Graduates told to dumb down CVs to find work

Graduates are advised to “dumb down” their CVs in order to find “survival jobs” such as cleaning, according to a survey.

Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) found that Jobcentre staff was advising graduates to exclude their degrees from their CV, as it serves as a deterrent for low-paid jobs.

The CAS report, Degrees Of Insecurity, surveyed 1,000 Scottish graduates to discover how they have coped in the recession.

One 25-year-old law graduate told CAS: “At the [Jobcentre] group meetings, we were encouraged to leave any degree off the CV to help us find more plentiful unskilled work. Nobody would employ me as a cleaner if I had a degree. I was told to stop looking for graduate work and take a “survival” job.”

CAS chief executive Margaret Lynch said: “It’s heart-rending to read so many accounts of people once full of hope for the future who feel their lives are on hold. Some are even questioning whether it was worth the time, money and effort they put into getting their degrees.

“We would never say that a degree is not worthwhile but this survey reveals in stark detail the extent of the crisis that many graduates are facing.”

A Department of Work and Pensions’ spokeswoman insisted: “There’s lot of help out there for jobseekers, including young people and graduates.”

The report said two-thirds of graduates found the Jobcentre unhelpful at finding any work whatsoever, while just 1% said they were helpful in finding graduate-level work.

The study concluded that many graduates felt “frustration and disillusionment” and that getting a degree was not worthwhile.

Meanwhile, Scottish finance spokesman Gavin Brown said: “Erasing achievements from a CV does not strike me as wise.”

Erica Sesay