Students are graduating into a tenuous economy but are still holding out hope for some semblance of a career path after school. Part of securing the bag is completing your rounds of Zoom and phone interviews, if you can get them.
Graduating during the COVID-19 pandemic means being permanently set up for necessary resiliency. The students who have followed through with Zoom University classes to graduate on time are entering a new world of uncertainties; one of which is being interviewing for COVID-19-era jobs themselves. Students have been online at Zoom University for almost a year now, so why does it feel so awkward to interview online too? Maybe it’s because interviewees have their pajama pants on under their sports jacket, or maybe it’s because it’s their first face-to-face interaction all week?
Either way, there is an art to hiding your dirty laundry and convincing your roommates to turn off Megan Thee Stallion while you try to interview in your college apartment. Videos are going viral of Zoom mishaps all over the world, so hopefully, graduates hold on to the fact that there is room for error in these unprecedented times.
Our new normal provides fresh opportunities to recent graduates that were not previously available. Now more than ever, there is a higher need for public service workers, health care professionals and a solution to COVID-19 issues that only the entrepreneurial mind can conquer. It’s all hands on deck if we want to see the end of this pandemic anytime soon.
For better or worse, this is the reality we are graduating into. But it’s also something we are all capable of overcoming, just as we have continued to overcome obstacles since last March. We can continue to fight by celebrating the little things — like changing out of our perpetual pajamas into an interview-perfect shirt, even though it is over Zoom.
Truth be told, there are some perks to interviewing over a virtual environment, and there are many ways students like us can use it to our advantage and put forth the best possible version of ourselves, like playing with camera features to find our best angles and lighting. There is always at least one nook or cranny in our houses that is best for Zoom interviews. Hopefully, that nook or cranny can offer suitable lighting and camera height. It is all about finding the best fit for you.
I also encourage students to brand themselves with the help of props. Keep your planner within arms reach to discuss your superb time management skills, or set up your portfolio behind you with pictures of your previous travels and best artwork to highlight the culture and experience you can bring into the workplace. Casually bringing your notepad and resume to the interview is so last work season.
Spend less time brushing your teeth and more time cleaning the top of your room’s fan. Don’t worry about matching your belt to your shoes but instead cleaning the dirt off your camera for a clear shot. Pull up your camera app for a final walk through of your interview-perfect space to make sure there is not a landfill of water bottles behind you.
You got this. As a student myself, I can confidently say that we are now experts at adapting and bouncing back from any mishaps that might be thrown our way. There is a new groove to be found for all of us, so just remember that no matter what happens, you will have learned and grown from it.
