Graduate Alternatives to Permanent Work

With the recession hitting Britain hard, one group who has particularly suffered are recent university graduates. Seeking their first permanent job, many graduates have been left scratching their heads as the vast majority of their applications get no response, driven by many recruiters closing their doors to people who have little to no experience. The situation hasn't been helped by some traditional graduate recruiters, such as BT, cutting their graduate employment program. Unemployment in the UK now stands at 2.5 million, and with more people looking for work with less opportunities, it's going to be a tricky couple of years for graduates to get that foot in the door. Take a look at jobs on the Guardian Jobs website, while if you're thinking of alternatives to permanent work, then this article may prove useful.

If you're a broke graduate without much spare cash, then it's likely you'll want to get into full time work to clear your debt and say good bye to your overdraft. But with a very competitive jobs market, there hasn't been a better time to challenge yourself through an internship, becoming a volunteer, or going abroad either to travel or to find work.

Getting an internship or volunteering is a great way to build experience if you can't find a permanent career job. Competition for internships can still be fierce, and you'll most often be required to work as a full time employee without much in the way of payment (you may get expenses for travel and lunch). A lot of firms do still take on interns and unpaid positions even if they're not advertised, so you should compile a list of firms that you'd be interested in working for and get on the phone. It's preferable to do this rather than sending a C.V and covering letter, as you'll get an answer quickly and an employer will be able to talk to you directly.

Even if you don't want to work for a charity or for your local community for the rest of your life, it can be a very beneficial to do volunteer work rather than simply being unemployed and job seeking. Volunteering is a great way to build work experience, and even if it's not directly related to your future career paths, there will be surely be examples of generic skills displayed during volunteering that you could put onto your C.V or explain at interview.

You may not get the opportunity to leave your job and go abroad for any length of time when you're gainfully employed, so right now may be the best opportunity for you to explore other cultures. Of course, a ticket for going around the world is quite an expensive investment, but there are potentially more opportunities abroad for young grads at the moment.

The price of round the world tickets are dependent on the route you choose to take, and when you decide to go. They are flexible (you can change flights times and dates on them, although this may come at an extra cost), good value for money, and valid for up to one year. Once this has been bought, you will find that many destinations are relatively inexpensive places to stay compared with Britain, and it's possible to stay in places such as Africa, India and Southeast Asia with a comparatively low budget.

Getting employment in non Western countries can be difficult, but as a native English speaker, a common way to find work is to teach English if you have proof of your degree. Many places do not require a TEFL qualification for you to do this. Alternatively, British people are well placed to work in Australia and New Zealand, where paying rates are often higher than in the UK for manual work or unskilled office jobs. If you're interested in working in these places, ensure you get a working visa before you arrive in the country, or you'll have to leave the country and return just to get one.