This week, university graduate Malkah Yaseen started a permanent, full-time job as a construction planner at Graham Construction – something she describes as being “a weight off [her] shoulders” after spending the past 18 months applying for more than 600 jobs with no success. “It became such a chore. I was doing five applications a day. It was so mentally draining – it literally took the life out of me. I feel embarrassed that it took me so long,” says Malkah, 24, from Nottingham. Malkah, who graduated in 2023 with a BSc in Construction Management from Nottingham Trent University, recalls how the prolonged experience left her feeling demoralised. A year after graduating, she began applying for jobs in that field as she had been juggling her studies with working in sales and customer support for a car brand. She initially wanted to try that as a career, but decided there would be more progression opportunities in construction management.

Thousands of competing applicants

Despite spending hours on applications, Malkah would usually receive just a generic email reply to say that due to the high volume of candidates, the employer couldn’t give any feedback – even when some applications required a detailed 500-word essay to be submitted. On some occasions, Malkah would get through to an assessment stage that was under exam conditions and needed to be in-person. She drove four hours to Leeds and back for a 20-minute exam, and she also attended an assessment for a company offering 12 jobs – that received more than 1,000 applications. Malkah said it highlighted how competitive the graduate job hunting process is today. “I think we were all qualified for that job, but some people in the room had degrees in chemical engineering and Master’s degrees,” she says. “The employer would always say that I did well, but that other people had stronger degrees and higher grades.” (Photo: Getty)

The job market today

Malkah has not only been up against high calibre candidates, but the toughest market conditions yet. Total estimated job vacancies are down by 150,000, or around 17 per cent, in March to May 2025 from the same time a year ago, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. Meanwhile, the number of applications per role this year has risen 65 per cent compared with last year, as revealed by data from recruitment software company Tribepad. Graduate roles, apprenticeships, internships, and junior positions have dropped by more than 30 per cent since ChatGPT launched at the end of 2022, according to research by job search platform Adzuna. (Photo: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty)

The tactic that changed everything

Malkah finally landed a role in her degree field after changing tactics to do one key thing – and it wasn’t using AI, batch applying, or changing her CV format. It was the simple technique of securing a personal referral from someone already working at the company, finally landing her the construction planner role at Graham Construction. “I have a school friend who did architecture at Sheffield Uni, and I was selling him a car, and I was telling him how much I wanted to find a job related to my degree. He was working at Graham and he sent me a poster for the job. He was a construction planner and was being promoted, so needed someone to fill his role. He put me forward and that’s how I got the job,” Malkah recalls. Asking for referrals wasn’t something Malkah had originally thought to incorporate in her job hunting process, but she was inspired to do so a few months ago after following a number of careers influencers on TikTok, who recommended referrals as their number one tip. (Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA)

How to get a job referral

Malkah contacted around 25 people via LinkedIn to request a referral for roles she was applying for. She set up a profile especially, as she hadn’t used the platform before this. She would research the company, and find someone on LinkedIn in a similar role she was applying for. She had a number of message templates she would use, and tailor based on the age and experience of the person, but always with the same question – would they recommend her for the job? She says this was nerve-wracking at first, but that she learnt to “bite the bullet” to stop feeling awkward. She would also look into whether the company had a referral incentive scheme that would reward the referrer a cash bonus for a successful placement to increase her chances of the person responding – and agreeing. “I’d always let them know if there was some sort of benefit, for example, £500 if you refer someone for a job who then gets it. That’s obviously a plus point, but you need to sell yourself to them too,” says Malkah. “But don’t feel embarrassed about it, because they’ve probably been in the same position as you before, and they have probably been approached before too – I have many times, and I am happy to do it. And there’s also 1,000 people probably doing the same thing.” Malkah is now feeling optimistic about her career prospects and relieved to be moving on from such a frustrating time in her life. If she has any regrets, it’s not asking for referrals sooner. (Photo: Robert Galbraith/Reuters)

‘Gen Z needs to get on LinkedIn’

Sally Wynter is the co-founder of Hunch, an AI-powered job search platform. She says: “I am seeing a growing anti-LinkedIn sentiment on TikTok and beyond, as LinkedIn has a real image problem with Gen Z. This generation has grown up with Snapchat and BeReal, so the inauthenticity of LinkedIn feels alien to them. As a generation that values realness, the professional role play and polished humblebrags just don’t land. While many grads are turning to TikTok or WhatsApp groups for jobs and peer advice, avoiding LinkedIn altogether can hurt your visibility. It’s still where recruiters and hiring managers are hanging out, and it’s one of the few ways to get the attention of those making decisions in the hiring process. Alongside a cover letter and a CV optimised to get past the applicant tracking system, if you actually want a human to see your application, it’s crucial to connect with managers at the company itself through LinkedIn. Plus, email the hiring manager separately to enthuse about the role.”