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It isn't news that the job market is highly discriminatory. By this, I mean that prospective candidates are categorised according to their class of degree, school attended, honours or not, age etc... And so, this sometimes limits your options if you don't fall into the 1st class or 2:1 category for certain sectors. Whatever your situation, all hope is not lost! My first advise to you is this: have a standard and stand by it. Trust me, you don't want just any type of job. Most times, you are better off doing stuff on your own than taking up certain types of jobs. Stories abound. The general practice is for people to start applying to every vacancy they find. The exercise is worth it. Get yourself busy with this as well. As many applications in a day as possible. Ensure you have a great CV and cover letter that matches your online profiles. My next advise because you have already lost some time (especially those who have never gotten a job after graduation) is that you must do things differently. The truth is that there isn't a guaranteed set of steps to follow, but what I would do is to go through a number of cases of people (I know) in this category who have gone on to do well for themselves and they are quite happy with their outcomes. Perhaps taking a hint from these examples may give you some ideas of your own. Case A Top of the class in Uni, got a job right out of school then took a break to do a masters overseas. Got back, was without a job for some 18 months but had a network of friends in the corporate world who were able to make some introductions and schedule her for an interview. She got the job. Case B Never worked and graduated with a 2:2. This didn't stop her, as she went into business for herself. From photography, to branding of corporate gift items to running a travel tour business etc... In so doing, she was able to build her profile and develop competencies that are relevant to the corporate world. Got approached via LinkedIn for a business development manager role, attended the interview and got the job after a myriad of unsuccessful tries. Case C Never worked. Straight out of school although she graduated with a 2:1. Actively searching and applying for jobs while being an agent for corporate brands who gets referral commissions from sales made. She has been able to do this for multiple brands, expanding her influence and reach. She has also now set up her own activation team and because she has proven herself to be credible, she gets called to handle activations by some of these brands for a nice fee. Case D Worked in corporate Nigeria for a while then exited as a result of a toxic work culture. She has attended quite a number of interviews but hasn't quite found her fit. She is now on her own, managing her own professional ushering service which caters to corporate clients only. Case E He worked in the bank for some 7 years then got laid off. He hasn't been interested in going back to the corporate world but now puts together team bonding events for companies and trade shows/exhibitions for the hospitality sector. He was able to transition smoothly into this as a result of his vast network of clients while in the corporate world. In closing, what is important is to ensure that you are doing something to develop your skill set. You need to be seen as growing and building on your professional profile. Being unemployed doesn't mean being passive i.e. "waiting" for some miracle to happen to you. Sometimes, you need to get out there and take matters into your own hands. It most certainly isn't the prettiest of places to be but make it work for you. All the best
