To all students and recent graduates, you all deserve a pat on the back for persevering and continuing your education during the global pandemic!
It hasn’t been easy. With the lack of resources to help you with assignments, minimal communication, digitized lectures and lack of social interaction among other students, university attendees were one of the many groups greatly affected by the coronavirus.
But, as everyone was recently informed, there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel. Recent news has presented us with a roadmap of a slow, but promising return to normality.
This is a guest post by Karlo, a content writer specialising in a variety of topics, from careers and work-life to healthcare and wellness. In this post, he addresses 4 things to expect when searching and applying for jobs after the pandemic.
This is what this post aims to tackle: to help students with their future job hunts.
#1 Diversity At Work
From the unforgivable death of George Floyd, as well as Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and countless other victims of whom the authority failed to protect, the despicable events taught the world a lesson, which demanded that we all take an insightful look at racism worldwide.
The fundamental principles of companies are aspects you may want to go about your job hunting, with Glassdoor has seen a 66% increase in users mentioning diversity and racial equity in their reviews.
What does this tell us? It seems as companies are now increasingly concerned with the values that applicants will now bring with them.
Tip: Avoid companies that do not align with your own principles
With this in mind, you need to examine your own values and turn your attention to companies that meet your own principles. Here’s a quick exercise, if you have a company that you would like to apply for, look through their following platforms:
- The company website
- Their social media (mainly LinkedIn)
- Their reviews (Glassdoor is a big help here!)
Through these platforms, you can easily identify the values that the company holds, whether that’s the office culture, the business, their employees and so on.
#2 Industries: Before, During And After COVID-19.
The pandemic has severely impacted a lot of fundamental industries around the world, with travel being understandably limited to most countries (and inactive for some) as an example. Along with many more, it’s clear that some industries are at a major disadvantage, and will likely continue to be at a limit.
However, with bad comes the good, as this also means that a number of industries are also growing, and is expected to develop by the end of the pandemic.
Tip: Finding the best industries to work for
A quick note, the industries within this particular point will likely change annually due to the critical impact of COVID-19.
However, the best way to select an industry that’s expected to grow is to carefully analyse and explore all industries available in the job market.
A special case in relation to COVID-19, as leisure industries such as travel and fitness are likely to remain low, you must also consider the value of these industries once everything opens up again!
#3 Short-Term Job Placements
Shorter work placements will likely be on the rise due to the uncertainty of the economy. In reality, the roadmap leading to the potential return to normal life will always have the possibility of changing, and it’s always more likely to change into a future date rather than an earlier one.
With this, more options to work with temporary, contractual and freelance jobs will likely be on the rise as alternative options for new graduates to acquire experience for the career they want to pursue.
Tip: Get the most out of shorter-term jobs.
Interested in getting the best experience out of a short-term job? Or even transform your temporary career into a full-time job? Then go above and beyond your normal job description, and prepare to work much harder than if you were at full-time employment.
The goal of temporary employment (or any other short-term work) from the company hiring you is to acquire quick help from an external source, and surely your goal from this is to also get the experience needed for a potential full-time job in the future!
So why not kill two birds with one stone? Ensure that you actively know what you’re being hired for, and if the opportunity presents itself, do more than what the company may ask of you. You get experience, they get more help, it’s a win-win.
#4 Remote Work
So, for everyone who has had meetings in some shape or form during their university, how do you feel about using Zoom, Microsoft Teams or whatever platform you use for the meeting to happen?
Well, you should hold on to that exact feeling as there’s a likelihood that virtual meetings will become more of a common occurrence rather than a necessity for convenience when a person lives a bit too far away from work!
Tip: Finding an Ideal WFH job
It’s probably common knowledge to look for jobs that give the option of freely working from home like digital services or telecommunication. However, it’s more than simply looking for those types of jobs, I would argue that looking for companies that actively allow working from home is a much better alternative than sticking with a certain title of a specific job.
This is because companies that allow remote working will make finding a job like this much easier. Simply judging a career based on its title may land you an opportunity for a job that you may not be looking for if they refuse your request for remote work!
So, want to try and work remotely? Ask the company first before applying for the job!
Bonus tips
Online events will increase
The convenience of online seminars, webinars and events was prominently shown due to its significant role in every form of learning! So with this, it’s only more likely that virtual events for things such as career advice, company recruitment and so on will be featured more than in-person events. At least, the likelihood of it will be.
With this, one of the most prominent changes in 2021 maybe that resources that actively help career-changes (most importantly, recent graduates or those close to graduating) will be fundamentally virtual.
So keep a lookout, as there are some very enticing and helpful webinars coming out this year for future job fairs.
Coronavirus is the biggest challenge, so how did you overcome a lot of its challenges?
Coronavirus. One of the biggest challenges that humanity has faced in history, and is a top contender for events that drastically changed the world.
And is also undoubtedly the biggest challenge any student will ever have faced during your time in university.
That’s why you, dear reader, should consider preparing how you have managed to reliably work under the crushing pressure of a pandemic. It’s a question that allows you to present yourself as someone that can adapt heavily in new environments, something a lot of companies will want to have on their team.
Resources for graduates
Need help with acquiring jobs? Here are some of the best resources for you to use:
LinkedIn: Nearly graduating and don’t have a LinkedIn account? Oh goodness, please don’t sleep on this platform!
LinkedIn is a great tool for students and graduates, to not only meet great professionals that can help you with your job search, but also a site that allows you to get plenty (and I mean, PLENTY) of opportunities through networking.
Indeed: You have probably seen the adverts on TV for Indeed, you know with those guys with the biggest smile on their faces when they find out they got a job. This could be you in the next couple of weeks if you use Indeed!
It contains tools that allow you to search locally and/or globally, which just opens up your options yet again. Not to mention a great place for job-seeking content.
Monster: Another massive job site.
In fact, this was one of the first commercial websites for job seekers, meaning they are a lot more advanced than the rest, with a resume review service and a mobile application available.
Graduate Coach: Graduate Coach actively helps students and graduates land graduate-level jobs.
With a variety of courses, workshops and one-to-one coaching to give you methods in writing the best CV copy, interviewing skills and much more, Find out how gettng a graduate coach can help you.
Still at university and started looking for a job? Don’t forget your graduation! It’s a momentous day that you won’t want to forget, and you should look your absolute best. Interested in looking for graduation attire? Visit Armstrong & Oxford for quality academic graduation gowns. Now providing home deliveries for graduation caps and gowns for virtual graduation ceremonies.
Author Bio
Hi! I’m Karlo, I’m a content writer specializing in a variety of topics, from careers and work-life to healthcare and wellness. Recently finishing a master’s degree in digital marketing, I aim to create informative, engaging and educational content for a variety of audiences this year and help them through the (hopeful) end of this pandemic.
Featured photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
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