I officially completed my undergraduate university studies at the end of May, which means that I am no longer a student. Having bore the label of ‘student’ in some form or another since the age of 4, it feels a bit bizarre that this stage of my life is now finished.
What makes this experience even stranger is the current state of the world. This year’s graduates have been branded “The Class of COVID-19” [1] and, unfortunately, the pandemic has fully infiltrated every aspect of our final semester.
Instead of an exciting few months spent having fun with friends on campus, I have spent the last 3 back at my family home with my parents. Instead of sharing the stresses of final exams with my classmates in the library, we completed our studies virtually and from the isolation of our individual homes. Instead of dress/suit shopping for our celebrations, our graduation ceremony has been cancelled without any indication of whether one will ever occur.
All of these things seem small and trivial compared to the bigger issues of today and there really are far worse things that we should be spending our energy on. That being said, the transition from student to ‘real-world-working-adult’ is not one to be scoffed at – it can be difficult at the best of times, let alone when the world appears to be falling apart.
What is most significant for me is that none of us have any certain confidence in the working world that we’re stepping into. Some of us have had grad-job offers revoked, others have had further education plans stripped away from them, the rest of us are looking at a disheartening job-market.
Unsurprisingly, a survey conducted by the National Union of Students (NUS) revealed that 81% of students interviewed are concerned about job prospects and 71% about their employability [2].
I’ve seen this LinkedIn post copied and reposted by numerous people (therefore I won’t credit it as I don’t know who the original author was), but I think it captures the sentiment of a lot of graduands right now:
“I’m thinking about the Class of ’20, entering a job market that will be among the worst ever for a graduating class, and who aren’t even getting graduation ceremonies (in most cases) to celebrate their achievements.
Now, and for years into the future, I hope that every employer will take special note when they see a 2020 degree date on a job applicant’s resume, and give that person an extra look, at the very least. Build it into your resume review algorithms.
This class deserves special consideration for what they’re going through now, as they finish up their degrees in extraordinary circumstances, and as they enter the workforce like they’re jumping off a cliff.
Let’s all catch them, as best we can.”
Although I don’t feel completely hopeless about leaving the comforting title of ‘student’, I have witnessed the dissolve of the job market and uncertainty is a feeling that I, like many others, have become well-accustomed to.
Some useful things that 2020 graduates can be doing to prepare for the new, strange COVID-19 job market [3]:
- Gain new skills via online courses (for digital marketing, I recommend the SEMRush academy [4] and the Google Digital Garage [5])
- Establish connections on Linkedin (you may not think you need them now, but it’s better to dig your well before you’re thirsty!)
- Practice for online interviews (if you think Zoom calls with your family can be awkward, wait until you have a suited stranger in front of you!)
Beyond that, I don’t really have any answers – noone does! However, we cannot change the current situation, so we may as well make the most of it. Try to let this challenging period mold us into stronger people – future employers should hopefully respect the challenges that we have had to overcome. On the bright side, I know countless people who have started new jobs during lockdown – meaning there are still jobs out there!
A final comforting thought: we are all in the same boat (albeit one with a hole in the bottom) and we will come out of this more resilient at the other end.
Best of luck, lads!
Sources:
- [1] https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/02/how-the-class-of-2020-became-the-class-of-covid-19.html
- [2] https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/jun/01/im-worried-im-not-going-to-get-a-job-meet-the-corona-class-of-2020
- [3] https://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/careers-advice/how-graduates-can-get-hired-during-coronavirus-pandemic
- [4]https://www.semrush.com/academy/
- [5] https://learndigital.withgoogle.com/digitalgarage/courses
- https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/27/business/coronavirus-class-of-2020-jobs.html
Grace Appleby 