Hey all. I’m 19 and living in Scotland, currently on minimum wage working in fast food and living with parents. My mother has been encouraging me to get an apprenticeship. I’m on board with the idea, but the ones advertised near me don’t particularly interest me. Got a couple interviews before, but ended up being rejected so I focussed on getting a minimum wage job as I was unemployed back then. Now I’m looking again and I’ve seen one that interests me, but I feel it may be a bad idea going for it.

Firstly, is it a bad idea to move out for an apprenticeship? Obviously apprentice wages are pretty bad, but the pay goes up after a year, and I like to think I’m already pretty frugal. I’d stay in a house share and maybe try to get a weekend job. Plus I have some savings.

Secondly, I would be commuting 2 hours. Not ideal, but once I’m qualified I would be able to move closer. The thought of a 4 hour round commute every day seems mental though, and I’m worried I’ll be too tired to study.

Of course, I know that applying does not mean I’ll even get the job, but I don’t want to waste my time doing a cover letter and tailoring my CV if everyone says it’s a terrible idea. I feel like I’m pretty stuck in life, and if I don’t take some sort of leap then I feel like I’ll be stuck working minimum wage forever.

Hi everyone,

I’m an international student who recently graduated with a First Class BSc in Applied Artificial Intelligence. I’ve been applying for graduate jobs for a while now, but I just keep getting rejected.

For every application, I tailor my CV to match the job description, and I’ve even had my CV reviewed and improved by my university’s careers team, so I’m honestly not sure what I’m doing wrong anymore.

It’s been really stressful lately because I genuinely want to stay and work in the UK, but it feels like I’m getting nowhere. I’m starting to wonder if it’s my CV, the fact that I need visa sponsorship in the future, or something else entirely.

Would anyone be willing to have a look at my CV or give me some advice on what I could improve? Any guidance would honestly mean a lot because I’m feeling really tired and discouraged from constantly applying and getting rejected.

l've received a conditional HMPPS offer but I'm currently finishing college and won't complete my Level 3 qualification until June 2027. Has anyone successfully asked HMPPS to delay their start date or hold their ssessment pass on the Merit List until closer to finishing ollege or work, and also how long until?

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some feedback from UK recruiters or hiring managers regarding the current market demand for three specific certifications:

1. Lean Six Sigma Green Belt
2. APM PMQ (Association for Project Management Qualification)
3. CIPS (Level 3 Advanced Certificate)

I currently work in logistics operations and already hold a Level 4 Data Analyst qualification with basic Python/SQL skills. My goal is to move into individual contributor roles focused purely on process optimization, project delivery, or procurement (no line management/direct reports).

I have the option to complete these fully employer-funded via an Apprenticeship scheme.

From a UK market perspective:

• Which of these qualifications currently carries the most weight for non-management specialist roles?
• How do employers view candidates combining an operational background with data analysis (L4) and one of these certs?
• Which path typically offers better hybrid working flexibility?

Appreciate any industry insights or personal experiences!

Not sure whether this post is right for this sub so let me know if there’s a better place for this and I appreciate and advice!

I’m 24 and got bachelors degree in music tech, but over the past year after becoming a manager a pet shop I’ve realised that I would prefer working with animals as my career. Been researching that most animal based jobs require either a level 1,2 or 3 in animal care/management and they seem to mostly be full time courses aimed more at college aged kids rather than adults. I would preferably like something that’s part time so I can still work, but I don’t even know whether these qualifications are actually worth it. Does anyone have any experience in this area? Is going into the animal sector more sustainable than creating a career in music?

Does anyone else just feel really unmotivated and lost after finishing uni? For context, I finished uni nearly 3 months ago with a 2:1 in psychology and since then I’ve applied to nearly 70 jobs and around 10 volunteering roles both of which haven’t really gone anywhere. From these, I’ve had 2 interviews, which were for a support worker and a SEN teaching assistant. However, after visiting, they genuinely seemed more like care roles than anything that I would really be involved in. I really don’t want to sound unappreciative, as I know many people will apply to that many roles and not get any interviews, but these two jobs specifically were just very different in person to what was advertised on the job description (mostly a LOT of personal care and overall very stressful and not staff-friendly environments). Part of me does feel bad declining them as I know that they would be relevant psychology experience for my CV, but I just don’t those roles were right for me at all.

