Graduate son job hunting

It's a hard time for young people especially if they haven't followed a vocational course which leads more readily to employment on graduation. Has he thought of the local government graduate scheme, I think that's what it's called. A friend's son who had a similar degree and interests to your son has followed this route and it seems to have suited him very well. He worked for a couple of years first, for a charity supporting vulnerable adults, and it took a couple of cracks at the rigorous selection procedure to get through but now 26 he's done really well and stil really enjoys it.

Yes he is thinking about the civil service. Long selection process I understand. He is very interested in politics- labour supporter but needs more life experience before likely to get anything in politics. Thanks Queenie for your input. Much appreciated

Is he at all interested in ancient history - a friend I was at school with had a good history degree and did archiving for a museum for a good number of years.
Sometimes jobs do not need a specific degree it is the level of education which interests employers. Another direction could be a form of journalism - I knew another person who did that with a history degree.

I wish him well with his search

DS graduated intending to teach but changed his mind.
In his earlier and student days he worked in hospitality - pubs and restaurants - and has now been 'headhunted' into a managerial graduate-entry post in an independent upmarket hotel.
He has excellent people skills and is a keen cook.
So far so good!
The most obvious routes aren't always the answer so keep an open mind.
Good luck to him.

Thanks for all suggestions. Keep them coming! I think the history degree has put him off history largely! He doesn't really want to do anything history related. He has thought about journalism although two talks we went to in his sixth form put me off a bit as a lot of journalists now are self employed and it seemed a hard way to earn a living!

Gone are the days when obtaining a degree in a particular subject meant that the graduate would get a job in that field. The world is now pretty much your son's oyster as he has proved he is academic, (History being a good choice), and also self-disciplined enough to stick at his course. His next task is to practise selling himself to different employers and it may take several attempts before he actually decides on a future career path. Some of the most academic graduates I taught have surprisingly branched into fashion, media or IT, and I agree with mcem that "the most obvious routes aren't always the answer so keep an open mind."
Being in the capital also gives him the opportunity to get involved in so many things, including politics, so maybe he could look for research type jobs, or those in media or finance.
Self employment isn't all bad if he shows entrepreneurial flair and flexibility. The internet is a good place to start if he is tech savvy.
Good luck and give it time.

Thanks Lillie. Research type jobs and media are definite possibilities. He's not really interested in working in finance.

I have two history graduates amongst my children. One now has a PhD and is a professor of English(!) at an American university.

The other did a post grad research MPhil and now heads up a local government department.

DGS1 has just started a job (post graduate scheme) in local government. We're thrilled for him because he's a quiet lad and there was a huge number of applicants.

Wishing good luck to your DS, mumofmadboys

Thanks Sue and Merlot

Good luck. I haven't got any suggestions but wanted to say do not get despondent and just keep trying. It took my graduate son just over a year to get a proper job, but it was one worth waiting for.

Hi momb, if he is interested in civil service type jobs, has he considered Public Health England? www.gov.uk/government/organisations/public-health-england/about/recruitment

I've just realised the links on the page above are not very helpful. He should look at the Guardian jobs page on Wednesdays.

There's also this site: www.charityjob.co.uk

Best of luck, my son took a while to find a job that he liked and that also liked him

Is he interested in teaching?

Thanks all. No he is not interested in teaching, although I think he would be good! He has looked up Guardian jobs on line. Didn't realise Wednesday was special though. Thanks for charity jobs link

Computing ? This generation are pretty clever at all things to do with computing.
My DS has a degree in Astrophysics but his day job is as a computer programme writer.

DS1, after doing a French/History degree, worked in a dead end job to finance his travels. He left home in 2001 and has been all over Asia, Australia and S. America. He eventually did a PGCE in English, and has taught the International Baccalaureate in Costa Rica, Hanoi and now Puna! He eventually found his niche and is very happy indeed, but not after was had despaired of hm ever having anything other than jobs which paid [just] the rent.
Let him get on with it - but try not to subsidise him too much...

WE - not was!!!

If he is interested in being an archivist he needs to get a job for a year working as one and then he can do an MA . A friend's daughter did this and is now an archivist at a prestigious public school. It's turned out to be quite an interesting role.
As said above, a degree in a subject doesn't necessarily lead to a job in that field. My DD has an MA in Geography but is Head of Communications for a charity. She got her first job by cold mailing 40 companies in the film business. Her letter arrived on someone's desk just after a member of staff had resigned. Be warned, charities do not pay well but they can be nice places to work.
These days graduates are chasing jobs that would previously have been filled by school leavers. Don't set your sights too high. A friend's daughter wanted to go into journalism and took a job on Plumbers Monthly (or something similar). Not very glamourous but now she edits an Education Magazine.

LinkedIn is essential for job hunters and he should have a profile on there with an up to date CV but every job application will require the CV to be tweaked. Also, people do not send out rejection letters and do not even email to say 'sorry we gave the job to someone else but you came second'. We've been through it all!
First of all, he has to decide roughly what he wants to do and I'm afraid you can't do that for him!

mumofmadboys - a friendly caution, why not check with your son that he welcomes your suggestions ... the annoyance and frustration of receiving unwanted, useless, but well-intentioned suggestions from my family (in my days it was newspaper cuttings) is engraved in my soul!
And last week my youngerst daughter called to vent about similar suggestions from her grandmother (my husband's mother).
Now I am very very careful to send only things I feel COMPELLED to send and I preface them with "I expect you have already seen and rejected this but..." and I haven't yet been told to stop.
I do hope he finds something to suit him soon.

Hi mumofmadboys you say he is interested in writing, why not become a writer, as a writer myself (small time, poetry, articles) I can tell you it can be a lovely way to live.

I would look at local government (not necessarily civil service) but Local Councils and the NHS admin roles both offer a good career structure despite all you hear about cuts once you have a secure job there are lots of opportunities for development.

Oh and a good pension scheme

He might want to try volunteering - there are campaigning groups out there that he would probably get on well with. It also provides great real-world experience and goes down well with employers.