‘Like throwing myself at a wall’: UK graduates struggle in ‘insane’ job market
-‘Hostile and impersonal’ process to find first job after university leads many to work for minimum wage

英國畢業(yè)生在“瘋狂”的就業(yè)市場中掙扎：“就像把自己扔向一堵墻”
——大學(xué)畢業(yè)后找第一份工作的過程“充滿敵意和缺乏人情味”，導(dǎo)致許多人只能拿最低工資
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(More than 30% of graduates aged 21-30 were in non-graduate work or unemployed last year.)

（去年，年齡在21-30歲之間的畢業(yè)生中，有超過30%的人在從事非畢業(yè)生工作或失業(yè)。）
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"The job market is so insane right now. I’ve got work experience and internships from the UK, Paris and Hong Kong. I’ve taken courses, networked and am working in an admin job to try to get more skills, after no luck with applications.”

“現(xiàn)在的就業(yè)市場太瘋狂了。我在英國、巴黎和香港（特區(qū)）都有工作經(jīng)驗(yàn)和實(shí)習(xí)經(jīng)歷。我參加了一些課程，參加了社交活動(dòng)，并在一份行政工作中努力獲得更多的技能，但在申請(qǐng)方面運(yùn)氣不佳?！?/b>

Having graduated from the University of Oxford with a first class BA in English and French last year, Emma*, a 23-year-old from London, said she has been on the hunt for a graduate job in publishing and adjacent industries since. She is now sending out five applications a week, alongside a full-time job, and has so far secured just four interviews and an offer of a minimum wage internship – which was retracted.

去年，23歲的艾瑪*從牛津大學(xué)畢業(yè)，獲得了英語和法語專業(yè)的一等學(xué)士學(xué)位。來自倫敦的艾瑪*表示，從那時(shí)起，她就一直在尋找出版及相關(guān)行業(yè)的畢業(yè)生工作。她現(xiàn)在每周發(fā)出五份求職申請(qǐng)，同時(shí)還有一份全職工作，到目前為止，她只獲得了四次面試和一份最低工資的實(shí)習(xí)工作——這份工作后來被撤回了。
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“My parents’ idea of ‘if you work hard, you’ll get what you want’ doesn’t really work any more. The older generations’ expectation that if you’ve got a ‘good degree and good skills you’ll be fine’ is just no longer tenable. I feel like I’m throwing myself at a brick wall.”

“我父母那種‘只要你努力，你就會(huì)得到你想要的’的想法已經(jīng)不再奏效了。老一輩人認(rèn)為，只要你有一個(gè)好學(xué)位和好技能，你就會(huì)很好，這種期望已經(jīng)站不住腳了。我覺得我是在把自己扔向一堵磚墻（四處碰壁）?！?/b>

Emma was one of dozens of recent university leavers from across the UK who shared their struggles to secure their first graduate job, in response to an online call-out by the Guardian.

艾瑪是最近英國各地幾十名大學(xué)畢業(yè)生中的一員，他們響應(yīng)《衛(wèi)報(bào)》在網(wǎng)上的呼吁，分享了他們?nèi)绾握业降谝环荽髮W(xué)畢業(yè)后的工作。

Graduates described “soul-destroying” job hunts in many apparently saturated fields spanning months or even years, companies that had “ghosted” applicants who had completed online assessments or taken months to respond, and being unable to land jobs they felt they were overqualified for.

畢業(yè)生們描述說，在許多明顯飽和的領(lǐng)域，他們的求職經(jīng)歷“摧毀靈魂”，時(shí)間跨度長達(dá)數(shù)月甚至數(shù)年，公司“隱去”那些完成了在線評(píng)估或花了數(shù)月時(shí)間才回復(fù)的求職者，并且他們無法找到甚至覺得自己大材小用的那些工作。
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Even respondents who had graduated with a first class degree, often from prestigious universities, and even in subjects such as engineering, computing, cybersecurity or other STEM sectors thought to be crying out for skilled workers, said they had been sending dozens or even hundreds of applications without getting an interview.

