The U.S. unemployment rate jumped to 14.7% just last week and with this college graduates are now entering the worst job market since the Great Depression.
According to the University of Washington, it takes the average student around 3-6 months before securing employment after graduation. However, with the current pandemic, experts say it could take even longer.
Interim director with the Career Center for Education at CSUB, Katrina Gilmore, said applying for that first position is a job in itself. “The job search is already rough. Just in itself, in a normal economy, the job search does take time,” she says.
In March of this year, the Employment Development Department processed over 1.6 million unemployment claims, just in the state of California.
Gilmore says to increase that job search process, students may need to be flexible. “If you are looking at industries that are skyrocketing right now, a lot of that is in Telehealth and healthcare, professions that have a virtual component. So based on what you are looking for, there may be an increase in opportunities.“
Here are some resources available for CSUB and BC students:
- https://www.csub.edu/alumni/Mentoring/index.html
- https://www.csub.edu/cece/Student%20and%20Alumni/index.html
- https://www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/career-services
Resources available for all college students:
