Job searching used to feel like you were on the cusp of new opportunities and starting a life you have been working towards your entire academic career, it has now become a rabbit hole of despair, rejection and desperation. Using LinkedIn feels soul-crushing when you see people getting the very opportunities you have dreamed about. Desperately reading through job descriptions that are meant to be entry level but expect you to have five years of experience under your belt. Not to mention how hard it is for international students who have to make it seem as if they are worth sponsoring against a sea of local applicants who are also struggling.
Why are such impossible expectations being put on us? Why are we in this situation? For one, the state of the economy in the UK is not at its best and recruiters seem to be adopting an attitude of low hire, low fire (not so great for us 2025 graduates). Because of this, it is making job seeking so competitive that it seems hard to keep up and even harder to still have hope. A tough job market is not exclusive to the U.K., with graduates all over the world going through the same struggles in the competitiveness of recruitment processes. The Financial Times highlighted that while recruiters are met with hundreds of applicants for job postings, job seekers are becoming more desperate and are focusing on the quantity of applications they send out rather than the quality.
This begs the question…what more can we do? It seems that even recruiters do not have an answer to this, with applicants becoming indistinguishable from the masses due to the obvious AI infused resumes they receive. When we just need one person to give us a chance and help us get a foot in the door, it seems that things are mostly out of our hands and we may have to count on being lucky when landing our first role post-graduation. It’s not all bad news though, despite the fact that we are not in a great place in terms of our prospects in comparison to graduates in pre-pandemic times, the percentage of job postings available have stabilised according to Economic Research by Indeed.
Although I may not have any expert advice, as I am no different than any other graduate facing all of these new challenges, all I know is that I am going to take things one day at a time. It’s the only way forward. We need to try to not become disheartened by the rejections we receive without any explanation or feedback – the reality is that to get a job nowadays, even an entry level one, you have to work incredibly hard. You need to take those extra courses that could help boost your CV. You need to take careful time and consideration with every application you fill out. Things are competitive – so compete to the best of your ability, even if you have to apply for hundreds before you land your first full-time role.
While generations before us may have had it easier and might not understand just how much effort we put in that likely goes unrecognised, we simply need to have faith. However long it takes us, we are on our own timelines and cannot compare them to others. All we can do is keep on going because we will eventually get that first acceptance email. As corny as it sounds, seize opportunities the second they present themselves. Even if it is not related to the career you eventually want to have – you have no idea how the steps you take could lead to amazing things. Sometimes even better than the ones you had imagined.
Another article you may enjoy: https://thebadgeronline.com/2025/07/in-the-space-between-who-you-were-and-who-youll-become/
