The COVID-19 pandemic brought a wave of uncertainty to almost all aspects of life. With the economy basically being shut down for a number of months in 2020 and workplaces still dealing with new social distancing guidelines, many were left unemployed and unable to find work.
Taking the step from full-time college student to full-time adult has always been intimidating, but, amid a global pandemic, it can be scarier than ever. Lives cannot be put on hold, however, forcing thousands of college seniors to enter a job market unlike the world has ever seen.
“The main issue with finding a job right now is the unknown that comes with COVID,” Taylor Sherick, a senior graduating in May with a bachelor’s in marketing, said. “I had an internship and potential job offer lined up for last summer and once I graduated, but COVID forced them to cancel the internship, and they say that the unknown of COVID makes it so they are not hiring like normal.”
Sherick isn’t alone in her struggles. Many recent graduates such as Zachary Pea, a UT alumnus with a bachelor’s in accounting, are either unemployed or working jobs in areas outside of their intended profession.
“I’ve applied for a few different internships and part time jobs over the past few months and just haven’t heard back from most of them,” Pea said.
Even those that graduated well before the beginning of the pandemic have had trouble finding work in the current economy. Kevin Treadway, a UT alumnus that graduated in May of 2019, found it particularly difficult to find meaningful work when the pandemic forced him to move thousands of miles away from his current job.
“After graduating from UT, I moved to France to be an English Teaching Assistant in a high school. I was forced to come back to the United States right when everything began to be shut down,” Treadway said. “I was able to find work at a nonprofit, but it didn’t align with my specific career goals.”
Treadway now works at UT Extension, a job he said he was only able to find after months of searching and a few personal connections. According to Treadway, having good connections in a chaotic job market can make or break success.
“It has been difficult for so many to find jobs during this time, but it always helps to be connected and have a strong network of individuals throughout the industry you hope to work in, as they can open up opportunities for you even during these hard times,” Treadway said.
Recent UT grads haven’t all had loads of trouble finding work amid the pandemic, however. Avery Conner, an alumna who graduated in May 2020, was able to find fulfilling work right after her graduation.
“I was fortunate enough to not have a hard time finding a job. However, I have experienced the difficulty in learning an entire career from a computer screen,” Conner said.
Conner, who works in sales at WVLT Channel 8, secured an internship with the sales team at WVLT right before the beginning of the pandemic. By mid-February, she was offered a full-time position at WVLT, which has been fully online.
Even amid the current tumultuous economy, Conner recommends that recent grads or soon-to-be-grads keep their heads high and continue the hunt for work.
“Always keep your mind open and network, network, network,” Conner said. “If I had never put myself out there, I would have never met the sales staff who are my coworkers now.”
