Open Letter to the Class of 2021
For the Class of 2021, entering the job market a year into the COVID-19 pandemic can be nerve-racking. In June 2020, a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) reported that 7.8 percent of employers had revoked (or planned to revoke) job offers to the class of 2020. The data pointed to 31 percent of responding employers significantly delaying start dates.
As the executive director of career & life design at Trinity College in Hartford, CT, I, am nervous about what the job market will mean for this year’s recent graduates. But more than fear I have hope for what’s to come and here’s why you should, too.
Vaccines offer hope for an end to the pandemic and as more people are getting vaccinated there’s growing optimism, albeit cautious. According to NACE, there is employer optimism about reopening closed businesses; and hiring levels “signal strong movement in a positive direction.”
Still, it is important for recent graduates to stay the course and focus on navigating and designing your future work. Here are five pieces of advice for your journey:
1. Find your people: Networking is fundamental to the career process. A great place to start is with your institution. Your Career Development Office probably has access or a list of alumni working in specific industries or at certain companies. While that’s a great place to start, you must build that network. Find people who challenge you, ask questions, and listen actively. Be a sponge for content and advice, but don’t always have your hand out. The true value in networking is understanding that it’s a two-way street. While you may not be able to help right away, remember to pay it forward to someone else or offer to reciprocate.
2. Try stuff: In design thinking, the human-centered approach to creative problem solving, prototyping is a critical function to the process. You’re a life designer, and my advice is to try stuff. Test your way through the career process by exploring a paid summer internship before you take a job in the field, explore a leadership development program or rotational program to learn about different departments in a company, or volunteer in an organization to learn about their mission and the types of jobs available in that field or industry. The point — try stuff to learn stuff. Embrace failure to learn about yourself in your life design journey.
3. Commit to lifelong learning: Yes, hiring is up for the Class of ’21, but it has not reached the levels of 2019. Available jobs may require you to fine-tune or develop certain skills, so additional learning should be considered. Lifelong learning is the voluntary and self-motivated quest for knowledge for both personal and professional reasons throughout one’s life. Additionally, the more an individual commits to learning, they will encounter increases in competitiveness, agility, versatility, and, ultimately, employability. There is a litany of options for lifelong learning. LinkedIn Learning, IDEOU, General Assembly, and Coursera, to name a few, offer courses, trainings, and professional development opportunities (some are free).
4. Self-awareness and mindfulness are valuable: When I teach, I usually start the class meeting with a reflection exercise. I provide a prompt for students and give them approximately seven minutes to write and reflect. My goal is simply to raise the self-awareness of my students. Being reflective is one thing but knowing thyself is another. Be mindful of who you are, stick to YOUR beliefs and values, because these characteristics will serve as the foundation for your next steps.
5. Use your Career Development Office: Many college and universities have policies to continuously support alumni no matter when, no matter what. For example, the Career & Life Design Center at Trinity College offers career coaching to alumni for life. Even though you’ve graduated, your alma mater has resources in place to help you navigate the next steps of your career, so use them!
A job search in ‘normal’ conditions is challenging. Doing so with such extreme disruption is a whole new level of challenge. My hope is that this advice can get your career journey started. Don’t wait until you graduate…many of these things can be done now. Early and often is the name of the game.