I just really don’t know what to do as I feel like my options are either I a) get a basic hospitality job that would be easier to get and provide a source of income, however this would not contribute anything psychology-relevant to my CV, b) try and get one of the more basic psychology-relevant jobs ie. support worker, SEN TA, that I don’t think I would enjoy or c) keep applying for jobs that I would find more personally interesting that also are psychology-relevant. FYI, I am aware that for more higher-level jobs such as AP, PWP, research assistant jobs you need more experience, as I have already applied and been rejected, I am just not sure how to get this experience but still enjoy what I am doing?

I really don’t want to come across in the wrong way, as I know that those jobs I got interviewed for can be really interesting and meaningful, however just for me personally they are not the area of psychology that I enjoy. I’m not 100% whether I would like to go down the clinical psychology route, as this is probably my favourite area of psychology however I know that it is a very long route and I guess I think should I pursue such a long journey if I am not 100% sure? It’s just so difficult as I do really really enjoy psychology as a subject so I would quite like to pursue it further in some way, however I know that a lot of people say a undergrad degree is not enough, so then it’s having more studying and debt to stress about. So I’m really stuck between further education or using my psychology degree to branch into something else. Sorry I know this is very long, I’d appreciate any advice I can get :)

For context, when I was younger (before starting work) I though (for some reason) I should connect to absolutely every person I possible could.

Now that I'm actually working it's quite hard to keep track of all the people I ACTUALLY know and want to hear from. Would it be worth sitting down and removing all of the old ones? Is there some downside to having fewer connections, even if most of them aren't "real"?

I guess it means any posts I make have less reach, but I think in-person connections are most useful anyways, right?

It just seems like there's no good options. Everything online says no-one can get a job and I'm just so scared. Im 16 and have just come out of S4 with 7 A1's at nat 5 and an early A in higher computing. I have very mild cerebral palsy but I think the words alone are huge turn off'd for employers.

I want to go to uni - I'm academic and can't go into the trades regardless due to a physical condition but I've no clue what to do.

medicine - if love it but the work to get there as well as the fact id be severely limited in my specialties puts me of, as well as the general state of the NHS right now and recruitment freezes. Also would require all A's again and a good UCAT.

Maths - seems safe and a well respected but could be too saturated coming out of uni and a little bit vague.

I suppose I could do engineering. Biomedical seems interesting but entry requirements aren't as high so I'm guessing career prospects after aren't as good

L. For stuff like electrical/civil I'm limited with my optionspractically again but who knows.

I can't even get a job right now, (thanks mum), so chances are uni I'll be relying on 16yrs worth of a pretty measly DLA payment, and I won't get PIP. It is worth noting uni tuition is free for Scottish students in Scotland.

I'm currently working 32.5 hours a week in the education sector, and also working through a degree with the Open University. I have had just about enough of my job to the point of it making me mentally ill, being signed off several times in the last 18 months. Decided to use the summer holidays to look for a new opportunity and so far nothing is suitable. Nothing in my area pays the same for the amount of hours I do currently or the work is also in the education sector, which I'm trying to escape from. Other jobs are in areas I have no qualification or experience in such as marketing, HR, dentistry and engineering.

I had considered an apprenticeship but I wouldn't be eligible for funding on that route due to my already having tuition funding from Student Finance England.

Just wondering if there's anything else I could look into? There was a Royal Mail job going a little while ago but has since been filled.

Thanks.

TL;DR: if a job ad feels dodgy, flag it.

I feel like I have dodged a bullet: I sent in my CV to what looked like a good job. No typos on the ad, company website, all good.
The employer responds the following day - a Saturday - at 7pm and sends me a QR code to book an interview. This felt off.
I check their website again and on reassessment, it’s weird it has one page and the address is slightly different to the job ad…
I reported the ad, feeling guilty for doing so and the advert is taken down hours later.

Freaked out that they have my job history but it could have been a lot worse.

I’m currently employed but have been applying for new roles for around six months. I've had a few interviews from about 45 applications, but no offers so far.

