Over the last few months, the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic have been felt everywhere. It has had a big impact on students, workers and employers across the UK and there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding how and when we will all recover and get back to normality.
Many companies are still making plans for their recruitment strategies going forward and graduates may be feeling like it is pointless to try and find a graduate job in the current climate. You may be asking whether there are any graduate jobs available and how you are supposed to attend interviews while social distancing measures remain in place.
While we can’t know for sure what the graduate job market is going to look like after this pandemic, we can give you an idea about what to expect when conducting your graduate job search now.
Many businesses have been hit hard by the current climate and while plenty are successfully adapting, they are also reducing and freezing recruitment efforts whilst there is so much uncertainty. The Institute of Student Employers (ISE) reported that as a result of Coronavirus, of companies spoken to (27%) say that they will be recruiting fewer graduates
While investment in graduate talent will recover, it’s still early days for businesses that are having to adapt their strategies and understandably they will want to establish stability before bringing new graduates in. However, if the worst of the crisis is over by mid-June ad theorised, there’s no reason why the recruitment and hiring processes for many companies won’t recover by September.
While it’s easy to feel that everything has ground to a standstill, many companies are still operating with employees working remotely where possible. With plenty of industries not seeing a negative economic impact due to coronavirus, they are likely to be going ahead with graduate recruitment.
With this in mind, there’s no reason why you can’t continue looking for graduate jobs over the coming weeks. If you don’t apply for any roles there is a 100% chance you won’t get hired and while the recruitment process may be longer than usual at the moment, there are still opportunities available.
If you are conducting your graduate job search at the moment, be aware that it is taking longer for companies to consider your application. Most have had to make changes to the hiring process and with remote working, many application processes are seeing delays. Do keep checking your emails, however, and if it has been a while you can always email the company to ask for an update. Be persistent and don’t take it personally if you don’t hear back within a few days, this doesn’t mean that the company won’t consider your application over the coming weeks.
With the current restrictions and dangers, lots of companies have already made their recruitment process digital. Brush up on your phone interview and video interview skills so that you’re ready when the time comes.
While there’s lots of uncertainty at the moment, it’s not worth panicking about your graduate job hunt. Finding a graduate job is a challenge but the best thing you can do is continue as though there isn’t a pandemic happening and be patient with employers. Discover our current graduate opportunities here.
