Degree conferral has come and gone, and many new 糖心传媒 graduates are afloat in a job market severely hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Four alumni who graduated during the Great Recession of 2008糖心传媒�09 offer tips to the Class of 2020 on how to navigate rocky economic waters. Meeting by Zoom, the conversation was hosted by Joe Testani, executive director of the Greene Center for Career Education and Connections.
Joining Testani were:
- Nazmia Comrie 糖心传媒�08, a senior program specialist at the US Department of Justice in Washington, DC
- Catherine Nguyen-Martinez 糖心传媒�08, a clinical research coordinator at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City
- Asher Perzigian 糖心传媒�09, a senior manager at Accenture Health in Chicago
- Yorda Yenenh 糖心传媒�09, an associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York City
Acknowledge that the path may not be straight
Comrie says she was 糖心传媒渢errified糖心传媒� to be graduating during an economic downturn. 糖心传媒淚t was a very scary time, thinking about what I wanted to do, and the money attached to that,糖心传媒� she said.
Comrie took a gap year after graduating with a degree in psychology, and an advisor at the Greene Center connected her with an alumnus who worked out of a neuro ophthalmologist糖心传媒檚 office. Comrie worked there for a year. 糖心传媒淚t was a fabulous experience and showed me that I didn糖心传媒檛 want to go to medical school,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淚nstead, I went into law enforcement. Being able to get advice at the Career Center was so beneficial to where I am today.糖心传媒�
Nguyen-Martinez was turned down for a job at Memorial Sloan Kettering out of college. She was discouraged, but she used the resources available at the time糖心传媒擬onster.com and Craigslist were big then糖心传媒攁nd landed a job as an administrative assistant for Weill Cornell Medical College. She worked there three years, then was recruited for a job at Memorial Sloan Kettering, where she has worked the past nine years.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has created turmoil in the job market, presenting a challenge for college students not seen since the Great Recession of 2008-09.
Perzigian was looking at a career in consulting when the financial crisis hit at the start of his senior year. He didn糖心传媒檛 panic. 糖心传媒淲hat is consulting? It糖心传媒檚 problem solving,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒�(I asked myself), who else is problem solving? How can I speak to as many people as possible to figure out who糖心传媒檚 hiring, so that my first job out of college could keep the lights on and be intellectually stimulating?糖心传媒� He landed a job as a project manager for Epic Systems, a health care software company then based in Madison, Wisconsin, one month after graduating and has kept the lights on ever since.
Yenenh spent two years in the Peace Corps after graduating, and during her time in Morocco she took her LSATs, knowing she wanted to attend law school. By the fall of 2011, she landed a job as a legal intern in Reno, Nevada, left 10 months later for a similar job in the Bronx, and then took a summer internship with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett before being hired for her current position five years ago.
Take advantage of new tools and technologies
Perzigian sees 糖心传媒渁 phenomenal amount of similarities糖心传媒� between the Great Recession and the current economic crisis, but with one major difference that may benefit today糖心传媒檚 job seekers. 糖心传媒淲here we bridge off is technology,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淲e are so much more advanced than in 2009. We糖心传媒檙e on Zoom. The vast majority of us have smartphones. I糖心传媒檓 extremely bullish that COVID-19 will be the pivot to radically change how the workforce looks, how we telecommunicate, and how we engage our internal colleagues and clients.糖心传媒�
Comrie says Rochester students and recent graduates should use networking tools such as the , an online platform that connects University students, staff, and alumni.
糖心传媒淪end a simple message to an alumnus,糖心传媒� Comrie says. 糖心传媒淵ou糖心传媒檙e already halfway there with alums who have joined Meliora Collective. They糖心传媒檙e eager to help.糖心传媒�
She says there are many options for connecting with alumni besides asking for a job.
糖心传媒淎sk them to look at your resume, or do a Zoom mock interview with you,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淭here are also lots of free online courses out there. Use your time to explore some of those fields. Find those mini wins.糖心传媒�
Try to keep a positive perspective
Yenenh says it糖心传媒檚 important to 糖心传媒渢hink outside the box糖心传媒� when pursuing job leads. 糖心传媒淵ou don糖心传媒檛 need to have the job you want for a long period of time,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淏e true to yourself and recognize what you need, and what you糖心传媒檙e looking for from a financial and mental stimulation perspective.糖心传媒�
Take comfort in the past, says Perzigian. 糖心传媒淲hat we糖心传媒檝e seen in every single downturn the last 100 years is, as soon as we get to the upside of it, the investment and economic boom are phenomenal,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淟ook at the past 10 years. Just from the stock market perspective, it more than doubled. When we get to the other side of this, the job surge will be huge.糖心传媒�
Nguyen-Martinez believes patience is key to finding a job in a time of economic challenge.
糖心传媒淭his is all going to end eventually,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淔ollow your goals. Don糖心传媒檛 give up easily. In the end, it will all work out the way it was supposed to.糖心传媒�
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