It has been seven months now since leaving university and my search for graduate employment has delivered a rather harsh dose of reality. In September 2011, fresh after handing in my dissertation, I was full of optimism - I was 22 years old, held a first class degree and barring a disaster would soon have an MA. The job market was surely my oyster...
Then came the application forms.
It's not that I'm bitter or anything (I am bitter) but the hours I have spent filling out reams of personal information and answering banal questions on my team building and problem solving credentials could have been better spent.
What particularly sticks in the throat is that on more than one occasion I have received an automated rejection only a few hours after submitting my application in the first place. I can only assume that some aspect of my character has been deemed unworthy by the many filters designed to separate the men from the chaff (a favourite mixed metaphor of mine...).
To add insult to injury, because many graduate schemes (as the rejection emails do not hesitate to tell me) are so very popular, firms are unable to provide any feedback whatsoever. I can't help but feel taken for a ride - if I can spend 3 hours filling out a tediously dull application form, then surely the computer that rejected me can let me know on what pre-conditioned criteria I was filtered out?
Applicants deserve a level of transparency. If, for instance, a firm is not looking to recruit history graduates, make this clear in the job description. In a job market that is tougher than ever, to spend my precious days off filling out forms for jobs that I subsequently discover I had no chance of getting is somewhat galling.
Perhaps I am doing recruiters a disservice, perhaps they are indeed ruthlessly efficient in their selection of candidates. Then again, submitting an application at 11pm and receiving a rejection at 5am the following morning may suggest otherwise...
Rant over.
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