The Great Graduate Job Hunt: Let’s Talk

Job hunting. It’s a process we all go through and yet one we’re not keen to divulge online. After the highs of graduation, the reality of job hunting is a painful low. It’s almost like we’re uncomfortable admitting how gruelling the process can be. Everyone is suddenly brought down to reality and for some people, post-graduation life isn’t as rosy as it was hyped up to be. We’ve given it a cute name – ‘Funemployment’ – and yet we’re hesitant to admit this process can be a bit blue.

This will be a series of blog posts for the next couple weeks as I reflect on my own experiences and talk to other graduates. I’ll be sharing some top tips for applications, some practical interview advice and more than anything aiming to tell the truth about this process.

I’ve now started my graduate job and, probably a little like the horrors of childbirth, am looking back on the process almost fondly. Was it that bad? Yes. And that’s even with recognising I was in a privileged position to begin with. I was lucky that I could live at home whilst job hunting, without any terrible pressure of bills to pay or rent, and I could have a helping hand to pay the extortionate train fare into London for an interview.

In many ways, you could deem my job hunting experience mild. And yet, even then, it was still incredibly negative, exhausting and took far longer than I had hoped. There’s definitely no desire to rush back into post graduation job hunting any time soon.

I have considered writing this series, and how to go about it, for a long time. As always, I’ve thought about this long before I’ve actually written it (plus, I tend to procrastinate with this blog). I knew two things for certain…

One, I absolutely wanted to wait until I had secured a graduate job before I posted anything. This wasn’t just a cynical “I don’t want to jinx anything” feeling, it was because I genuinely wanted to write about the experience with an ending – the job at the end of the long, lonely hunt. Plus, I really didn’t want to jinx anything.

Two, I knew that it’s an experience shared by many, so I’ve wanted to do it some (written) justice. Most of my friends, since graduating, have expressed to me at one time or another their mixed feelings about life post-graduation, and the difficulties they have experienced in adjusting. It’s not a comfortable position, regardless of age or stage in our lives, to admit we’re struggling. I’ve found job hunting, despite being something that is integral to daily adult life, has affected me in more ways than I previously cared to admit. I knew it would be hard, but I didn’t realise quite how challenging it would be.

The series will potentially be a lengthy read (unless real life takes over and the later posts are mere sentences) but it’s a topic that’s important to me. Perhaps, for some, the term ‘funemployment’ is true. But if this wasn’t quite the case for you, sit down, grab a cup of tea and relax. You’re not alone in thinking like Post Graduation is a little blue at the best of times.

If you’re not yet at this stage, and are currently battling finals, here is a post all about how people can be supportive to you. If you’re at the start of your university career, here’s a post all about things I wish I had known.