cutie23 Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Hi, does anyone else feel frustrated at the job market at the moment. I am about to graduate in my Masters in HR and have been contacting several recruitment agencies who have all told me that I cannot register with them unless I have 6 months experience in HR. It is a catch 22 situation, one of the recruitment agencies told me that if a volunteered once a week doing HR work for 6 months I can come back to register. However I need to work full time as I have got live at the end of the day and most volunteering positions that I have luckily found are all during the weekday and the jobs that I can apply for now are all general admin roles which the hours are usually the weekdays. This puts me into a predicament that although I have the option of volunteering I cannot do it because I need a full time job which majority happen to be during the weekdays which clashes with the volunteering leaving me in a vicious cycle. I need full time hours to live off as I don’t live at home. I have searched thoroughly and no charities or organisations offer HR volunteering on the weekend. My only option is to take full time general admin work and hope that one organisation will consider me for a HR admin role. I have worked part time throught my education and have 8 years worth of experience in various roles such as customer service, admin, contact assistant as well as volunteering work in admin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnvqsos Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 They do need someone with HR qualifications when they are not recruiting.You ought to have picked a degree in a proven area like surveying,medicine and agriculture.You might get luck when the economy picks up but the HR you learnt will be outdated by then and the young turks will guzzle all the vacancies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackLakeland Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 A degree isn't what it was. Everybody seems to have one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadingNorth Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 A degree isn't what it was. Everybody seems to have one. You can blame successive governments for that, who thought it was a good idea for fifty per cent of the population to be in the top five per cent of the population. I wonder if any of them have figured out yet why it has not worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnvqsos Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 A degree isn't what it was. Everybody seems to have one. There are one or two on SF who have degrees but nevertheless seem uneducated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elphi 24 Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Unfortunately it is an employers market at the moment. As an employer do I recruit someone with a degree, possibly masters with experience or someone with a degree/masters with no experience? As a not for profit organisation we're trying to develop volunteering opportunities and a (paid) fixed term internship programme to help job market entrants get that experience. However the majority of not for profits operate during regular working hours. I, like many in the sector, regularly work over and above my contracted hours. If someone's unable to put themselves out a bit to get the experience then I'm sure not going to put myself out to this extent to help them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms Macbeth Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Some graduates can get the job they want, if they are prepared to move. It's a balancing act, staying put and perhaps being unemployed or taking anything; finding the dream job and moving away. I have examples of this in my own family. My niece graduated in HR from Stirling University a few years ago, and got a job in HR pretty quickly. However, it wasn't where she wanted. She got the experience she needed and now has a good HR job back in her home town. My son, after doing his masters in IT, in the mid 90s, couldn't find appropriate work in this area, so took a job in Cheshire, where he's stayed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mecky Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Unfortunately it is an employers market at the moment. As an employer do I recruit someone with a degree, possibly masters with experience or someone with a degree/masters with no experience? As a not for profit organisation we're trying to develop volunteering opportunities and a (paid) fixed term internship programme to help job market entrants get that experience. However the majority of not for profits operate during regular working hours. I, like many in the sector, regularly work over and above my contracted hours. If someone's unable to put themselves out a bit to get the experience then I'm sure not going to put myself out to this extent to help them. Something for nothing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barleycorn Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 It's a sad situation right now, with the high levels of unemployment being what they are competition is hard for graduates, and indeed anyone else, without experience as there as so many people looking for work who DO have experience. That said here are my suggestions, some of which you may have tried: 1) Learn how to use paragraphs (sorry, couldn't help myself). 2) Do not rely on agencies, apply direct to source. 3) Apply for public sector jobs. If there are no HR jobs then apply for clerical jobs in HR departments, or indeed in any department. One thing that can be said for the public sector is that there is a lot of potential for career progression if you have the relevant qualifications. 4) Send covering letters to every company you can find that has an HR department. 5) Do not constrain yourself with geography. Moving elsewhere for a few years to gain experience could be invaluable. 6) Make damn sure your CV is top notch and individualised to every job you apply for. You're in HR so you should know what they are looking to see... 7) Remember it's easier to find work if you're in work. [noparse][/noparse] This one is the most important... develop a thick skin because every other department in your ultimate place of work will hate you... only kidding... jb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wednesday1 Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 I would have thought that there would be plenty of opportunities in Human Relics, with all the job cutting going on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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