Things I've learnt while job hunting...

As most of you know, I graduated this year and have been looking for a job since my internship finished. It's been a month. I've applied to over 50 jobs, had 5 interviews and am yet to get anywhere but I've already learnt a lot...

Some interviewers will not even have read your CV.

Yeah, that's right. They invite you along to interview without having looked at your CV that you spent ages working on. I don't know if they just pick random candidates and hope one of them is suitable. So expect them to ask really obvious questions sometimes. 

Putting your CV online will mean receiving lots of phone calls.

Mostly from recruitment companies wanting you to work for them. This might be good for you. But a lot of it is about sales and I, for one, am really fed up of these calls from companies that I would never want to work for.

You should always take a pen to your interview.

Well, you should always carry one but make sure you have a working one just in case. It shows you are prepared.

There's lots of specialist jobs available...

For budding engineers, teachers, lorry drivers and such, there is a lot of choice. But for those of us who are uncertain or want less common jobs, there is not much out there and it can get pretty frustrating.

You will start to question why you bothered with your degree.

If you are not looking to do a job directly linked with your degree subject, you will question why you bothered. You will remind yourself about "transferable skills" and all the interesting things you learned. But why didn't you pick something that would ensure a job at the end?! Why did we bother with degrees when everyone wants experience?!

It is not all bad!

Yes, job hunting is time consuming and stressful. It makes you feel like crap and useless. You start to apply to jobs that you really do not want because you need the money and you need to do something. However, it also gives you a chance to see what is out there and to explore your options if you are unsure. It provides time to think and to learn how to do well in interviews and applications.

So if you're like me and getting stressed and miserable with the whole job hunting thing, just remember that the right job will come along in the end and all this will be worth it!