This type of thing has been going on forever. I heard the same thing 30 years ago when I was looking to “work in my field”. I ended up having to take whatever I could get until I could get a job within my field. It took me a lot of years to finally get into my field. I do think it’s just as hard to find a job when you are “overqualified”. I see countless folks who are in their 50’s being laid off and not being able to find jobs in their field (or out for that matter) becuase they are too qualified. It’s a real problem for everyone.
Good luck with your job search… hang in there guys!!! 
Still job searching everyone…I wanted to revisited this thread to help me out during this difficult time.
Trust me Jan, i tried.
I worked at a local bank for 1.5 years doing an entry level job where most of my coworkers who have highschool education and they get the same pay as me. Mind you i am a good worker, it demotivates me when you’re outperforming your coworkers and they get the same pay as you. They have less education as you, plus a less of a performer than you…plus same pay as me…oh well that’s life.
Anyways… I thought once i get my foot in the door, then i can move to different departments. Nope, Same thing, you need experience in that job…How discouraging…Mind you, banks are not unioned environments. So if there is anyone who can help me out with this problem… Its been 10 years since i been out of school…I am giving up hope…I mean come on…how long are you supposed to not give up.
Grrr… worked so hard through elementary, highschool and university…and this is what i end up with…a low paying job. I did alot of survival jobs and i wave never on social assistance…mostly telemarketing jobs…
Anyhow this bank doesn’t care for your resume they only care for your work performance and how well liked you’re by other managers. How frustrating and discouraging is that?
I am looking for a salaried financial advisor at a bank or credit union for now
In my past experience when i applied internally, managers made every excuse not to hire me even if i have the qualifications; mind you its harder for me because i am a visible minority. I didn’t think being a visible minority would be an issue in school but when i applied for jobs in the real world. I been have treated badly.
I have been discriminated by following companies: Manulife, CIBC and RBC Bank. I applied to over 200 positions at CIBC when i graduated, I am not joking… Not one phone call. When i visited the branch most of the people that worked there just have highschool and experience working in a store. Now how useful is school if i cannot get a job that is relevant to my field of study and it doesn’t help me pay for my student loans.
It was just entry level positions. Geesh. Has anyone fallen asleep yet…
Then at Manulife i scored 80% for this entry level part time position and the recruiter closed my file as i was told by another HR Recruiter. She wrote in the HR file that i was not interested in the job. Mind you the job was out of town and 1 hour bus ride from my house. I took an hour of my own time to write the test…and i get that from a recruiter…I am not making up stuff…It happened to me. What a slap in the face.
Then at RBC I was working there under a temp agency and one of my coworkers told me about an opening to which i was qualified, and he told me to approached the manger. I did indeed but not the outcome most people get. I was given the run around by the manger. At first, i was very naive…then it clicked in. Then i let this bad experience slide. Then i applied for RBC again when i graduated…for an entry level customer service rep…i didn’t get the job because the manager hired her own daugher…my degree was in business. The manger told me my degree is not relevant to the position…now i found out that her daughter’s degree is philosphy…Now how relevant is that? Mind you i had my student loan from RBC…I never want to do business with any of these companies because their management and recruiting employees tells me the type of people they hire there. It reflects poorly on the company…
In the past i worked for TD Canada Trust, i applied there internally but i didn’t get the jobs…the same job as i was doing out of town…two of these managers made excuses. Its very discouraging.
I got my break at TD when i worked in Toronto in a multicultural city…now i live in non multicultural city now… looks like i have to look for jobs in a multicultural society. I had to drive 2 hours doing a very entry level job to get my foot in the door…now when i applied internally to work at home…I don’t get to work in my hometown because of the above 2 TD managers…
Even when i applied externally to other companies they will only give me the lowest paying jobs… When i applied for the same jobs, the managers tell me they only hire internally.
Gessh. Its like a vicious circle.
I have highlighted my TRANSFERABLE SKILLS but one recruiter just laughs at my face. She said its not direct experience. omg!!! Then why are these career centres telling us to used that on our interviews if employers don’t care for that except direct experience.
Thank you knitting help for letting me vent my frustruations!!!???
When I was in college we sought out and filled entry level or apprentice (intern) jobs in the field in which we were majoring. I interned in the engineering field while I attended college. That’s how we secured a full time job post graduation. Perhaps things have changed since then, but that’s how we did it “way back when”.
I am debating posting because I don’t know if what I have to say makes it better or worse…
I have been out of work for almost 6 months. The last job I had (company closed) I got in 1995. That’s over 13 YEARS of experience…and I still haven’t gotten a job.
Hang in there.
Reading about your problems finding employment post college reinforces my belief that colleges are only in it for the money. There are many schools in our area that started out as 2 yr. associate degree colleges and when that market dried up they began offering 4 yr programs and now have gone to post graduate study. MY grandchildren have opted for the military instead of college.
I will join them… At least their job is guranteed. Yes, the schools are a business and they’re in there for the money to be honest.
Most of the instructors never have to look for work and encounter the same problems as us who graduated and looking for work. Mind you we have bills to pay just like everyone else.
I believe in getting hands on training while going to school similar to an apprenticeship in the skilled trades. That’s the way to go. Its the employers who should train us not professors and instructor who never hire anyone in their life nor know the job market.
I’m sorry you’re having trouble finding a job. I think a lot of it depends on what type of job you’re looking for. I am in healthcare and found a job with contacts from my residencies. My husband has his PhD and is an engineer and he has a couple of offers - again from contacts he made while working on his PhD going to meetings etc. I do have a couple of family members that are in “communications” and event planning and they are having a horrible time finding a job.
