Woman With Psychology Degree Can’t Even Get An Entry Level Job After Trying For 2 Years
Despite her experience and education, she is still struggling to find a job.
fizkes | Shutterstock A woman admitted that despite spending four years and copious amounts of money in college to attain her degree, she's still unable to find a full-time job.
In a TikTok video, a content creator named Ashleigh Young expressed her frustration with the stark reality of how tough it is to navigate the job market regardless of your credentials.
Despite having a psychology degree, she can't get an entry-level job after trying for 2 years.
"Can somebody please tell me what I have this for?" Young tearfully questioned, holding up her college psychology degree. She explained that after finally paying off her student loans after 18 years and having thousands of hours of training in different types of social work under her belt following her college graduation in 2007, she still can't find a job.
Young described herself as someone who's always training others to do things, whether that's HIPAA, paperwork, or anything similar to that. Yet, finding an entry-level job is extremely difficult.
She admitted that in the last couple of weeks, she's gone through 15 different interviews, which has been the most callbacks she's ever received for an application, so at first, she was hopeful that her streak had ended.
"For the third time in three months, I was told I'm a good fit, they would like to move forward with me, and they just have to check my references. I sit, and I wait. They don't call my references, and then out of nowhere, they tell me that an internal person applied and the position is no longer available," Young said.
Unfortunately, this is the reality for many companies. They prefer hiring internally. According to HR Drive, at the peak of the pandemic, internal hiring grew as companies filled workforce gaps with current employees. Internal hiring rates rose to 40% of all hires, up from average historical percentages of about 30%.
During this time, companies reported that internal hiring led to better company culture, higher employee retention, improved cost-savings, and expedited time-to-hire rates — often between 10 to 12 days.
Young insisted that she's never had trouble getting a job before.
"Ever since I was 15, I have been employed," she recalled. "I have always been offered every job that I've interviewed for, to the point where I'm usually having to decide which ones I would like."
Now, not only can Young hardly get an interview, but when she does get an interview, she's lucky to receive a callback. Then, the times when she's been offered the position, they don't end up checking her references and choose to hire somebody else.
Having two children to take care of and being disabled, Young pointed out that she could technically just live off of her disability checks to support her family, but she simply can't afford to. "I don't care about the pay; the only thing I care about is the hours because my children are special needs, and I share one vehicle with my family of four."
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However, Young's attempts to apply for a job that's "beneath" her capabilities and degree have yielded to assumptions she won't know how to operate certain aspects of the job because she's been working in a different field for years.
It's becoming increasingly hard for college graduates to find employment despite having the right credentials.
According to a study from The Burning Glass Institute and the Strada Institute for the Future of Work, more than half of Americans who earned college diplomas find themselves working in jobs that don't require a bachelor's degree or utilizing the skills acquired in obtaining one. Or worse, they can end up getting stuck there for the entirety of their career.
Despite being told that college degrees are a ticket to getting a high-paying job, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. A recent report by Intelligent, an online magazine dedicated to student life, revealed that 38% of employers avoid hiring recent college graduates. Around 58% of managers, directors, and executives in the United States have agreed that recent college graduates are unprepared for the workforce.
"Employers need to recognize that, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, young people graduating from college had more than two years of disruption in their education as well as their social and professional development," Diane Gayeski, Ph.D., professor of strategic communications at Ithaca College, told Forbes.
Many employers have argued that young adults getting into the workforce are failing to hold eye contact during interviews, have unrealistic salary expectations, and don't cater to the professionalism needed for job interviews. Unfortunately, it's not just recent college graduates in their 20s but people like Young, who have years of experience, training, and a college degree and are still unable to secure employment.
Not only is the job market incredibly competitive, but employers aren't willing to take a chance on job seekers and seem to have unrealistic standards and expectations when it comes to their entry-level positions. This disheartening reality proves just how much the system can be used against even the most qualified individuals.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.