Some San Jose State seniors are maintaining a positive attitude about finding employment after they graduate amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Psychology senior Alice Tsvinev, who is expected to graduate in May, said although she’s “terrified” when it comes to searching for a job, she remains hopeful about her future.
“This whole pandemic has just really taught me to embrace the unexpected, but adapt and prepare how to handle every situation I can think of,” Tsvinev said in a Zoom call. “Getting through these times is hard, but we are working on it.”
Before the pandemic, college graduates were stepping into an economy with a low unemployment rate of around 4%, according to a Feb. 5 U.S. Department of Labor Statistics press release. The press release showed that unemployment spiked in April at 14.6% but as of January 2021, unemployment is at 6.3%.
While the current U.S. labor force is 2.2% smaller than in the beginning of 2020, 2.2% equates to a loss of 3.7 million workers, according to a Dec. 3 2020 Wall Street Journal article.
Since the job market was flourishing and students had myriad opportunities, students must now prepare for unpredictable job availability, according to a May 2020 EdSource article.
Anita Manuel, interim director of the SJSU Career Center, said she noticed a decrease in job postings on Handshake because of the pandemic.
Handshake is an app offered by the Career Center to help students find jobs and networking events. The center prepares students to transition to career life after college, according to the official SJSU Career Center website.
“[Job opportunities] are probably down at least a good 40% of what our normal capacity is,” Manuel said in a Zoom interview. “There is definitely a drop in the number of positions.”
Although Manuel noticed the drop in positions, she said there are still jobs available for students on Handshake.
“Right now, there are actually 2,500 positions in Handshake for our students that are posted just as remote [jobs],” Manuel said.
Tsvinev said the competition among recent college graduates is nerve-racking with unemployment so high.
“There are so many of us [graduating seniors] here that want jobs and there are so many jobs that are limited,” she said.
Manuel mentioned that students should continue to be optimistic.
“We see a steady stream of internships and jobs that are still being posted,” Manuel said. “A lot of employers are now hosting virtual sessions like meet and greets and coffee chats.”
She said the Career Center and advisers have also been shifting services online to better equip students.
“We focus on [students],” Manuel said. “Making sure that our students are just aware of all the online tools that they have so that employers can find them more easily and then they can best market themselves.”
She encourages students to take time to make an appointment with a career counselor.
“If you are nervous, I would say definitely connect with your career counselor so that we can talk through it and also practice,” Manuel said. “[Career counselors] can help talk through how to best brand and promote yourself because the fact that you are still learning and going to school in a [remote] environment shows a lot of resiliency.”
Although Tsvinev said she’s worried, she’s not letting the pandemic hold her back.
She said she frequently talks with professors to ensure she is becoming well-equipped for her future.
“A lot of [professors] influenced my mindset in terms of taking advantage of things,” Tsvinev said. “If you have the right mindset and you have the right capabilities of achieving those goals, there should be nothing that stops you [from succeeding in your future].”
Systems physiology senior Ginny Mehrok said even though the current job market is bleak, she plans to take a gap year after graduation for an externship, a program that consists of job shadowing an individual whose profession aligns with the student’s interest.
She said an externship at home in Lodi, California is the best opportunity to become a medical assistant because it’ll build her network connections.
“I think that is something really cool that this pandemic has allowed me to take advantage of,” Mehrok said. “If I was back in San Jose, I probably wouldn’t have been able to do this medical assisting course [at home].”
