‘Hard’ and ‘humiliating’: Young people on their experiences of trying to get a jobpublished at 08:53 BST
08:53 BST
Zoe Conway
Employment correspondent
Zaynah, 24, has suffered from physical ill health and has not had a job since leaving college. Over the last year, she’s applied for more than 200 jobs and says she’s never heard back from any of the employers.
“Getting a job is very hard because with my issues, I haven’t got that much experience, I’ve never worked before,” she says.
“So I feel like it’s restricting me and I’m not getting jobs.” She says she’s planning to start doing some volunteering so she can improve her CV.
Image source, Spear
Luke, who studied product design at the prestigious Central St Martin’s University, cannot find a job despite trying hard.
The 23-year-old has applied for more than 400 positions and has only ever had one interview as a cleaner which he did not get.
”It’s humiliating,” he said. “You think ‘okay I’ve got all the knowledge, I’ve got all the skills, all I’m waiting for is a job to put it in practice.”
“It makes you depressed especially the amount of rejections.” He said he had no choice but to claim benefits.