Landing a job during the pandemic: My story

Lois King on 2 October 2020
An old style bright red "for hire" sign

A newly-employed graduate tells the story of how she overcame the Covid-19 job crisis and managed to find employment in a new city.

Graduating during a pandemic is tricky, and finding your dream job even harder. With skilled workers looking to fill entry-level roles, and jobs being slashed, where does that leave us, the students and graduates?

I’m Lois, a 23 year old graduate from the University of Bristol. I finished my degree during the Covid-19 crisis, and boy has it been tough finding my feet since then. After six months of job hunting and stress, alongside writing my dissertation, I managed to land an apprenticeship working as a Digital Marketing Assistant. Here’s my story of how I dealt with endless rejections. Don’t worry - you’re not the only one. 

As soon as I found out that my university had closed and classes would be online, I started applying for jobs. I was frustrated that my last year at university had been cut short. No graduation. No celebration. So, I took to my university job board as my first port of call and started sending out applications left, right and centre, so that I’d have something to aim for after graduating. But a lot of other students had the same idea… After applying for about 30 jobs, and not receiving a single email back, I decided to look elsewhere. I turned to LinkedIn and spent hours curating cover letters and researching the companies. Finding a job in the past hadn’t been too taxing, so I assumed that it wouldn’t take long to find a company interested in hiring me. Oh, was I wrong.

Enthusiasm soon turned into desperation. It turns out that a lot of companies don’t have time to read or reply to your application. All too often, I was told ‘if you don’t hear from us then you’ve been unsuccessful’. Job-hunting became a game of checking my phone, only to see the first line of the email ‘unfortunately, you have been unsuccessful on this occasion...’ I ended up spending every waking moment checking for jobs on LinkedIn, Indeed and Reed and felt guilty when I wasn’t applying. I started to think that not spending all of my time on these sites would mean lost opportunities. I was beginning to lose hope. 

What saved me from giving up was my support network. I had friends who were in the same position as me, who could empathise with my situation. Taking time out to talk to them and get out of the job-hunt headspace really helped me cope. I was baffled as to why companies rejected me for a role that I was overqualified for, but I soon realised that companies were so inundated with applications that it was almost impossible for them to sift through each and every application. It wasn’t personal.

My job search tactics began to shift; at first, I was exclusively applying for graduate jobs with high salaries, yet as time went on, I began contemplating other options. I started applying for apprenticeships, volunteer work, internships and Erasmus+ programmes, whether paid or unpaid. At first, it was demoralising to receive rejections from unpaid roles, but I kept reminding myself that the right opportunity would soon come up. Then, to my surprise, while scrolling through my rejection emails one day, I received some positive news: I had been invited to an interview for a Digital Marketing Apprenticeship. At this point, I had applied for so many roles that I had even forgotten which company the role corresponded to. 

Interview time

I was so excited to finally show an employer my enthusiasm and aptitude for the position, that I prepared fiercely for the interview. It was an online interview, which has its own challenges, but personality and passion really stand out to employers. I researched the company and its aims and created a portfolio of work that I could demonstrate during the interview. This scored me bonus points. Not only did it highlight my preparation, but it also gave the interviewer a taste of my proactive approach to learning new skills and putting my free time to good use during lockdown. For example, I completed online digital marketing courses from Google and HubSpot, in addition to attending webinars and creating my own website. Preparing a mock interview with friends is also a great way to practice your interview technique and prepare for unexpected questions. Through talking to my friends, I collated an extensive list of interview questions that I would be asked, and that I could ask, meaning I was prepared for any eventuality. 

On the day of the interview, I was surprised. The feel of the interview was completely relaxed; the interviewer ran through the role with me and asked me a bit about my work background, and what I could bring to the team. This was the perfect opportunity for me to share my portfolio with him and speak about the work I had been doing, and how it related to the Digital Marketing role. His relaxed approach made me comfortable and excited to work for a friendly, supportive company. I also really resonated with their ethos of continual learning and self-improvement. Having just finished my degree, I was eager to learn new skills in a fast-paced work environment, so an apprenticeship was perfect for me. After the interview, I got to meet the team, which was a good sign. They, too, were friendly and made me excited to be a part of their projects. When the interview was over, I couldn’t stop analysing my answers, but I had a great feeling about it. Lo and behold, two hours later, I received a call from the interviewer notifying me of the good news: I had a job!

In all my excitement, I almost forgot that this was the start of a new chapter: I was moving to a different city, over 150 miles away. In a whirlwind of events, I travelled to the other side of the country to attend my apprenticeship training, look for a house share and explore the area for the first time. A couple of weeks later, I moved in with some people I met through Facebook, and it felt like Freshers’ Week all over again. I had just one week to settle into my new life, and then I started my job. Although I’ve only been here for a couple of weeks, I’m already getting stuck in with work projects and exploring the city. Of course, there’s been a couple of hiccups along the way, such as dodgy mattresses and no hot water, but trying something new has really paid off, and I am now in a secure job in a completely precarious time. 

So what have I learned from all of this? My advice would be not to give up: perseverance is a great transferable skill that you can demonstrate in interviews and on your CV. Don’t take rejection personally, and don’t be scared to push out of your comfort zone; you never know what opportunities might open up. 

How are you feeling about graduating and the subsequent job hunt? Join the Student Hut Community today and share your opinions in our panel.

Lois King
Lois King on 2 October 2020