Young Aussie working 50-hour week makes grim job confession after 10-month struggle

Aussies have been issued a grim warning about the state of the jobs market after a Melbourne woman shared she was struggling to find a job months after graduating. The unemployment rate is expected to continue to tick up and competition for jobs remains fierce.

Mikayla Beasley graduated from Monash University at the end of 2023 with a business degree, majoring in marketing and management, and has been searching for a job in her field for the last 10 months. The 21-year-old told Yahoo Finance she knew her job hunt “wasn’t going to be easy”, particularly given she studied a broad degree, but she didn’t expect it would be this hard.

“I neither expected to get a job straight after graduating but I also didn’t anticipate it to be quite as competitive and saturated as it is,” Beasley said.

“I half put it towards the fact that I don’t know what exact job I want so maybe that’s hindered my chances. But to give myself the benefit of the doubt, it’s definitely been harder than I thought it would be.”

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Beasley currently works two jobs as a nanny and in hospitality at a health food store. She said she is working about 50 hours a week, while continuing to search for a job.

She shared she had applied for around 20 jobs so far, which she acknowledged was “not as many as it sounds considering it’s been such a long time”.

“I’ve applied to quite a few grad programs in quite big corporations as a consultant grad. I’ve applied to small- to medium-sized businesses who were looking for a marketing assistant, events assistant or PR,” she said.

“I know so many in my inner circle that have graduated with similar degrees who are all applying and not getting through and not even getting first-found interviews. So it is hard for a lot of people.”

The Melbourne woman said she had had a few interviews for jobs but was ultimately knocked back, which she said was “discouraging”. She said she generally received “generic feedback” from companies, which made it hard to figure out how she could improve.

“I understand because you can have thousands of applicants to a grad role with 10 people succeeding. No one wants to give feedback, which I understand, but it’s also disheartening and difficult because I don’t know what to change in my application for my next role I’m going to go for,” she said.

Beasley has been sharing her realistic job search online and said she wanted to show that people don’t “all of sudden have multiple jobs” after graduating.

Are you struggling to find work? Share your story with tamika.seeto@yahoo.com

Job market is ‘more challenging’

Australia’s unemployment rate increased to 4.2 per cent in July and is forecast to continue to drift upwards to 4.5 per cent into 2025.

SEEK data found job ad volumes increased slightly in July, the first increase since March, but applications per job had risen 2.5 per cent month-on-month and a whopping 60 per cent year-on-year.

SEEK careers coach Leah Lambart said the pendulum was “slowly swinging back in favour of employers” after candidates enjoyed favourable conditions during the pandemic and when there were mass talent shortages.

“The rise in job applications indicates that candidates face a more crowded and competitive jobs market during their search,” Lambart told Yahoo Finance.

“As a result, many job seekers may be feeling that it’s become more challenging to land a new role, or to even hear back from an organisation or recruiter on their application.

“The current job market is more challenging for jobseekers at all levels, but particularly so for less experienced candidates who have less experience and skills to leverage.”

Jobs struggle comes as HECS debts rise

The difficult jobs market comes at a time when young Aussies are facing increasing HECS debts. Beasley said she had roughly $30,000 to $40,000 of HECS debt from her three-year business degree.

Despite her struggle to find a job out of university, she said she doesn’t regret her decision to get a degree.

“I feel like I learnt a lot but I also feel like there is so much that you’re not taught in uni and it’s really broad,” she said.

The 21-year-old said many young people are questioning the worth of a degree.

“I know a lot of uni students and they say they just don’t feel like they are learning anything and they are getting online lectures that are one hour a week and then they are sent some homework.”

Tips for Aussie jobseekers

Lambart said the challenging job market meant young jobseekers needed to do what they could to stand out from the crowd.

“This includes ensuring they have a professional resume that clearly highlights their transferable skills including from any part-time or casual work or extracurricular activities, a cover letter tailored to the role and organisation and the ability to articulate themselves well in an interview,” she said.

“Whilst employers are keen to find someone with experience, they will often overlook this if they find a candidate who clearly has the drive, initiative and motivation to learn quickly.”

Here are Lambart’s top tips:

• Create your online job profile - Highlight your abilities, interests, qualifications and relevant skills.

• Identify your transferable skills - These are skills you’ve obtained through study and casual work. Identify specific examples that showcase how you developed and honed each skill.

• Find ways to upskill - Look at job ads and identify any gaps in your resume that you can fill with further training, including through online courses.

• Start networking - New graduate and industry events could be a good place to start and using your personal network could help get your foot in the door.

• Consider an internship and volunteering opportunities - This can be another way to network and grow your skills.

• Master your interview skills - Research how to prepare for interviews and specific questions, make sure you have specific examples of when you have used required skills in the past.

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