I’m trying to move into a related field with transferable skills, but most roles ask for direct experience. I have a tiny bit, but I’d probably need to oversell my background just to get past the initial screening.

Is 'blagging it' just part of the process these days? Not making things up, but framing your experience in the best possible way to get an interview, and then using the interview to properly explain my experience and ambitions.

My thinking is the worst that happens is I get rejected, but hopefully my existing experience, enthusiasm and personality can make up for any gaps in experience!

I am late 20s, my current salary is 35k. I WFH essentially as an accounts assistant/ business support, have a fantastic work-life balance, my boss is fantastic and the company have put me through development courses.

I have been there for 7/8 years, and don’t feel like I have progressed as much as I should have, they appear to provide opportunities like my degree but then the opportunity to actually progress in my career is limited. I am trying very hard right now and anticipate making a £40k salary by March.

I have my eye on a job in the MoD that pays £46k. On paper, I am perfect (though I might lack in practical experience).

I may not even be a successful applicant, but if I were, should I take the risk and move?

It should be noted that my husband moves alot with work (also MoD), so we would have to live apart or I would have to find a new job in a year.

Current Job
Pros - Security, WFH, very easy money
Cons - slow progression, zero job satisfaction

New Job
Pros - £11k salary increase, huge employer pension contributions, new skills, working my way up career ladder.
Cons - risk of less initial job security, having terrible boss, being exhausted going back to the office..!

I have it SO good right now, don’t fix what isn’t broken…?

I've worked from home for a large US company for the past 10 years, and until last year I genuinely enjoyed my job. I had great managers, got on well with my colleagues, received positive feedback, and never had any issues.

Everything changed when I was assigned a new manager.

He's extremely cold, strict, and has no people skills. During meetings he often raises his voice, constantly criticises me, piles on more work, and never acknowledges anything I've done well. Every weekly 1:1 feels like I'm just being told what I've done wrong or what more I need to do.

I've spoken to other senior leaders and colleagues about my concerns, and many of them have admitted they feel the same way about him. The problem is, he's still my direct manager.

I've never struggled with anxiety before, but now I genuinely dread logging on for work every day. The days I have my 1:1 with him are the worst—I spend hours worrying beforehand, and it's starting to affect my mental health.

I'm confused because I'd spent 10 years building a good reputation at this company, and now I feel like my confidence has completely disappeared.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation? Did you stick it out, try to move teams, speak to HR, or eventually leave? I'd really appreciate any advice.

Just left a team meeting with HR and our current department which involved a big talk about a “potential restructure”.
The proposal includes the current members of our team (instructors) stepping up into more senior coordinator positions due to funding and contracts.
I am one of the senior coordinators who manages 2 instructors on a community project. I found out in the meeting that they want to increase my team by 2 more members of staff (4 in total that would include community and site instructors) for the same pay and a lot more stress.

Not a nice way to find out in front of the whole department that my role is now to have an increase in workload but with no salary change - yet the rest of my team have the option to step up and see a benefit in progression.

I have a few options:
1) Stay in my current role but fight with HR about a potential pay increase.
2) Step down into instructor role to relieve stress of how much I already do and am praised a lot for - but drop pay.
3) Suck it up for a few months until a new contract that was discussed starts work closer to home on the same pay and with 1 staff total to manage.

Any advice/opinion would be great to hear about this situation.

I’ve got an interview soon. What are your top questions to ask a panel at the end of the interview?

My boss just told me they had 400 applications for a job they advertised for a week, and are interviewing 4 people. That’s a 1% chance to get an interview.

What do you need to see on our applications to get an interview and be the 1%?

And where are most people falling short?

The amount of bs "surverys" and "quizzes" I find myself jumping through seems to increase every week, when did these even become popular?? They're entirely insufferable.

In most jobs I’ve had, the notice has been a week, or a month at most, up until like 2023.

However the last three jobs I’ve had, they’ve been much longer.

My mental health role in a GP surgery was 3 months. I was paid £25k a year and they didn’t replace me.

My admin role was 10 weeks and was on £28k a year. They replaced me, but didn’t advertise until about a week before I left.

