In the coming few days, the class of 2020 will be graduating. Some are finishing up their final papers, taking final exams, attending their last classes and giving their final presentations. Unfortunately, the celebratory mood with balloons saying ‘congrats grads’ and getting to toss your cap in the air with the entire graduating class as your friends, family and relatives applaud you in the crowd might not happen as soon as you’d like.
And while saying goodbye to university (and high school) is already bittersweet, not getting to spend your last semester in a place you called home for so long is not easy. But the problems seem to pile up. While classes come to an end, a lot of students had plans to travel, postgraduate plans, and once in a life-time internships that got cancelled due to COVID-19; what a way to welcome the class of 2020 into the worklife world.
But it’s important for the class of 2020 to know how to handle the next few months if they can’t get jobs straight out of college. Likewise, employers need to be understanding of the situation COVID-19 put this graduating class in.
For Employers
Looking for a job?
Generally, May is the start of the summer hiring season and a lot of career fairs, career planning and postgraduate fairs happen around that time. Things are a little different this time as graduates are left to fend for themselves as they search between LinkedIn and the random coincidences with employers posting jobs on Facebook groups.
According to the Los Angeles Times, “This job market is tough even for the most experienced workers. For those trying to launch a new career, it’s even more daunting.”
Jane Oates, who was the Obama administration’s Department of Labor’s assistant secretary for employment and training said that this is the worst timing to graduate because nobody is able to predict what the employment market will look like as the pandemic continues to unfold.
Many employers are sending out rejection letters or withdrawing their offices, and it is understandable. However, as employers with experience, don’t turn away the graduates of 2020. If your company is able to work online and work from home, give them a chance. The ‘virtual internship’ experience is still an experience that counts.
The Financial Times wrote that for graduates to participate in remote internships shows that they are adaptable; which is something necessary for this emerging market. However, “Employers worry that hastily conceived virtual internships might deter students from applying for later job rounds so would prefer to cancel”.
But speaking as a recent grad, the class of 2020 are looking for opportunities. Hence, perhaps the only issue with virtual opportunities is that they rely on recent grads being able to actually access it, “and there are concerns that those from lower income households, with cramped living conditions, might be disadvantaged.”
For the most part, employers, who are capable, should be providing their work experiences in the form of virtual internships because one of the key features these graduates have is that they actually experienced online learning, and can probably bring new ideas to keep the company going online as well.
As Forbes put it, it is time to simply be kind to the seniors because their optimism had diminished over these last few months.
“Many businesses have found a way to embrace remote work, and we need to do the same with embracing virtual recruiting and hiring. Take the time now to implement the right strategies and technologies because the way you treat candidates and welcome new employees to your workforce will have a lasting impact on them and your business’ bottom line,” Forbes wrote.
For Graduates
Congratulations class of 2020
Before getting into anything, it’s important for graduates to realize that the last four to five years of college were challenging and that they deserve a break, especially having experienced the first online learning attempt. Give yourself credit for actually being able to graduate in a pandemic.
If you can’t manage to find an online job or internship, it really isn’t the end of the world. The trick is to keep sending you resume and work samples whenever you get the chance. In the meantime, stay in contact with your former professors because they are bound to have suggestions on how to get through this too.
MarketWatch suggests that now is the time to focus on staying healthy. Home exercising, yoga and eating healthy foods is a good way to start your entry into the ‘adult’ working world. It goes without saying that getting infected with COVID-19 won’t help at all in kick starting your career.
Another interesting thing to consider is actually staying in university, pursuing another degree or applying for graduate studies. MarketWatch explained that “enrollment typically rises during recessions. Staying in school will make graduating during a recession less likely and could help graduates land a higher-paying job later on.” Consider working on campus too as a teaching assistant or research assistant as a way to keep yourself invested in your field and to keep learning new things.