即使是擁有一流學(xué)位的受訪者（通常來自名牌大學(xué)），甚至是工程、計(jì)算機(jī)、網(wǎng)絡(luò)安全或其他被認(rèn)為急需技術(shù)工人的理工科領(lǐng)域的受訪者，也表示他們已經(jīng)發(fā)出了數(shù)十份甚至數(shù)百份申請(qǐng)，但卻沒有得到面試機(jī)會(huì)。

Although most UK students find jobs not long after leaving university – with 61% of those who graduated in 2022 having gained full-time work 15 months later – many of them will find non-graduate work only: according to the Office for National Statistics, last year just 60.4% of graduates living in England aged 21-30 were in “high-skilled” work, while 26.4% of this group were in medium or low-skilled employment and 5.5% unemployed.

盡管大多數(shù)英國學(xué)生在大學(xué)畢業(yè)后不久就找到了工作——2022年畢業(yè)的人中有61%在15個(gè)月后找到了全職工作——但他們中的許多人只會(huì)找到不需要學(xué)位畢業(yè)的工作：根據(jù)英國國家統(tǒng)計(jì)局的數(shù)據(jù)，去年，在21-30歲的英國畢業(yè)生中，只有60.4%的人從事“高技能”工作，而這一群體中有26.4%的人從事中等或低技能工作，5.5%的人失業(yè)。
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About half of the recent graduates who got in touch said they had taken non-graduate jobs in hospitality, retail, administration, call centres, supply teaching or in temporary positions on the minimum wage to keep afloat. Many said that jobs labelled as “entry level” positions usually require at least one, and often several, years of professional experience.

在接受采訪的應(yīng)屆畢業(yè)生中，約有一半的人表示，為了維持生計(jì)，他們?cè)诰频?、零售、行政、呼叫中心、供?yīng)教學(xué)等行業(yè)從事了不需要學(xué)位畢業(yè)的工作，或者從事了領(lǐng)最低工資的臨時(shí)工作。許多人表示，被貼上“入門級(jí)”標(biāo)簽的職位通常需要至少一年，甚至幾年的專業(yè)經(jīng)驗(yàn)。

Various people reported that they had been unaware how important practical experience was to recruiters, or that they had simply been unable to find a placement in a relevant industry or lacked the funds to support themselves through an unpaid internship, citing the high cost of living as a significant factor.

許多人表示，他們沒有意識(shí)到實(shí)踐經(jīng)驗(yàn)對(duì)招聘人員來說有多重要，或者他們只是無法在相關(guān)行業(yè)找到工作，或者缺乏資金來支持自己進(jìn)行無薪實(shí)習(xí)，他們認(rèn)為高昂的生活成本是一個(gè)重要因素。
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“It’s been really tough,” said a 21-year-old from Suffolk, who has been unable to find graduate work. “I wish I’d known how important placements were – I had to drop my placement year as I couldn’t find any placements to apply to. There were a couple but I couldn’t afford commuting to London to then work for free.”

“這真的很艱難，”一位21歲的薩福克人說，他一直找不到畢業(yè)工作?！拔蚁Ｍ夷苤缹?shí)習(xí)有多重要——我不得不放棄實(shí)習(xí)一年，因?yàn)槲艺也坏饺魏慰梢陨暾?qǐng)的實(shí)習(xí)。有幾個(gè)崗位，但我負(fù)擔(dān)不起通勤到倫敦去白干活的成本?！?/b>

One 25-year-old modern languages and literature graduate from Edinburgh, who is now working in hospitality, after failing to secure a single interview from more than 50 job applications sent in recent months, said: “The competition is extreme. I may have found employment more quickly and easily if I had taken a vocational degree and put my interests to one side.”

愛丁堡大學(xué)一名25歲的現(xiàn)代語言文學(xué)專業(yè)畢業(yè)生目前在酒店業(yè)工作。近幾個(gè)月來，他發(fā)送了50多份求職申請(qǐng)，但一次面試都沒有獲得，他說：“競爭非常激烈。如果我拿一個(gè)職業(yè)學(xué)位，放棄個(gè)人興趣，我可能會(huì)更快更容易找到工作?！?/b>
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Of the respondents who had been successful, many said their best advice for students was to contact their university’s careers service, to gain as much practical experience as possible before, during and after their degree, and to pick up additional skills.

在獲得成功的受訪者中，許多人表示，他們給學(xué)生最好的建議是聯(lián)系學(xué)校的就業(yè)服務(wù)中心，在獲得學(xué)位之前、期間和之后盡可能多地獲得實(shí)踐經(jīng)驗(yàn)，并學(xué)習(xí)額外的技能。

Noah, 23, a data analyst from Norwich, said he found his ￡36,000-a-year job because he had taught himself the coding language Python during his international relations and modern history BA, and subsequently applied for graduate schemes at two large software engineering companies.

