a job is pub. transportation accessible, as well. If it is, they of course give you the details of what bus/train to take.

P.S. Don't believe any of the "work at home" opportunities that promise money. It's all a scam.

Answer 7

relying on public transportation stinks, but such as it mat be ya just gonna leave earlier, as for finding a job well look in the local paper i;m sure you have, or go down to unemployment tell them whats going on ( just got out of college they ask what are your skills, what can you do? ) believe it or not they send unemployed people on interviews they like people who are looking for a job , your best bet is to go down to unemployment and discusse how they can find a job for you ask them what do you have available in the work field? they give the listings good luck

Answer 8

This might sound odd but phone as many local companies, or write to if cheaper. Just because they aren't advertising doesn't mean they don't have jobs going.
Many like the initiative. Some will keep you on file and others might give you an interview anyway to see what you can offer.

I have got a number of jobs this way.

Answer 9

Apply at fastfood places, and other places outside your spectrum....find a job- any job, so that you can save up money for a vehicle. That way, you can have transportation to go outside of your home area to look for the job YOU want.....understand....you got to try a job you probably dont like, just until you get some money up, no pain no gain...

Answer 10

I don't know what sort of job you are exactly looking for, but it may be worth to move for a time to places such as London, Manchester or any big cities where work opportunities are more plentiful and fluid.