Graduating college can be scary enough, and some have had to do it in one of the most unprecedented times in history, without even getting the closure of a proper graduation.
“It is no secret the COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on our daily lives, including our nature and culture of work, the workplace, and the job search process.,” said Dino Martinez, Assistant Director for the UAB Career Center. “We have heard many local and national stories of college students and recent graduates having recent job offers and internships rescinded or canceled amid the pandemic’s peak this summer.
Madi Schlauder graduated in May 2020 and said COVID-19 left her feeling hopeless.
“It has been really hard,” Schlauder said. “I started my job search in February of this year in hopes that I could have a job that I wanted, locked down by graduation. Then in March, when COVID-19 first hit, any job I was being considered for or in the process of interviewing and applying for fell through because no one knew what was going to happen with COVID-19.”
March 18, UAB announced that students would not return to campus after spring break, and the remainder of the semester would be finished online.
For some students, this was great news, it meant they could continue with their spring break and the rest of their semester would be a breeze. For some, it was a complete shock, a signal that things were more serious than they had thought. And for others, like Logan McLendon, who graduated in August of 2020, they saw it coming and prepared themselves for the worst.
“I had a chance to brace myself with my close group of friends and we were more or less preparing ourselves emotionally, even if we hadn’t fully prepared logistically for it,” McLendon said. “It was stressful, but it was more like, ‘okay, at least now we know what direction to go and where to take ourselves.’”
A graduation ceremony was held virtually for at least 2,700 students May 1st and 2nd. Twenty-seven thousand students had their picture pop up briefly on a screen as a celebration for thousands of dollars spent and years of hard work.
Schlauder said as a first-generation college student, graduating was a “huge deal,” but not getting to properly celebrate left her feeling disappointed and bitter.
“It seemed pointless, so I didn’t attend it,” Schlauder said. “I think it would have just upset me more to attend my ceremony virtually. I am a first-gen college student so walking across that stage with all of my family in the audience cheering on the first college graduate in the family was something I was really looking forward to.”
For McLendon, he didn’t feel bitter. In fact, he didn’t really feel anything at all.
“It felt like I didn’t quite have that moment when I finally [graduated],” McLendon said. “It felt a little emptier than I would have liked. The moment itself of graduation, it didn’t feel as impactful and meaningful to me. It didn’t feel like there was closure.”
More than missing out on the graduation ceremony, Schlauder said she felt like she didn’t get to have her “lasts.”
“I missed all of the “lasts” at UAB that [my friends and I]weren’t going to get together.” Schlauder said. “Our last trip to Sterne to study for finals, our last after-class hangouts, our last class together, our last baseball game together, last el-sol or zydeco night. Of course, we did have those last nights together at some point prior, but at the time we had no idea they were the last ones we would have before graduating.”
Post-graduation, COVID-19 didn’t go away, and things didn’t get any easier. Some graduates were lucky enough to already have jobs lined up, but even those didn’t go as planned.
Dan Pointer graduated in December 2019, right before COVID-19 made national news. Pointer said he was offered a full-time position at the beginning of 2020 with the company he had been interning with before graduating. His company transitioned to fully remote in March, and Pointer said he has had to juggle some lifestyle changes that accompany working from home.
“For me, I had to revitalize my desk, logistically,” Pointer said. “I had to improve my setup at the house, so I had to bring equipment home from work. I found, for the most part, I really enjoy working from home. I can get a lot of chores done around the house like laundry, walking the dog, that kind of thing. As far as challenges, sometimes I miss the comradery in the office day-to-day.”
For McLendon, he said he is thankful to have had a job lined up before graduation, because many of his peers weren’t as lucky.
“A lot of my peers and friends were not quite as fortunate and they’re still struggling to find jobs in their relevant to their majors,” McLendon said. “A lot of them are simply having to look for service jobs and things like that, where, obviously it’s work, but it’s not where they wanted to be. A lot of places, even the hospitals had hiring freezes and that made it very difficult for a lot of people. I was fortunate to be able to have a position.”
Schlauder was a graduate who went through exactly what McLendon described. Her plan was to take a gap year and work at a low-level position in her field to make money before going to law school. When COVID-19 happened, though, no one wanted to hire.
“I just wanted to stress and complain, but in June, I found a job in a low-level hospitality field that – even though I am not interested in it – could at least hold me over until things look more normal with hiring in the field I am interested in,” Schlauder said. “So, I began an unpaid internship search because I knew people would at least be open to taking on unpaid people, and then I began a job search for something I may not love but that could temporarily pay the bills.”
While it seems that COVID-19 isn’t going away any time soon, Martinez said that employers are looking to get back to work and that means more jobs are going to become available.
“It is a matter of remaining focused, gaining experience, networking, and preparing for the job search process,” Martinez said. “Still, some students and alumni may need to develop and exercise a Plan B and understand how they can gain or market transferrable skills in a related or different job or career.”
Pointer said if you are about to graduate, he would advise you to leverage your personal network, and be sure to have conversations with people who are already in the industry about COVID-related changes to expect.
Martinez said due to COVID-19, it is now more essential than ever to have a strong, professional digital presence.
“The UAB Career Center strongly recommends all students and alumni, regardless of class standing or year’s post-graduation, to build or strengthen your digital presence,” Martinez said. “Having a strong LinkedIn profile is just as imperative to your career search as having a phone number or email address is to keep up to date in today’s digital world. The UAB Career Center can help you build your professional profile on LinkedIn and Handshake and other professional digital platforms, such as Portfolium.”
Besides focusing on how to succeed after graduation, Schlauder said no matter how hectic things are, don’t forget to take in the moment.
“You will miss your professor who goes off on tangents during their lecture, you will miss the organization involvement you have at the university, you will miss even just driving through campus,” Schlauder said. “You will miss your connection to UAB. So, make the most of every opportunity you have as you wrap up your time at UAB: go get a bowl of soup in Hill one last time, go for a walk around campus, show up to all of your virtual lectures and allow yourself to enjoy them, cherish every final meeting with your organizations, and try not to stress too much.”
This is an unprecedented time, so don’t forget that UAB has dozens of services to help you navigate it, from the Career Center to the Blazer Kitchen or to Student Counseling Services.