諾亞今年23歲，是諾里奇的一名數(shù)據(jù)分析師，他說他找到這份年薪3.6萬英鎊的工作是因?yàn)樗诠プx國際關(guān)系和現(xiàn)代史學(xué)士學(xué)位期間自學(xué)了編程語言Python，隨后他申請(qǐng)了兩家大型軟件工程公司的畢業(yè)生計(jì)劃。

“Although I didn’t necessarily have the skills they expected for a software engineer, Python gave me a bit of an edge, and my now manager picked up that I was easy to get along and work with in a team,” he said.

他說：“雖然我不一定具備他們所期望的軟件工程師的技能，但Python給了我一點(diǎn)優(yōu)勢，我現(xiàn)在的經(jīng)理發(fā)現(xiàn)我很容易相處，也很容易在團(tuán)隊(duì)中合作?！?/b>

Several respondents from overseas said they had all but given up on the search and were likely to return, or had already returned, home to countries such as Poland and Italy, where they felt they may have better chances.

幾名來自海外的受訪者表示，他們幾乎已經(jīng)放棄了搜尋，可能會(huì)返回或已經(jīng)返回波蘭和意大利等國，他們覺得在那里可能有更好的機(jī)會(huì)。

Scores of graduates cited frustrations with time-consuming applications recruiters rarely responded to, and many felt that it mattered more “to know the right people” or to possess insider knowledge than to meet the formal job criteria.

許多畢業(yè)生表示，他們對(duì)耗時(shí)的求職申請(qǐng)感到沮喪，招聘者很少回應(yīng)，許多人認(rèn)為，“認(rèn)識(shí)合適的人”或掌握內(nèi)幕知識(shí)比達(dá)到正式的工作標(biāo)準(zhǔn)更重要。

Notably, graduates looking for work in the arts, design and humanities said they had found it impossible to find graduate work without connections.

值得注意的是，尋找藝術(shù)、設(shè)計(jì)和人文學(xué)科工作的畢業(yè)生表示，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)沒有人脈就不可能找到畢業(yè)工作。

Gabriel, 25, a history and English graduate from London, sent 500 applications and, after being rejected from more than 20 internships for being “overqualified”, he finally landed a ￡25,000-a-year admin job thanks to “secondhand nepotism”, he said.

加布里埃爾今年25歲，畢業(yè)于倫敦的歷史和英語專業(yè)，他投了500份申請(qǐng)，在20多個(gè)實(shí)習(xí)崗位因“資歷過高”而被拒絕后，他說，由于“二手裙帶關(guān)系”，他最終找到了一份年薪2.5萬英鎊的行政工作。

“It’s all based on referrals,” Gabriel said. “There’s just too many people looking for entry-level jobs.”

加布里埃爾說：“這一切都是基于（人脈）推薦。找初級(jí)工作的人太多了?！?/b>

Despite recruiters’ claims that there is strong demand for highly skilled workers, employers on average received 86 applications for each graduate vacancy in 2023, up 23% on the previous year, according to a report by the Institute of Student Employers. Yet, 54% of employers told the survey that they found it difficult to recruit at least one of their graduate roles – an 11% increase – suggesting that there is an oversupply of graduate workers lacking relevant skills. Employers also appear reluctant to take on or train young staff amid a fragile economic climate.

盡管招聘人員聲稱對(duì)高技能工人的需求強(qiáng)勁，但根據(jù)學(xué)生雇主協(xié)會(huì)的一份報(bào)告，到2023年，雇主平均每個(gè)畢業(yè)生職位空缺收到86份申請(qǐng)，比前一年增加了23%。然而，54%的雇主在調(diào)查中表示，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)很難招聘到至少一名畢業(yè)生，這一比例增加了11%，這表明缺乏相關(guān)技能的畢業(yè)生工人供過于求。在脆弱的經(jīng)濟(jì)環(huán)境下，雇主似乎也不愿聘用或培訓(xùn)年輕員工。

Total UK employer investment in skills has been in steep decline, having fallen 19% for each employee, in real terms, between 2011 and 2022. There have been even sharper declines in larger businesses (-35%) and primary (-44%), and public (-38%) service sectors, leading to an underequipped workforce and employers struggling to fill vacancies, despite steady growth in graduate numbers.

