Music graduate, Ben Williams, once tweeted: "@BenCasablancas Been turned down so many times by McDonald's, it doesn't bear thinking about. Is it a graduate thing?"
My immediate response was to question why, as a graduate, he had applied to an institution such as McDonald's in the first place, not to mention repeatedly.
The effects of the economic troubles have been frustrating for thousands graduating from university each year. When it comes to finding a job, graduates know there is plenty of competition, not just from their own year, but also from last year's graduates who haven't secured a job and are on the lookout for an opportunity the second time around.
This is causing a shift in attitudes; it seems some young people are admitting defeat early and lowering their job expectations in the hope of gaining employment.
Pharmaceutical science graduate, Laura Brown, said: "Straight after graduation, I went into a bit of a panic and applied for any full-time job. I did not want to be the last of my friends to get work."
It is easy to see why graduates feel so anxious. A quick look at the news each morning leaves us with nothing but a gloomy outlook on the economy and our chances of finding employment. The statistics we see surrounding the number of applicants for each job opportunity and the constant level of fierce competition is scaring some graduates off applying for the jobs they would love to do, and creating a 'why bother' attitude. With these thoughts being reinforced on a daily basis, some graduates and other jobseeking professionals are giving up hope of a career without allowing themselves to believe there could be one out there for them.
Insufficient support is adding to the problem. Funding cuts to employment and careers services for young people, such as Connexions, mean students are now reaching university without ever seeing a careers advisor. By the time they speak to someone, they often are not in the right position to pursue their interests, or have left it too late to make active choices throughout their education.
A careers advisor at the University of Hull says: "Students will visit us for the first time when they are nearing the end of their degree. They believe they can enjoy the social experiences of university in their first years, concentrate on achieving the desired exam results, and then think about their careers afterwards.
"Students who do this find that the pressures of the final year of a degree leave little time for other commitments, and the work experience they put off earlier in their degree now can't be fitted into their schedule."
Even if graduates can overcome this, it is unlikely to be the back of the problem. The complaints heard most often from unemployed graduates surrounds the treatment they receive from the jobseekers authority, who focus on finding employment, no matter what it consists of or how it relates to their professional ambitions.
Ben describes his problem: "Since graduating I've found myself in the rather unfortunate situation where through a combination of casual bar work and my girlfriend earning a full-time wage, I'm unable to claim Job Seekers Allowance, which I know provides at least some stability for other graduates who are looking for work. I suppose you could say this has rather forced my hand as I don't have the luxury of being able to turn down a wage.
"It does seem ridiculous that there are no provisions in place to properly support a graduate leaving university in my situation, as I know I'm not alone."
Graduates do need to earn money to support themselves but should they have to put their ultimate career ambitions on hold to do this? Society is failing to see graduates as assets to the economy and not just a secondary phase of the lazy student stereotype who want everything given to them on a plate.
Graduates were once seen as the future of the country and its economy; the leaders of tomorrow. Many will argue there is not the room for that view in a failing economy, and people must take what opportunities they can. But graduates must be willing and, most importantly, able to open their horizons and not be limited by today's economy; although opportunities are competitively fought over at the moment, they are not non-existent.
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