With the current job market threatening thousands of positions, not all hope is lost for VanCoug graduates
Approaching graduation is usually accompanied by feelings of angst and uncertainty as students prepare to apply degrees towards full-time positions. However, this year brings a new looming fear over student’s heads as they leap into the workforce during a full-fledged pandemic.
(David Priymak / The VanCougar)
Bayleigh Parsons, digital technology and culture major, serves as the Associated Students of WSU Vancouver’s director of communications and will graduate in December of 2020. While Parsons highlights that many of her peers in previous years have landed a job before they graduated, she still has concerns nearing graduation.
“There’s not anyone to go to and ask, ‘Hey, what does this whole process look like?’ They can tell me what a normal job hunt… [and] a normal interview would look like. But as for having to job hunt from home and not being able to meet anyone in person and [instead] being over Zoom, it’s totally different. There’s no one I can really go to that knows exactly what that process is like,” Parsons said.
Professor Dene Grigar, director of the Creative Media and Digital Culture program, notes that certain technologically-based industries like coding, marketing and social media have actually seen an increase in hiring when compared to last December as people are less focused on traveling and holiday gatherings. She explains spring is when companies normally experience a high volume of applications as many students and recent graduates search for summer jobs. Oddly enough, Grigar’s CMDC December graduates could experience a hiring surge since creative media is sought out now more than ever.
“With COVID, things are a little bit weirder. People are not traveling to their families, they’re not having office parties. So I’m finding that people are actually looking to hire during the [winter] season in a way they wouldn’t have. … Despite the fact there’s bad stuff going on and things are unsettled, there still is the interest in hiring because you know there are a lot of companies that are looking to grow,” Grigar said.
However, the rise in employment has not been experienced by everyone. Industries that have a hard time maintaining social distancing have suffered since the pandemic began last March. Among the hardest hit include food service, brick-and-mortar retailers, airlines, manufacturing and event planning, according to Politico. Unfortunately, employers are learning to adjust with a smaller labor force, meaning many job losses are likely permanent. This predicts recent graduates could face stiff competition from more experienced applicants when applying.
As more students get shaken up by the thought of graduating in the current job climate, both Grigar and Parsons explain several students have put off their senior seminar until at least Spring 2021. While communities try to adapt to social distancing guidelines, Grigar and the WSU Vancouver CMDC program have taken proactive steps to prepare students with the tools and technologies they need to utilize their skills in the job market.
In terms of preparation, Alex Duffield, December graduate studying humanities and integrated strategic communications, offers some advice when it comes to students waiting for the right career opportunity to come knocking.
“I think just staying active and staying sharp is going to help you feel a little bit better about your skills. I think as humans if people aren’t paying us or aren’t paying attention to the work we’re doing, we often take it personally. But if you just do it for yourself and strengthen that muscle, I think it’ll help you through those times when it’s just you working on your craft,” Duffield said.
For students who have continued onward with their plans to graduate soon, Grigar laid out a few job seeking tips that students of all majors can utilize. This includes visiting your adviser for resume reviews, setting up your LinkedIn account to connect with people in your field and cleaning up social media accounts in case potential employers review your profile.
While VanCougs may be anxious with December graduation rolling around the corner, Grigar urges students to stay hopeful and give themselves plenty of grace as they work through post-graduation job hunts.
Thank you for the article.
I want to point out the various steps the CMDC program takes to help is graduates with gaining employment since this information was left out of the article that came from the interview I gave to the reporter.
The final course students take before graduating is called the Senior Seminar. It is designed specifically to prepare students for the field, whether that is graduate school or a job. In that course students are guided through the steps of preparing a resume/CV and electronic portfolio aimed at the specific areas the student wishes to pursue as a career. We also produce a site called the CMDC Job Board (https://dtc-wsuv.org/cmdc-job-board/) where student post their materials for potential employers. We also offer Mock Interviews where industry and non-profit leaders provide students with the experience of interviewing with a specialist in their field. This fall 12 organizations are represented, including several that have indicated that they are indeed hiring. Students also undertake a capstone project that gives them the experience of collaborating on a large project together, working with clients, and learning workflow, and fine-tuning their skills. This semester’s project includes handling all of the promotions and content for promoting Walk & Knock, the local annual food drive. Finally, the CMDC program adopted collaboration tools used by the field so that when students graduate they are already prepared for remote working, which helps to give them an edge.
One other important aspect of our program is the Mentoring system we have organized for students. Each major in the program is assigned a Mentor based on the area the student wishes to pursue for their career. We call this mentor, the Content Mentor. Students also have a second Mentor–the faculty member teaching the Senior Seminar. And of course students have their academic advisor. This means every major in our program has *three* people to turn to for advice and help.
The CMDC faculty cares about our students and their well-being––as do all of our colleagues in all programs here at WSUV. This is one of the terrific features of our campus: Faculty who care and focus on the well-being of their students.