The fear of unemployment after graduation is crippling. After investing three years of blood, sweat and (mostly) tears into my education, the thought of formally needing to enter the workforce in a few months is incredibly overwhelming and the corporate job hunt doesn’t make that any easier.
My time at university has consistently been disrupted by the pandemic and industrial actions, realistically making it feel like I haven’t had the chance to actually have any uni experience, and despite my best efforts to come to terms with the realities of it all, being launched into the corporate workforce is something I simply am not ready for.
A recent survey shows a 17% increase in the average amount of applications per graduate vacancy, making the competition to secure a position a genuine struggle that starts even before my time at uni comes to an end. Amidst a fiercer job market, lower available vacancies and increasingly difficult recruitment processes, the prospects of actually locking down a role post-graduation do not seem optimistic.
Graduate job application processes are also not a breeze, and the constant apprehension around the quality of every application and the struggle in seeing the positives in inevitable rejections becomes heavy to deal with. Alongside this, keeping up my final year grades and consistent investment in extracurriculars while also maintaining some sense of a personal life outside of it all just adds more fuel to the fire.
Being an international student, there is the added pressure of maintaining my visa status and remaining in the country; making it absolutely crucial to have some options sorted before my student visa expires. The overall uncertainty of the future and what it entails for my career makes it very difficult to look forward to my time post university. The struggle is very real.
The overall uncertainty of the future and what it entails for my career makes it very difficult to look forward to my time post university
However, I do recognise that graduation is a stressful time for every student, and I just have to find an approach that works best for me. Managing my time and expectations better and just jumping into the job market head first is the only way to beat the anxieties surrounding it all.