Staying Organized and Other Advice from the Workforce

STORY CONTRIBUTED BY JULIA DERIDDER, BAY PATH STUDENT NEWSROOM CREATIVE ARTS & EVENTS SUPERVISOR

As a sophomore, I can’t pretend to know what it’s like to be about to graduate, and in a pandemic, nonetheless. Luckily, I do have someone whom I feel can give advice to students getting ready to enter the workforce: my sister, Lydia. She graduated last spring from Wheaton College in Norton, MA. Lydia currently works for AmeriCorps but had her own ups and downs before settling into the job. I asked her a few questions while she was on her break from work:

How did you prepare for the workforce when you graduated last spring?

Last spring was an extremely stressful time for many reasons, hence why I decided to wait to apply for jobs until after I had graduated. I had the privilege of being supported by my family. It was hard not to look for jobs, but my mental health wasn’t great and I knew I had to take it one step at a time or else I wouldn’t graduate.

When I did graduate, I used my college’s career center to help refine my resume. I then did a lot of research and applied to many jobs, keeping an itemized list of each job I applied for. That’s a big recommendation I can give: stay organized.

How have you found success?

By the end of the summer of 2020, I had three job offers. One to the YWCA, another to an AmeriCorps program called UMBC Choice, and the third as a nanny. I am currently employed as an AmeriCorps member and love it.

I gotta say, people always ask, ‘what can you do with a Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies double major?’ And I’d like to point to all the jobs I got during college, and the three job offers I received during a pandemic. Not to boast, but if you are in these fields I promise you there will always be job openings. People always need help.

Have any resources helped you?

My college’s career center helped me. I also used all the job sites, Glassdoor, LinkedIn, etc. I looked up companies/organizations I liked to see if they were hiring.

Is there anything you wish you had known going into graduation during a pandemic?

I’m not sure I could have ever prepared myself for graduating during a pandemic. All my dreams were crushed, there was financial instability, political unrest. And my mental health just collapsed. But I would probably tell myself to take a break and be easy on myself and to try to trust that everything would work out. The human race is resilient, as am I, as are you.