For eight months, Theresa Blair sent off hundreds of job applications and rarely heard back. The 24-year-old pharmacy graduate from Birmingham had decided after a project management placement that she wanted to pursue that career, but the door kept slamming shut.
“I realised I was sending very generic CVs to recruiters and that was making it harder to stand out from other applicants,” she says. So she began tailoring every CV to suit each job, reading into each company’s values and referencing them in her applications. She applied for fewer jobs but spent more time on each one.
“Two young workers who struggled to get jobs share the specific changes that finally landed them roles.”
“The less generic the better,” she says.
The shift paid off. Theresa got a job working full-time in a bank customer service call centre. Now she works as a project manager commuting three days a week to London. “It’s two to three hour commute which can be difficult but I’m gaining valuable experience at a reputable company, so I’m incredibly happy,” she says.
Her advice to others struggling to land their first role: “As hard as it is, keep applying. The job market isn’t easy right now but believe the work you’ve put in will be seen by employers.”
Callum Stevens, 24, from Curry Rivel in Somerset, took a different route. After studying computer science at the University of the West of England (UWE), where he also developed an interest in transport, he reached out on LinkedIn to someone doing a transport planning internship at Bristol City Council. When the internship came up again, he applied and was successful.
Callum had no previous experience in transport planning but believes he got the role because he demonstrated he “was interested and passionate to learn”. The internship is full-time, pays the minimum wage and is due to end in August. There may be an opportunity for him to extend it, but for now he is beginning the search for a full-time job.
“While it’s not permanent, the experience has been invaluable,” he says. “It’s as powerful as my university degree.” His advice: don’t “underestimate how useful it is to do an internship just because it’s temporary”.
Both stories emerged from a BBC Your Voice piece on four people who had been stuck in the cycle of sending hundreds of applications and rarely hearing back. They found ways to stand out – one by tailoring every application, the other by making a direct connection. Their experiences offer a glimpse of what can work in a job market where AI applications and a lack of opportunities make the first step the hardest.