3 Resources that Helped Me Navigate My Career Path During COVID-19

Class of 2020 expected to enter a booming economy but instead are facing a recession with dried up opportunities for employment. Businesses, both big and small were shut down, and millions of people including myself were let go of work. Glassdoor, a job and recruiting website, reported a 68% drop in jobs containing the titles “new grad” or “entry-level”. In another report, Glassdoor also found a 52% decrease in internships since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The job market shrunk so on top of fighting a novel virus during a public health crisis, finding/keeping employment during this time was significantly more difficult. During this down period, my goal was to come out of this pandemic with new skills and knowledge to jumpstart my career path. Here are 3 resources that helped me navigate my career during COVID-19:

1. We Are Next 

We Are Next is an open resource that offers advice, insight, and tools for students and junior talent in the marketing and advertising industry. One of We Are Next’s well-known resources is their Recruiter Roundtable series, a virtual panel where agency recruiters shared valuable tips on networking online, job/internship hunting, and standing out to recruiters. On this panel, one recruiter from Innocean left impactful advice saying, “If you aren’t able to get an internship this season, then start your own.” Recruiters understand how difficult it is for college students to find internships in this economy so they are looking to see how students and recent grads are using this time to make progress in their career path. A great way to get a better understanding of the industry is through We Are Next's Coffee at a Distance, a mentorship program where advertising and marketing professionals offer guidance to students and junior talent. The advice gathered from agency recruiters and industry professionals personally helped drive me to network more efficiently, start online courses, and involve myself in side-projects. Students can access We Are Next’s resources or workshops through their website at https://we-are-next.com or follow them for updates on LinkedIn at https://www.dhirubhai.net/company/we-are-next/.

2. Indoor Recess

For students without work experience in the advertising industry, Indoor Recess helps them gain skills and knowledge building campaigns for real-life clients. Indoor Recess is a virtual pitch competition where junior talent from across the country can show off their skills by collaborating in a team to solve a client ask over a period of two weeks. Each participant in the team has a specific role (copywriter, art director, strategist, account lead or project manager) based on their career interests. Within the two-week period, teams are also able to seek advice from mentors who are advertising and marketing professionals from different backgrounds. During Round 2 of the competition, I served as the project manager where the client was Twitch. The experience was high pressure but overall it taught me about the process of building a campaign and how to manage a cross-functional team that reflected a real-life agency. On more updates on when the next session will open, you can check out their website at https://www.recessindoors.com. 

3. Online Courses

The online web offers a plethora of paid and free courses that students should take advantage of to add certifications to their resume. Some of the courses can take anywhere from 15 minutes to a few hours, but it is a great opportunity for students to find out what they are interested in, gain new skills and learn how to use different platforms. For instance, I recently completed the Google Analytics course which taught me how to analyze the traffic and performance of websites. The ability to turn data into information and insight is such a valuable skill that can help any business. Google Analytics is not the only course I recommend taking; there are many other topics such as digital marketing, SEO, social media, ect., that you can find on sites like LinkedIn Learning, Google Skillshop, and SkillShare. 

For students who are feeling anxious or frustrated about the future, it is totally normal and you are not alone. There are plenty of resources and professionals willing to help guide college students who may be feeling lost or stuck. The career path journey is a rollercoaster in itself and the pandemic has made it even more challenging. But this is a time to be resourceful and take advantage of the situation however we can.