Interviews
Graduating into a Pandemic written by Josh Ewell Photo: Two senior students at a graduation ceremony at Wuhan University, CFP, 2020.
Finding a job after graduation is always a number one concern of those coming to an end of their university experience. However, for those graduating this year, the Covid-19 pandemic means they are entering a job market which is much more unstable.
ing months, with 15% stating they were reducing their intake of new employees.
We spoke to one such student, James from West London, who started studying Economics at Cambridge University in 2017. He was due to graduate this year Since the introduction of tuition fees in 1998 (and and has completed his degree. Yet, still, no formal cerehighly unpopular trebling of fees in 2010) students mony has been held to ratify his graduation due to onhave been encouraged to see their education as an in- going concerns with the virus. vestment, balancing the cost of a marketised degree against the potential ‘profit’ of enhanced earnings in James hoped to find an entry-level graduate role within their future career. The cohort graduating in 2020 face the finance sector but remarks that the job opportunithe worst of all worlds, having taken on high levels of ties available are very sparse. He says the difference in debt to find that there are limited opportunities for per- the finance job market before and after the pandemic began is discernible: Covid-19 has had a massive negasonal advancement. tive effect on the ability to find employment, especialA poll by the careers website Prospect.ac.uk found that ly for new graduates. He also knows people who have 26% of students have had work experience or an intern- had post-graduation jobs offers simply withdrawn due ship cancelled and just under 30% have had a graduate to the economic crisis. job offer delayed or withdrawn. Wider research suggests over 60% of students feel negative about their job prospects, as the economic fallout from the virus and government’s ongoing ‘lockdowns’ become clear. This is further corroborated by the attitudes of major firms: around 40% say they are unclear about how many students will be recruited in the com-
At the moment, James has taken up a job tutoring younger people on A-Level work and university applications but admits this is just for financial independence after university. He raised an important point that job-searching is not just about finding any job but about finding a job in a sector you are suited for and that you wish to pursue long-term. As many other stu-
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Dialogue • Autumn 2020
