You have to wonder what is happening in the job market when a friend of mine confides in me yesterday that they’re considering leaving their degree off their CV as they think it’s not helping them find a job writes James Alexander.

She earned a respectable 2:1 in May, but has found it difficult to find work since graduating.

Like me, she’s looking at temporary work just to tide her over, but she thinks her degree is actually scaring them off from hiring her.

If a young lady of 22 with a decent degree, no gaps in her employment history and a fairly good CV is struggling to get work, then it’s proof positive to me that the job market is a truly desperate place right now.

I’m not one to lie on my CV; I have never put anything on there that isn’t the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

However, I’m starting to wonder if there is anything else I can do to make my CV stand out from the herd after being unemployed for 3 and a bit years.

I already list my voluntary activities and training that I’ve completed outside of work, and I’m at a bit of a loss as to what else I can add to give myself a chance.

I’m trying hard to stay positive, but at the moment I’m not even getting rejection letters from jobs I’m applying for – I’m getting nothing at all.

It’s hard to keep my chin up when it seems that people just don’t want to know because I’ve been out of work.

One thing I’ve continually mentioned is the catch-22 situation I find myself in; I can’t get a job because people don’t want to employ someone who’s been out of work for a long time, which means I’m out of work for even longer.

I think I’m also hamstrung by the fact I’m a father; as a single man I can be much more flexible about hours and commitments, but as a dad I have to think about childcare and about how I’d arrange for my child to be looked after whilst I’m at work.

All in all, it adds up to quite a negative feeling. All I can do is plod on, keep looking and hope for the best.