Job and internship searching as a college student is tough, and 2020 has made it all the more uncertain for us to find the positions we need to make us competitive in our future careers. But as employment opportunities have started fizzling out from the COVID-19 pandemic, that doesn’t yet mean that all hope is lost. What it really means is that we need to start reevaluating what the next step for our career is and how we can get there in the midst of a grinding economic halt. This article will share some techniques recommended by experts for students who aren’t sure how to proceed towards the entry-level position or resume-boosting internship of their dreams. Of course, everyone’s path to their career will look different, but there are a few key areas that everyone can improve upon that are even more necessary now than they’ve ever been. 

We’ll start with something simple that every job seeker knows they need but finds incredibly intimidating: the resume. This document is absolutely essential to getting the first interview, and  now that COVID-19 is making job searching more remote and less personal, the resume may bear more weight in the hiring process. If you don’t have one yet, I recommend starting out simply with a template, such as those found on the Career Center’s website here. If you already have one, now is a great time to read over it one more time and see if any improvements can be made. Everyone’s resume will vary based on their own experiences and the types of positions and fields they are applying for, but more generally, there are some improvements that will help your resume gain more attention no matter what field you are aiming for. First, make sure the most important information on the page, such as the position titles you’ve held, your degree and your honors and awards are emphasized by the layout such as capitalizing, larger font, bolding, italics or underlining. Also, under every listing of previous experience, give two or three bullet points showing what skills you used or developed, and use an active voice and a strong verb to communicate these points. This Career Center website has great verbs listed that you can pick from to make your experience come alive on the page. Finally, having a second pair of eyes go over your resume can help point out any mistakes and offer more specific advice, so definitely make an appointment with the Career Center by emailing [email protected] or the Writing Center by going to clemson.mywconline.com.

While resumes and cover letters are the staple of job searching, one platform that is increasingly becoming more important in the job search is LinkedIn. While more young people looking for professional opportunities are turning to LinkedIn, many are unsure how to craft the strongest profile or make the best connections. My advice, riding on information from a professional development class I took and Clemson’s Center for Career and Professional Development, is as follows. First, add a professional yet friendly-looking photo in an outfit that fits your chosen career. Second, fill in the bio with one to three sentences that highlight who you are, what you want to achieve and why you are someone who can achieve it. Third, add work experiences and include short summaries with active verbs that describe what you accomplished in them. Fourth, add education, skills, accomplishments, honors and awards, any other languages you speak, any certifications you’ve earned, the most important courses you’ve taken at Clemson or elsewhere and any other activities you have partaken in that showcase your skills. Fifth, add connections, especially those who you have worked with professionally or in the classroom. And finally, once you have connections with any current or previous bosses, managers, supervisors or even professors, send them a nice, polite message asking them to endorse a skill that they have seen you use. These endorsements show up on your profile and are a great way for businesses interested in working with you to reference as proof that you are as skilled as you claim. Make sure to thank those who endorse you!

So, the resume and LinkedIn got you to the interview stage somewhere, but how does that look different now that COVID-19 has shut down in-person interviewing? The good news is that this part isn’t that much worse than it used to be. Nowadays, most hiring processes have at least two or three interviews, where the first would be over the phone or video chat, leading up to the big in-person interview at the end; the only difference these next few months are that the interviewing process is now going to stay online, which means that it is even more important to master the skills associated with a strong virtual interview. If you need some help preparing what to say or act more generally in an interview, make an appointment with the Career Center ([email protected]). Otherwise, here are some tips for how to prepare for remote interviewing. First, make sure that you can work with whichever platform is being utilized: log in early and check your video, audio and internet connections so that you can avoid having something go wrong during the interview. Second, even though you aren’t meeting in person, dress professionally; I even recommend dressing in your interview outfit for phone interviews because wearing nice clothes can help boost your self-confidence in ways that are perceptible over-the-phone. Next, check your background to make sure the focus is on you. Try to find a mostly-blank wall to keep behind you and ensure that there is nothing that could leave a bad impression of you in the frame including: dirty dishes, a cluttered desk, unfolded laundry on the bed, etc. Similarly and pretty intuitive to in-person interviews, ensure that there are minimal distractions by silencing notifications on your phone and–if interviewing on a video call–computer. Also like in-person interviews, try to use positive body-language, maintaining friendly, not too intense eye-contact with the camera, smiling and nodding and moving your hands naturally while you talk. Finally, you can keep post-it-notes or your resume open on the screen during your interview in case you need some help referring back to your listed experiences and skills. Just don’t read off what you’ve already written, as the interview is supposed to provide more information about you than what the company already got in paper.

As a graduating senior this semester, I understand how unfair and difficult the end of this semester has felt. Ultimately, despite everything I just wrote, if you don’t emerge from quarantine over the summer with the perfect resume, a glowing LinkedIn profile and your dream job lined up and ready for you, that’s completely okay. Because at the end of the day, the most important thing we can do right now is to remain patient with ourselves and be mindful of the greater stress that we are under as a result of this pandemic. If you have to wait until the situation improves to get that entry-level job or internship, that’s completely fine. Life doesn’t happen in a perfect linear order, so remember that whatever you do during the rest of this semester is enough. It’s okay to put yourself on hold, to be not okay and to save your energy for the time when you are able to be okay again. No imposed timeline to get hired or checklist that you need to race to finish before you graduate is more important than your own well-being.