I didn’t so much use my career counselling center to find a job so much as I used it to brush up and refine my resume and cover letter to make sure I told each company why I was the best person for the job. I always called to f/u on my resume. I know it sounds silly, but I made sure my resume stood out - it was on good quality paper with a slight tint to it, I used bold fonts, highlighted volunteer experiences and the fact that I played in a community orchestra - you never know what will connect you with a person. I was once told if you really want a job print you resume on 10 x 14 paper so it doesn’t fit in a filing cabinet and they have to keep it on their desk.
Best of Luck
Thank you for sharing your success with me vaknitter. Can you elobrate what type of contacts from your residences you’re referrring to for both you and your husband if you don’t mind me asking? I remebered from university, all contacts at the socials were professors and students.
My major is in psychology and business. I also return to college for events planning too…GRRRRR…So you can imagine how dicouraged i am. All that education but no job…
Mind if i ask for your advice what you say when you tell them “why you’re the best person for the job?” I recently lost out a job to a man more experienced than me.
Just a month ago, I passed interview 1 with National Bank recruiter for a 12 month contract in Oshawa Ontario. Then when the manager (interview 2) called she told me she hired someone else for the job…GRRR… Anyways, this manager tried to messed me around telling me it was only 6 months…Well managers can do whatever they want…Mind you everyone this is 1.5 hours from my house…The injustice of life…I told her i was not interested in the position anymore…I am sure that was her plan…
I tried following up on my resumes but alot of organizations tell me to apply online and i don’t know who to follow up with? Any advice on this dilemma? I tried calling the human resources to find out the recruiter whose in charge of job postings, and some would not release that information. In another instance, I followed up with a small agency, they bluntly told me that they do not accept phone calls!!! wow…So what do you do when they post no phone calls in their job postings? Do you still phone them to follow up on the resume?
I don’t believe the more qualified you’re you will get the job…its whether the manager likes you to be honest. I seen people get hired at banks because their family works there not based on whether what they studied in school related to what they’re doing at the bank…
Sorry - I wasn’t ignoring you, I’ve had family in town and haven’t been online.
I am a big fan of talking to people b/c you never know who knows who. While doing my residencies I would talk to people about the type of clinic I wanted to work in and someone recommended a clinic in the town they had been raised - in a different state. They even knew the name of the director/manager. I sent my resume in and then followed up with a couple of phone calls. They didn’t have any openings so I said - well, could I just come visit you come highly recommended. I went to visit and ended up being offered a job about 5 months after graduation.
While in that job I talked to people about the fact that I wanted to pursue a specialty. Over the course of 5yrs I fostered a working relationship with another clinic. I ultimately took a HUGE paycut and moved to take a bottom rung position with them, went back to school, took more tests, went to more conferences and 7yrs later I’m still there and have moved up the ladder.
My husband was working on his PhD and luckily his professors knew of businesses looking to hire. Ultimately he has decided to stay at the university and work with one of his professors.
I would say professors and fellow students could be a great wealth of information. Do you have contact with any of your professors that may know of businesses that are hiring and be able to get you an interview? Do you know any students from your class that are working at a firm that may be looking to hire?
I agree it’s not all about qualifications, some of it is personality and what connects you to another person. Thats why when I interview I try to guage what might connect me with the person I’m talking to…do they seem like they want to know that I attend church and play violin or do they want to know I drive a truck and love gardening and fishing. The truck and fishing really won me over in the male dominated clinic I currently work in. They were nervous about hiring a female b/c they didn’t want me crying over broken finger nails and dirty blouses.
Don’t get me wrong - I know its not all roses. While applying for school coming out of college I had the grades and exta-curricular activities and yet after 3 interviews and making it to the last 50 people in line for 30 class openings I was denied. Know why? B/c the last MALE I interviewed with said he felt I was too young to enter an intense program like that and go onto working in the field. So in a nutshell he felt like I would fall in love, get married and have children and never contribute to the field.
I’m lucky that I work in healthcare, business is a tough field to be in - esp right now. So many of the jobs are ambiguous and you’re right - the banks hire anyone - the guy we’re working with for our new mortgage is living proof !
I sincerely wish you all the luck in the world finding a job. There was a little lag time btwn my hubby finished his degree (losing his stipend) and finding his current position so I understand the stress associated with not having that paycheck. Keep your chin up - all these road blocks are just leading you to the job you want.
My granddaughter is a junior at the UW now, and she’s been working in her field since freshman year. Actually, since senior year of high school. She had a head’s up that she better get herself positioned into that field (in any capacity) ASAP, networking, getting the feel of things in our area…cuz otherwise, when she graduates she’ll be last in line, knowing no one to sponsor her, or to give her a leg up. Exactly what you were expressing.
She had good counselors, needless to say. Here she is, a junior, and already she knows people in the middle of the action in her field, and more importantly, they know HER.
Another humorous (sometimes painfully true) statement I heard:
“When I graduated college I couldn’t get a job in my field cuz all the high school graduates already had them!”
Thank you for everyone’s helpful advice. I will keep everyone posted.
Thank you for your kind advice vaknitter.
In university i was busy with work and making ends meet and family issues that i never associate with any professors and students. I guess its too late to reconnect with professors and students…They probably will not remember me…Grrr…
Any tips on how i go about creating a network for myself right now?
Thanks
PS: Its been 1.5 years since i worked and i feel very very discouraged and depressed. Its been ten years since i graduated…i don’t feel that i have hope anymore.