英國雇主在技能方面的總投資急劇下降，在2011年至2022年期間，每位員工的實(shí)際投資下降了19%。大型企業(yè)（-35%）、初級(jí)（-44%）和公共服務(wù)部門（-38%）的降幅更大，導(dǎo)致勞動(dòng)力裝備不足，雇主難以填補(bǔ)職位空缺，盡管畢業(yè)生人數(shù)穩(wěn)步增長。

With graduate jobs increasingly concentrated in London, 42% of university-educated workers outside the city now work in a job that does not require a degree, up from 31% in 1993. The share is highest in Lincolnshire and Cumbria, where more than half of graduates work in non-graduate jobs (58% and 52%), according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

隨著畢業(yè)生工作越來越多地集中在倫敦，42%在倫敦以外受過大學(xué)教育的人現(xiàn)在從事不需要學(xué)位的工作，而1993年這一比例為31%。這一比例在林肯郡和坎布里亞郡最高，根據(jù)財(cái)政研究所的數(shù)據(jù)，這兩個(gè)地區(qū)超過一半的畢業(yè)生從事不需要大學(xué)文憑的工作（58%和52%）。

Some of those respondents whose parents lived in London said they were able to stay with them while job hunting, while others reported having to return to their home towns as they lacked the funds to search for graduate work in bigger cities.

一些父母住在倫敦的受訪者表示，他們可以在找工作的時(shí)候和父母住在一起，而另一些人則表示，由于缺乏資金在大城市找畢業(yè)生工作，他們不得不回到家鄉(xiāng)。

A number of people said they had, in desperation, enrolled in master’s degrees or even PhDs because they had been unable to find gainful employment after graduation.

許多人說，他們?cè)诮^望中攻讀碩士學(xué)位甚至博士學(xué)位，因?yàn)樗麄儺厴I(yè)后找不到有收入的工作。

Several respondents said they had big concerns about potentially discriminatory AI tools aiding recruiters in their sextion of candidates, and many complained about having to film awkward video interviews that did not allow them to present themselves naturally.

一些受訪者表示，他們非常擔(dān)心人工智能工具在幫助招聘人員挑選候選人時(shí)可能存在歧視性，許多人抱怨不得不拍攝尷尬的視頻面試，這讓他們無法自然地展示自己。

Joshua Morgan, 30, from Tarbolton, South Ayrshire, who managed to find a job as a power systems consultant, said he is very happy after graduating with an MSc in renewable energy systems technology last year, but he is concerned that the recruitment systems he encountered were “geared so much against people coming in”.

30歲的約書亞·摩根來自南艾爾郡塔博爾頓，他成功地找到了一份電力系統(tǒng)顧問的工作。他說，去年獲得可再生能源系統(tǒng)技術(shù)碩士學(xué)位后，他非常高興，但他擔(dān)心，他遇到的招聘系統(tǒng)“太排斥新人了”。

“Getting through that initial sift is so much harder now than it was. Amazing people from my course are still looking [for jobs] because automatic filters don’t allow people to show you their worth,” he said.

“現(xiàn)在通過最初的篩選比以前困難多了。我這門課上的優(yōu)秀學(xué)生仍在找（工作），因?yàn)樽詣?dòng)篩選不允許人們向你展示他們的價(jià)值，”他說。

“I applied to 150 jobs over several months with a 10% success rate for interviewing. Just sending that many tailored CVs and cover letters into a void is soul-destroying and I’m one of the lucky ones who landed a job in the industry I wanted in a relatively small amount of time.”

“我在幾個(gè)月內(nèi)申請(qǐng)了150份工作，面試成功率為10%。把那么多量身定制的簡歷和求職信投到一個(gè)空缺的職位上簡直是在毀滅自己的靈魂。我是在相對(duì)較短的時(shí)間內(nèi)就在我想要的行業(yè)找到工作的幸運(yùn)兒之一?！?/b>

Application processes for graduate schemes in particular had been, in his experience, “hostile, impersonal and condescending”.

根據(jù)他的經(jīng)驗(yàn)，畢業(yè)生計(jì)劃的申請(qǐng)程序尤其“充滿敵意、沒有人情味和居高臨下”。

He added: “Employers know they have a lot of choice and many treat you poorly in the application process because of it. It’s very depressing.”

他補(bǔ)充說：“雇主知道他們有很多備選，因此很多在申請(qǐng)過程中對(duì)你很糟糕。這非常令人沮喪。”

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