Natalie Zagorski ‘20 thought she had finalized her post-graduate plans when Elon University students and staff were told to leave campus as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Now, she is living at home and working the same summer job that she has had for the past six years, as she gets ready to commence a second job search.
Zagorski is not alone. Elon’s graduate class of 2020 are scrambling to land secure jobs that are not impacted by the virus.
Elon University’s graduates have experienced the hardships of the job market during the pandemic, considering they were sent home during the spring semester of their senior years and are now struggling to obtain employment. Elon’s Student Professional Development Center reported a 15% decrease in graduates who have accepted job offers.
Nationally, the job market has been struggling since the beginning of the pandemic, according to records from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which reported that the United State’s unemployment rate hit a record high of 14.7% during April, when many states were under stay-at-home orders. Tom Brinkley, the executive director of the SPDC, believes that the job market for recent graduates has suffered less than the national jobs market, saying that the national job market includes hourly and service workers.
However, there has definitely been a slowdown in hiring for the class of 2020, according to Brinkley.
“There are students who had accepted positions previously who are being pushed out,” Brinkley said.
Zagorski is one of the multiple students who had received a job offer only to be told that she could no longer work due to the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Zagorski, who recently graduated with a degree in strategic communications and completed minors in sports management, business administration and political science, secured a full season internship with the minor league baseball team the Greensboro Grasshoppers and was splitting her time between classes and the internship when students were sent home. Zagorski also went home, suspending her internship under the premise that she would return to intern for the summer.
“Even though it wasn’t a full-time job, securing a full-season internship with the team looked like a promising stepping stone for a career in sports,” Zagorski said.
When Elon students were informed about the “extended spring break” that ended up consuming the whole semester, Zagorski said she had a pit in her stomach as Elon continued to cancel events that she loved and looked forward to.
“Knowing that my job in promotions and community relations was reliant on large groups of people, I knew that it would likely be canceled as well,” Zagorski said.
By May, Zagorski was informed by her boss that the minor league baseball season was canceled and her whole department had been furloughed, meaning she had lost the internship before she returned to the office. She packed up her belongings and moved back home to her family in New Jersey.
“What I worry most about when applying for jobs in communications right now is that in the future, I will be disadvantaged when I try to break into the sports field,” Zagorski said. “Experience with team organizations is key for the sports industry.”
Zagorski is just the tip of the iceberg for the class of 2020 and employment rates. According to the SPDC, the overall rate of students who are either employed, attending graduate school, completing a postgraduate internship or working for a service organization has declined in the past year. Brinkley said that the SPDC’s data shows that the numbers have decreased from 80% percent in 2019 to 72% percent in 2020, which is still less of a decrease than the national average.
Brinkley also mentioned that more students are starting to elect to go to graduate school instead of seeking employment, saying that students who have a hard time getting hired for entry level jobs usually attend graduate school.
As of right now, 20% of graduates in the class of 2020 have chosen to pursue graduate school, which Brinkley says is consistent with prior years.
“Students work harder to land positions than the national average numbers,” Brinkley said.
When asked what was next for her, Zagorski said that she has spent a lot of time updating her resume portfolio and LinkedIn, and was networking with other Elon alumni.
“I have begun a second job search but haven’t applied to a lot of jobs yet,” Zagorski said. “To be completely honest, there are not too many jobs hiring near me, and I am a bit apprehensive about moving out of state right now.”
Zagorski said she is going to truly get into another job search in September, which, according to Brinkley, is a good time to get back into the market.
“We are anticipating a pick up in hiring when the fall comes,” Brinkley said.