I’m an Exeter University graduate who’s applied to 500 jobs, even pubs won’t hire me

An Exeter University Master’s graduate has opened up about his struggles after getting rejected from over 500 jobs.

Theo dal Pozzo, who studied computer science with a specialisation in machine learning, graduated with a first class degree in 2024.

Since May 2025, after spending some time working at his family’s hotel in Brazil, Theo applied to more than 500 jobs. He didn’t receive a single offer.

Although he made it to a final stage interview with a big tech firm, the company ended up choosing someone with “eight years experience.”

Theo said: “It’s very demoralising, because every time that you get a rejection it’s back to square one with the next company. There seems to be less junior positions open than what I’ve heard from the past.”

via SWNS

The 23-year-old cited the rise of AI as one of the reasons he hasn’t been able to secure work.

He said: “My specialisation is machine learning, so I’d like to say I understand quite a lot about AI. There’s AI vs AI – candidates are using it in their applications, and companies use it for screening.

“It feels like for some people, the only way to combat companies using it for screening is to use it in applications, which I have done – but I don’t any more, because it feels impersonal. It’s difficult to differentiate yourself if you use AI for applications.

“I’ve heard from a couple of companies that have had over 1,000 applications for a specific role – they’re using AI to cull the amount of CVs so that their hiring managers have less CVs to read.”

Theo described himself as an “employable person.” As well as his degree, he speaks four languages, including Portuguese, French and Spanish.

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“With my master’s degree and specialisation, it feels kind of alien to me that I haven’t been able to get a job yet,” he said.

Theo tried handing out his CV in person to local business, but even pubs won’t offer him a job.

He said: “I’ve been pub to pub, restaurant to restaurant. All around my local area, in one day I went to over 50 places to hand in my CV.”

via SWNS

Though he managed to get by on his savings for six months, Theo has now resorted to taking out universal credit.

He expressed concern about the future of British industry now that AI has taken over so many junior roles.

“The kind of does lead the UK to a point where, in 10 or 15 years, there won’t be any people to fill senior roles, because they weren’t hired as juniors 10 years prior.

“This leads the country into a very difficult situation of not having trained professionals, because there wasn’t investment in them when they were young.”

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Featured image via SWNS