"...graduates you all are simply beautiful absolutely gorgeous.."
This was the graduation we were all hoping for but for many of us this is what our graduation
looked like congratulations graduates we're so proud of you congratulations to the class of 2020
congratulations to the class of 2020 and the job market was starting to look just as different my
name is DJ Mirisola and I just graduated from Montgomery College's Broadcast Media television
program i've been lucky enough to work on numerous tv shows programs and events for the college
and its television channel MCTV I thought i was prepared to enter my industry but the
fact is i don't know how to find a job in this new pandemic employment world we find ourselves in so
i did some research Montgomery County Maryland the very place many of us call home is seeing
unprecedented claims in unemployment with one month reaching over 51 000 claims yeah 51 000.
so what do we do the job market is more competitive than ever
so how do we stand out what are employers now expecting from us
well i did the only thing i could think to do and i asked some experts
my name is Mahesh Kalva and I am the President/CTO of Ameri infobets we are also known as
AI Vets Mahesh is also a board member for worksource montgomery an organization
specializing in job placement so he has a lot of insight on what hiring looks like now
most of our recruitment efforts have gone a lot more online and we used to conduct job
fairs and what have you but those things are kind of thing of the past right now
now predominantly or almost all of it our job search has become online since the hiring
process has gone virtual he says preparing for your interview will be a bit different
one of the things that i would definitely expect all the people who are seeing this
video or listening to this ensure that you have video cameras ensure that you are checking out
the technology the audio quality and the video quality of your camera ahead of time and make
sure that you test it with your friends and be prepared for the interview time so that there is
no technology challenges when you are interviewing with the hr and with the hiring manager
so what do graduates do with degrees in fields that may not be hiring
if you are graduate from an industry that is not going to get to the pre pandemic rates
you might want to retool yourself by gaining new skills of the industries that are seeking new
graduates or new employees for their organizations you should have that adaptability of applying
your area of field and perhaps connect the dots with the industry that is seeking these new jobs
it feels like in order to stay competitive and create opportunity you have to have all of your
ducks in a row but that seems like only a small piece of the larger picture well i looked into it
and turns out we're not alone just because you've graduated college doesn't mean your school leaves
you behind many colleges like montgomery college provide active and alumni students
access to career specialists to help you get a job and these people have a ton of experience
i'm Roberta Buckberg i've been with Montgomery College for 30 years and I am currently the
employer services specialist college-wide, yeah 30 years and what she had to say was pretty telling
the one thing that we're certain of with coven 19 and the post-pandemic world is uncertainty and i
can't really say with guaranteed specificity what the world of work is going to look like
down the road but i can tell you that as recently as uh january of 2020 the unemployment rate for
college graduates was about two percent while the unemployment rate for non-college graduates
was about 3.8 percent so about twice as as high an unemployment rate for non-college graduates a
college degree always sets you ahead our student employment services office offers help with
resume writing cover letter writing job interview coaching we have an online job board called e-jobs
most colleges and universities have an online job board specifically for their
students and alumni though she says the biggest resource graduates miss out on is
something their college doesn't offer i think the resource that college students mostly and
recent graduates mostly miss out on in the job application process is their own self-worth
i think frequently college students and recent graduates have a bad case of what i call the just
i just worked at a hardware store or i just worked at a coffee shop or i just worked at a
fast food place and what they don't understand is or they're not thinking of and valuing
is that those jobs teach amazing customer service skills they require students to
or workers to remember an incredible amount of detail and provide a high level of customer care
now if this were a movie i would show you how i took all of this information
and i went out and i got a job
but the truth is this isn't a movie the world is a lot different than what
we're used to and there's no clear path to achieving our own success
but go out there do your own research and remember what the professionals have said
know how to prepare for your interview don't be afraid to retool your skill set and check out what
student and alumni services may be available to you we are always learning and we will never stop
don't lose that thirst for knowledge that brought you to college in the first place
go out with these tips these tools these resources
and go find your place in this pandemic world we live in i know i'm going to
you