WHY YOU’RE UNEMPLOYED

Unemployment in the United Kingdom has dropped to an all-time low in September 2017.  The Office for National Statistics figures  rates UK’s employed at 4.4%. The interpretation of the above statistics by ONS is simple, there are a few unemployed in the UK as of today than in the past. To the public this is good news, but at the same time bad news to the 4.4% unemployed citizens in the country.

Let’s be realistic, it’s impossible for a nation to attain 100% employment. The Soviet Union (USSR) tried to attain full employment during its reign but failed later on. Other factors aside, certain citizens don’t want to work. This post however, is for aggressive job seekers in the UK today.

Like every other country in the world, employers try to maximize profit by using the lowest task force to achieve a desired level of productivity. The above trait among employers of labour is what breeds unemployment. Employers would rather train their current employees (for a particular purpose) than employ a new staff in order to cut cost or save time.

Tackling unemployment is not an easy task, to do so, one must grasp the meaning of unemployment. Investopedia defines unemployment simply as a phenomenon that occurs when a person who is actively searching for employment is unable to find work. Are you educated, experienced in a skill and you’ve been seeking for a job? Then you’re experiencing unemployment. Here are a few reason why you are unemployed:

• Lack of Experience

As a fresh graduate, you’ll think with your good grades employers would find it hard to turn you down. This ideology is far from the truth in the job market. Yes good grades matter to an extent when seeking employment, but what your employers really cares about is your level of experience in the job you’re applying for.

While job hunting, a lot of job seekers bank on the idea of on the job training, thus disapproving the need to gain a bit of work experience. This is a bad idea. Here is a fact they are oblivious to – most of the time, prospective employers don’t have the time (patience) or financial capability to bring you up to speed on your job duties.

By acquiring job experience, you’re bridging the gap between you and your employer to be. For example, let’s assume you are a web developer seeking employment in an IT firm. Your employer will lionize you the moment he sees the templates you’ve been working on while you were unemployed. The morale lesson here is to always strive to achieve self-development. Don’t be stagnant.

• Networking

The job market will always get tougher and competitive by the day with influx of graduates colleges produce yearly. To exclude yourself from the normal crowd (of mere job seekers), you need to do the extraordinary to stand out.

By this time, we assume you’re an expert in your field. But that is enough to secure dream job you’ve been longing for. Don’t be naïve to think your employer will notice you because you’re hardworking and talented, you need to make yourself known. How do you do this? By networking. No matter your area of expertise, you need to network to get noticed.

The simplest and most efficient way to network yourself in the job market is through the internet. Create a profile on one of the various job networking websites and watch the internet perform its magic. We suggest you LinkedIn (world’s largest professional network with over 530 million users) in this case.

Your employer is on the internet scouting for the perfect person to employ; how do you get noticed if you’re not where he is looking? Get yourself a profile on job platform now!

• Snobbery of Pro bono Jobs

Of course it’s demoralizing to work without monetary incentives, but this is a safe route to take if you’re unemployed. As a job seeker, you should always strive to gain experience and this is where pro bono work comes in. While most people see this as a waste of time, it’s a good means of gathering the job experience your employer solemnly desires.

Know this today – nothing good comes easy, and life has a way of yielding for those who refuse to take “NO” for an answer. Most companies are short-staffed but in the process of trying to maximize profit, frown at the idea of employing a new staff. Why not apply as a trainee? No one says no to freebies. While working for free, the company is indirectly training you for free.

Apart from gaining experience, pro bono work has other perks. Along the line, you might get offered the job you applied for in the first place. The company won’t look far away when there is a job opening if you’ve put in a selfless service while working for free.

• Location

Location is no doubt an important factor when seeking for a job. If it happens to be a case of choice, everyone would fancy the opportunity of working in big cities (such as Manchester, Cambridge, and Oxford, amongst others). Don’t get it wrong, there is no harm in wishing to work in the city, but it becomes a career obsession when you shut your eyes to job offers afield.

Let’s assume you land yourself an interview with that big firm in the city after waiting for 3 years. How will you account for those years when your interviewer pops the question – “What have you been up to in the past?” As stated earlier, employers value experience the most when recruiting. There is no harm in taking up a job in the suburbs whilst you keep pushing for that job in the city.

Remember this – “location matters to you, whilst experience matters to your employer”. Always place more emphasis on gaining experience in your career path. Your experience will take you where you ought to be in the long run.

The above factors are the few reason you’re experiencing unemployment, and we’ve tried to proffer realistic solutions to them. It is normal to feel a sense of shame and personal failure when one is unemployed. Fret not, you’re not alone, and unemployment is normal condition in every economy around the world. You’re only defeated if you let your condition hinder you from taking necessary actions.

Get up! Speak out! Network aggressively. Your next job might be closer than you think. Let people know you are in need of a job. No one will judge you. Being unemployed is not a crime. Take your life back by talking to people. Your next job won’t come knocking on your door, the more people you engage with on daily basis, the better your chance of getting a job. Good luck.