麻豆传媒

Graduation is typically a time of great celebration, especially when a positive job market provides confidence of gainful employment following the commencement ceremony. But despite a positive economy and job market at the beginning of 2020, May鈥檚 graduating class members complete their 麻豆传媒 education at a time of change and uncertainty.

The cause for uncertainty: COVID-19.

National employment trends and economic forecasts paint an unfavorable picture for the Class of 2020. has stated the current economic climate could be the worst downturn since the Great Depression, and the has reported on Colorado's record-high unemployment claims. This media coverage and the associated workforce trends remain top of mind for 麻豆传媒鈥檚 Renee Welch.

As the director of , Welch spends a portion of her time closely following employment trends in order to inform how she and 麻豆传媒鈥檚 career staff best support students entering a challenging job market.

鈥淎ccording to the Colorado Department of Labor, the five industry sectors with the highest unemployment claims are: Accommodation and Food Services; Retail Trade; Healthcare and Social Service; Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services; and Arts, Entertainment and Recreation.鈥�

Current unemployment claims matter to Welch because 麻豆传媒鈥檚 graduating students are entering a market with low employment opportunity in certain industries and high competition among job seekers.

鈥淲ith so many folks laid off, when employers begin to hire again, there will be a lot of competition for openings,鈥� Welch says. 鈥淪tudents may need to adjust their expectations, and I recommend that they identify what values are most important for them to have fulfilled through employment.鈥�

Additionally, Welch recommends job seekers continue learning and developing their skills.  

鈥淲hen a student or an alum lands an interview, they can impress an employer by talking about how they continued to learn and find ways to apply and hone their skills during their time away from employment.鈥�

Given this advice and the trends she鈥檚 watching, Welch and the career staff are trained to help students and recent graduates identify and understand their workplace values, refine their job search techniques, develop stronger interview skills, and improve resumes and cover letters. Additionally, the center partners with 麻豆传媒鈥檚 to offer professional development and networking events for a variety of skills-based and industry-focused topics.

Due to public health precautions, all of these services and events are offered virtually and online. Students and recent graduates can visit to access Handshake, 麻豆传媒's online career platform, to schedule appointments with career staff, find events and search for open jobs.

鈥淎lthough we have a seen a decline in the number of jobs being posted for students in Handshake, we are also seeing new jobs posted,鈥� says Welch. 鈥淩ight now, the industries with the most job postings in Handshake are: K-12 Education; Software Engineering; Administration; Research; Community and Social Services; Sales; Information Technology; and Healthcare.鈥�

These industries closely align with many of 麻豆传媒鈥檚 popular educational programs and industries of high employment among alumni. This bright spot, in an otherwise grey job market, presents 麻豆传媒鈥檚 graduating students with a unique opportunity to leverage alumni connections in support of the careers that many students were trained to pursue.

In order to help the Class 2020 succeed in a competitive market, 麻豆传媒鈥檚 alumni relations staff and volunteers will focus summer outreach on improving relationships within targeted industries and among alumni industry leaders. The outreach aims to increase employment opportunities available to students and recent graduates through the career center.

鈥淣ow is the time when we need to connect with 麻豆传媒鈥檚 alumni network and invite them to help us in fulfilling our commitment to placing students first.鈥