I'm feeling pretty lost right now, and I thought this would be the right place to share my thoughts and hopefully get some advice on what I could do.
To clarify, this is in a european country.
I recently graduated business school with the equivalent of an MBA that I worked really hard for. But now, as I'm diving into the job market, I've hit a major roadblock – my lack of work life experience.
It's incredibly frustrating to see job listings that always require some experience even for entry-level positions. I understand the importance of experience and of course from the company's perspective they want the best candidate possible, but how am I supposed to gain any experience if I don't get a chance to start somewhere? It's making me feel pretty hopeless, shameful and defeated. For whatever job I'm applying for, there will always be another person ahead of me in line due to their previous experience.
I've obviously been told that networking and internships are the way to go, but even those seem to require some level of prior experience. Ahead of every summer I would apply but couldn't get any opportunities. My university couldn't either guarantee me an internship position. In the beginnings of my college years I wasn't very active as I should've been in getting in contact with companies, but at the same time I hate how competitive the field is and especially the Linkedin culture. I spent my time studying but apparently I was supposed to work part-time besides that? I barely scraped by as it was.
I'm starting to wonder if I should just go ahead and lie on my CV if that would get me a chance. It's not that I want to be dishonest, but it feels like I'm being pushed into a corner.
Has anyone else been in a similar situation? Luckily I am able to live at home, but I am not able to get any sort of unemployment compensation as (yet again) I have never been employed, I'm losing potential income by just sitting and doing nothing. Is there a way to showcase my skills and potential without resorting to dishonesty? I know for a fact that I could handle the simple jobs I've applied for. My last year I studied advanced finance courses which would be useful in situations of M&A, stock valuation, positions I could never get a sniff at due to both needing extensive intern experience and high grades.
It feels like a joke to be told to study for four years and then end up unable to get anything from it, especially when your told it would give you so many opportunities. If I could start over I would much prefer a vocational education where I could be guaranteed work opportunities.
I want to earn money, find a good living and enjoy my young years. Right now it doesnt even feel like I'm in control of my life and I hate that feeling.
I'm hoping to hear from some of you who have faced similar challenges. Thanks for reading my rant, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.