More than 500 applicants were notified by email last week that the Home Office graduate scheme had fallen victim to government spending cuts and would not be going ahead.
Further salt was rubbed into the wounds of these job seeking graduates when all of the applicants were copied into the CC field — as opposed to BC — and their email addresses were shared without permission.
Bhav Davda is one of those graduates. We chat to him about his thoughts on the scheme, the email gaffe and his career prospects in the current market
Tell me about your background and what you hope to do in the future.
Well, I'm from Luton, Bedfordshire and have lived there all my life. I studied Politics and International Relations at Royal Holloway and achieved a 2:1. To support myself and to save for university, I have worked at Sainsbury's part-time five years but I quit this job in my third year so I could concentrate on my final year dissertation. This is a decision I regret immensely because I'm currently struggling to find paid work.
I would like to pursue a career within the government as I'm strongly passionate about politics and the future of our society but I'm not too sure about what sector exactly — maybe in the civil service or working with the Foreign Commonwealth Office. My other option is to become a politics writer for a newspaper or on the internet.
Why did you apply for the Home Office graduate scheme?
I applied for the Civil Service grad scheme as well as other government schemes without success. I found out about the Home Office scheme and thought it was perfect for me as it was a way for me to get my foot in the door and gain valuable experience within my chosen field. Instead I got my toe stubbed.
How long did it take you to complete your application?
I thought long and hard about the application and spent a solid three days getting each component of the application right. I knew that it was perfect for me and that it was a rare opportunity given the scarce amount of jobs and internships out there, especially in the government sector. I dedicated myself to it and put as much effort as I could into it, making sure I sold myself as a great applicant for the position in every possible way.
Were you hopeful that you might secure a place on the scheme?
Given the growing amount of rejections I'd received from other grad schemes and other jobs in general, I wasn't overly optimistic. Nonetheless, I gave it my all with the hope that I would get it and finally make my degree count and make myself useful instead of sitting at home searching for jobs morning, noon and night.
How did you feel about scheme being cancelled? Following the civil service recruitment freeze announcement, were you expecting it?
I must admit, I half-expected the scheme to be scrapped, but still hoped that they would go through with it. Still, I was utterly disappointed when I received the email.
What was your reaction when you saw that the email addresses of applicants had been accidentally shared by the Home Office?
At first I was so disappointed with the cancellation of the scheme that I didn't take much notice. After my initial disappointment I became angry with the way in which the Home Office had handled the situation. It was like they were in a hurry and didn't really care about the dozens if not hundreds of people that had applied for a hand full of positions. I'm glad Tanya [de Grunwald], founder of the Graduate Fog website, had contacted me as I could vent my anger on her comments page.
So, what's the next step for you? What sort of career do you hope to pursue?
Something in government but I don't hold out too much hope for that now. Right now I just want to get a graduate scheme in any field so I could work my way up. Being unemployed for so long has left me dazed and confused and I really just need an opportunity to show an employer what I'm capable of.
How confident are you that you will find a job soon?
Not really confident at all. How can you be confident when it is the worst time to graduate for 20 years? I've spent nearly a year now looking for work without any success. If I could go back, I would complete an apprenticeship instead or just go straight into employment. I was the best student in my year at high school and strongly believe in the power of knowledge but what good is knowledge without a purpose? It feels like a waste of time now spending all those years in education without having anything real to show for it.
There are so many graduates being churned out each year and more job cuts each year that we are in fierce competition with each other. I feel that companies can pick and choose and we are just waiting for a bit of luck that hasn't come so far. The government should encourage companies to create non-paid internships as experience nowadays is key I feel to finding employment.
