Graduate son job hunting

Whatever path he takes I wish him the best of luck.

Thanks for your suggestions Monica.Will pass them on.

Most big companies have graduate recruitment schemes - as do big shop and supermarket chains.

There are quite a lot of career aptitude tests online he could try which would suggest what careers he might be suited to. He could also sign up for an evening course with a business bent , which will look good on a CV when he finds jobs to apply for and could well be useful anyway.

Thanks TriciaF. Lots of great ideas. I'll let you know when something hopefully works out

The civil service is a good idea. There are so many levels and departments.
My sister managed to get into the CS - with a languages degree. As you say, Mumofmadboys it's a long process. I remember she was asked if she'd ever belonged to a political party - (she hadn't). I don't know how relevant this was to her selection.
But there are civil-service type jobs in local govt. too - maybe try applying to boroughs where there's a Labour majority?
Already mentioned by Merlotgran.

Thanks for that Grannyknot. I'll pass the website on to my son.

Something different - (drug policy) - an interesting field:

idpc.net/alerts/2017/07/idpc-recruits-new-team-assistant?platform=hootsuite

Thank you very much peaches 50 for your input.

Mumofmadboys, I have sent you a private message. For other concerned grans/mums or even any of you interested in voluntary work in communities which can really make a difference see www.communitybuildgroup.co.uk/ and send me a private enquiry. Because it is part pressure group focusing now on zeroenergy bills homes, affordable housing, self building and reducing carbon footprint there is work to be done with politicians, charities, etc. Good for cv and soul alike!

I do admire people who are multilingual.That is great Aslemma. Did he do Japanese at school or start it as a new subject at uni?

Blooming tablet. It invariably posts before I've finished. ? He is doing a temporary job as an engineer in the gas industry (he did an engineering apprenticeship and worked off shore before going to Uni.) but he is looking for a job in Japan and has already had a couple of interviews. Even if he ends up working in the UK I am sure his ability to speak and write in Japanese will be useful.

One of my grandsons has just completed a degree in Japanese

Not sure he is a natural linguist I'm afraid!

It might be useful for him to gain fluency in another language- excuse to spend time abroad- in France/ Germany / Italy maybe as an English assistante. Maybe get in quick before Brexit. My brother ( history degree) did this - employed by the British Council in France and Italy and ended up teaching in an Italian university, speaking fluent Italian/ French and Spanish.

Did Spanish,Greek
and Latin to GCSE but not fluent in anything really. Has considered security services. Thanks Violette

Does he speak another language ? My D1 after graduating in Law did an MSc in Criminology .....she was offered a job with the Metropolitan Police but did not want to work in London, There were also jobs , really interesting jobs, with the security services (as in M15 etc,,) but again apart from the interview process, involving the history of the entire family, most of the jobs were in London. However, if you have another language (nowadays a lot are looking for one of the middle easter lang ages, for obvious reasons with the high level of terrorist threats in Europe) ......the security services are always on the look out for good, discreet and capable personnel. Think it would be an excellent career and would probably involve foreign travel !

Thank you everyone so much for suggestions. He is very happy for me to send him job adverts or ideas- I have checked with him! I will look for those books on Amazon. He doesn't really want to do anything history related. He is a people person. He has written a 'novel' and sent it to a few publishers without success so far ( except self funded!) GN is a great resource. Thanks all.

www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/graduate-looking-for-easy-life-decides-to-be-a-teacher-20170804133457

Not to be taken seriously.

My son on getting his degree went to an agency and did a variety of temping jobs. They gave him valuable experience and also gave him the time to apply for the jobs he really wanted. One company liked him so much they told him to use their time and stationary to apply for jobs. In the end he went on a post-grad training scheme in fresh food and later got a good job with a well known supermarket in head office. His degree was sport science by the way so not at all related.

Although the government say the unemployment list is shrinking. Any good jobs have anything from 80 to 100 plus applicants. There are very few well paid reasonably paid jobs. Can he start his own business. IT is good to get into. My husband struggles to get people knowledgeable in IT programs. You never can stop learning more. Often in your own time. It's just the start for him.

I had a flat mate many years ago who had a degree in History and she had some trouble getting a job but was then offered a job at a well known Museum because she had o level Russian. She was the only person to apply who spoke it at all.
History on its own is a bit limited jobs wise unless he wants to teach so it might be an idea to try to find out what other skills might boost his chances of getting a job.

Cassandra when my son had a long period of unemployment, "What Colour is Your Parachute?" was a lifesaver.

Google www.cascaid.co.uk - careers information/ planning/guidance/development/solutions. (Universities still use it I think).

Also get him to buy the latest edition of 'What Colour is your Parachute?' and 'The Three Boxes of Life'. Makes you think about work/training/career planning from a range of perspectives - and from that of the employers, too. Invaluable.

Try his University to see if they have any career guidance he could take advantage of. There may be things out there he's never thought of doing which would appeal. He needs to be open to relocating as not everyone can live & work in London-as exciting as that sounds to the younger generation.

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.