Career Readiness for Pandemic Students – On-Demand Training

Leverage Opportunities to Prepare Your Students for Job Searches and Placement

Many recent graduates and current students have not had the opportunity to engage in internships, experiential learning, etc. due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They have a lack of traditional work experience and oftentimes, expectations for a work environment that is not aligned with employers. This makes competing with people with previous work experience tough, especially as many are shifting roles and/or returning to the workforce. This has led to apathy and anxiety about finding work – and many students and graduates have become disheartened.

The toll on the labor market as a result of the pandemic has been widely documented. Recent graduates and current pandemic students continue to face unique challenges. Labor market outcomes for 2020 college graduates experienced a significant downturn in employment and labor force participation compared with the class of 2019, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Our presenters discuss the current challenges facing career centers in preparing students and graduates for career readiness, as well as ways you can build capacities on your campus to get your pandemic students the experience they need to be marketable and successful in their job search and placement.

Topics Covered

You will get actionable takeaways that will help you:

• Leverage micro internships and small projects on campus for career readiness – build capacities on your campus to offer your pandemic student experiences and opportunities to prepare for their future.
• Provide effective career coaching strategies– help students understand how to successfully and respectfully negotiate workplace standards to help eliminate misalignment between what students are saying and what the reality is.
• Connect with employers – help employers understand the unique challenges facing pandemic students and graduates.
• Leverage flexibility, technology skills, and adaptability as it related to the pandemic – help students and graduates better market the unique skills they DO bring to the table as a result of unprecedented circumstances that disrupted their education.
• Validate students’ feelings – connect with students on their concerns so you can help them reframe their self-talk and the way they present themselves.

Presenters

Sam Boren serves as the Associate Director of Experiential Education within the Career Center at Colorado State University.
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Jenny Kim is the Assessment Coordinator within in the Career Center at Colorado State University.
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