As college graduates venture off to start their careers the search for a job or internship might be tougher than expected.
As stated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of Feb. 2021 the number of unemployed was around 10.0 million. This compared to the 5.7 million unemployed in April 2020.
“My thoughts on finding a job are currently a little stressful,” dental hygiene senior Maricruz Sekenske said. “Although there is a high demand for dental hygienists there is not a lot of demand in my current location which means I would have to relocate.”
While the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world around us from being in quarantine to social-distancing. With millions of college students graduating around the world the job hunt continues to be a time of worry and uncertainty.
According to the Wall Street Journal in a study, they recently completed from a labor-market analytics firm called Burning Glass Technologies. They found that since the start of the pandemic the hiring of new coming college graduates has fallen by 45%.
“COVID-19 has affected my job hunt in terms of interviews, as most of them want to be cautious and choose to do them virtually rather than in person,” Sekenske said.
As stated by the National Associate of Colleges and Employers, employers are expecting to hire 7.2% more graduates of the Class of 2021 than they did for the Class of 2020
“There are over 14k employment opportunities listed daily in Handshake, specifically for Ferris students and alumni,” said Michele Albright CLACS Coordinator of Career & Volunteer Centers. “In addition, employers are reaching out daily with hiring needs.
Sekenske stated that Ferris has supported her job search by providing advice on what to expect during a job interview. Along with instructors providing information on job openings which has allowed for less stress on job hunting.
“This has helped tremendously because we are receiving job ads without even having to do much searching, and have direct contact info to send resumes to,” Sekenske said.
Companies that aid in internship opportunities for the College of Business at Ferris State have been able to adjust and provide an engaging internship experience for students virtually
Internships are a great opportunity for employers to “orientate and train employees” while they are still attending school stated by Albright.
Megan Connaghan the internship director for the College of Business at Ferris said that companies are “actively recruiting” students for Summer 2021 and future semesters.
“Students are interviewing for internships virtually,” Connaghan said. “Many internships are remote, but we do have students completing in-person internships.”
Graduates are looking forward to being able to apply the skills they learned during college to real-world situations.