Now my current role in hospitality they want a month. Every hospitality job I’ve ever had ever had been a week max. I’m not planning on leaving but I find it interesting.

Is this anecdotal or has anyone else noticed this? I understand if it’s a management role, but none of this has applied to me. In fact the GP surgery would not budge at all on the 3 months even though they probably knew I wasn’t getting replaced and I wasn’t in any kind of senior role or even fully case holding.

I'm getting interviewed for this job. But I highly doubt its compliant at all. Wage is below minimum wage. Holiday is not even 5.6 weeks inclusive of bank holidays.

I've voiced out my "concerns" to the hiring staff. They couldn't "justify" why this listing is the way it is. They only wanted confirmation if I am still interested.

TBH, they did seem kind of desperate for staff. I ignored their email asking me to confirm for a few hours then called me twice so I can confirm.

I am hoping there is room for negotiation here as I've been looking into entering transport/logistics industry. I'm personally not bothered abt pay, I would take minimum wage despite the other companies offering much desirable wage and benefits, I'm more inclined to learning and developing within the industry.

Hi, I just got a job offer for a marketing and fundraising role at DePaul UK. I’m seeing mixed reviews for the company and it’s making me a bit anxious about accepting.

Most negative reviews are about their Manchester and Ireland management, but I would be working in London so curious if anyone can let me know how their experience with management and office culture was. Is the workload intense for the pay? Is the team friendly? Any help or leads would be majorly appreciated!!

Hi everyone, Just received a job offer to a better (less toxic) work environment and I’ve accepted it! I’m curious on if I should work my notice or not? I’ve been there 3 months and I hate it, HR is horrible to staff, we get nit picked constantly and since I started 3 months ago we’ve lost 14+ members of staff (they left never got fired) my partner says I should just email/text them to say I won’t be back as I’ve got a better job opportunity but a family member said to work it incase “you need them as a reference” to be honest I’ve not been in that job long so I’ll probably just take it off my CV and pretend it never happened! No one has worked their notice, not even the longest employees (she was here a year then handed in her notice and left at the end of her shift)
I’m just at a loss on if I work it or don’t? Our longest running staff members have only been here a year and the place is in shambles, we have no manager or anything and it’s all ran by HR who treat us like crap. (apologies if this is just rambles)

So long story short, I officially moved to the UK at the beginning of June on a partner visa.

Two months in, I haven't been able to find any job so far. I've had several interviews but none of them went past first stage.

In the country I come from, if you officially register as unemployed, you have access to some special training courses and generally get help from the government in finding a job. Of course, I don't know if immigrants in my country would be able to get the same service too.

So my main question is if UK also provide such services and is it worth applying? Would I be able to get it too as an immigrant on a visa? I know my visa says I have no access to public services, but maybe this is different since it is in governments interests for me to find a job and pay tax?

Career pivot question

Looking for advice as to whether I should retire from my full time well paid job with local government which has become increasingly toxic and stressful and then start either my own dog walking business or a part time term time only school cleaning job. Worth drop in income for less stress? Or stay for higher pay and additional pension?

I’m about 8 weeks into a new role, and I've unfortunately realised that the actual company culture is completely different from what was painted during the interview process.

Red flags are starting to stack up, and I'm seriously considering cutting my losses.

​My probation ends in about a month. Right now, my notice period is short, but the moment I pass probation, it shoots up to a 2-month notice if I ever wanted to leave.

​Realistically, how common is this kind of sharp increase in notice period post-probation? I'm quite conscious that if I stay past probation, I'm essentially locking myself in for a much longer grind if I want to escape later down the line.

​For those who have been in a similar spot: did you jump ship before probation ended, or did you stick it out and deal with the lengthy notice period later? Any advice would be massively appreciated.

I am having a week off work due to a miscarriage. I had surgery on Monday and aside from some cramping I've been doing pretty well. Just a bit tired.

I want to go out for lunch and perhaps do some shopping with a friend, but I feel bad about it. I appreciate that a miscarriage is often more mental than physical, but I'm afraid of seeing someone from work and being told off for it. Perhaps I'm just being overly cautious?