Chat with us, powered by LiveChat
The UK Careers Fair logo
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
HOMEABOUTEVENTSNEWSJOBS
LONDON
exhibit with usget a ticket
CONTACT US

You're a Fresh Graduate, But There's No Work in Your Field

by
Alan Writer

What happens when the above statement becomes a reality? First, you worked hard on your degree and focused on your studies to achieve a relevant level of success. Then you realize that your degree and speciality have too high of a supply and not enough of a demand. There are no callbacks for interviews, and there seem to be fewer job postings related to someone with your experience and proficiency. 

What to do if this happens

First of all, it's important to note you're at the start of your career in general, which means don't panic. You have plenty of years ahead of you to work, whether in your field right away or not. What you want to do is gain some type of experience. While this may slightly deter you from the path that you're thinking of going on, it also may open up opportunities faster because you'll need to build up your years of experience regardless.  

Look at a position that will get you in the door. For example, if you see that there are a lot of operational positions open up, such as administrative work or transactional processing work, but you yourself have a degree in marketing, you don't have to wait for a marketing position to open up. 

Instead, you can end up with an in-demand position, and two things will happen. Either you will love your newfound career much better than anything you studied, and with just a few years of working, you want to switch out the original path you took. Or, at the very least, you worked for a company for a few years understanding how their operational engine worked. With those years, you can switch smoothly into a new position within that company to something more desirable for you in the marketing division. 

Either way, you build out a more well-rounded and satisfying career because you get to start off with a different perspective than originally sought out, and that can help you long-term in your career, whichever route you take. 

What not to do

Don’t just wait for something to open up. Some might say if you're dedicated in your field, stick with it from day one, but that day one start date could be a long way out. You're basically using your most valuable resource, which is time, instead of using it to gain some type of experience. You want to see exactly what works and doesn't work for your career. That all comes from trial and error. Trying out and experimenting as much as possible with your job, expectations and careers. 

See this as an opportunity, at the least, to try something different than the original so-called career plan, and you'll be able to have a much more open mindset moving forward. You'll look back at those earlier days and notice that it shouldn't have been as difficult a decision as it first appeared to be all those years ago. 

Looking for Graduate Advice? The UK Careers Fair is the UK's #1 Platform for Face-to-Face Recruitment Events, Job Fairs and Career Fairs throughout the UK. Attend an event and kick-start your career search today.

Upcoming Events

Check out our full and comprehensive list of upcoming events.

Stoke-on-Trent Careers Fair
August 2, 2023
Brighton Careers Fair
August 2, 2023
Wolverhampton Careers Fair
August 3, 2023
Southampton Careers Fair
August 4, 2023
Reading Careers Fair
August 9, 2023
Exeter Careers Fair
August 9, 2023
Durham Careers Fair
August 10, 2023
Hull Careers Fair
August 11, 2023
Cheltenham Careers Fair
August 11, 2023
York Careers Fair
August 15, 2023
Liverpool Careers Fair
August 16, 2023
Torquay Careers Fair
August 16, 2023
Carlisle Careers Fair
August 17, 2023
Manchester Careers Fair
August 18, 2023
Canterbury Careers Fair
August 23, 2023
Worcester Careers Fair
August 23, 2023
Bristol Careers Fair
August 24, 2023
Bath Careers Fair
August 25, 2023
Barnsley Careers Fair
August 30, 2023
Milton Keynes Careers Fair
August 30, 2023
Rotherham Careers Fair
August 31, 2023
Oxford Careers Fair
September 1, 2023
Coventry Careers Fair
September 1, 2023
Edinburgh Careers Fair
September 6, 2023
Plymouth Careers Fair
September 7, 2023
Fife Careers Fair
September 7, 2023
Glasgow Careers Fair
September 8, 2023
 TAKE ME THERE