Limited opportunities to gain experience during the pandemic, such as internships or part-time work, is a top concern among this year's grads.
The "COVID Generation's" last year of school looked very different from their first year, and the graduates of 2021 are entering a job market that with a lot of uncertainty. A survey by LaSalle Network, an employment agency based in Chicago and Nashville, examines how the students who will graduate in 2021 feel entering the market.
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"Amid perhaps the fastest rebound in history, the class of 2021 is walking across the stage and entering the strongest jobs market we've seen in decades," LaSalle wrote in the report. "After unemployment spiked from 3.5% to 14.8% just one year ago, the market has bounced back to a candidate-driven and highly competitive hiring landscape with more jobs being added daily."
Almost nine out of 10 graduates surveyed are still looking for jobs, and 79% believe it will be harder due to the pandemic. Limited opportunities to gain experience during the pandemic, such as internships or part-time work, is their top concern. LaSalle recommends employers consider other ways that a candidate can demonstrate their skills, such as independent certifications or online courses, to compensate for the lack of experience. Over a third of graduates said they would be willing to take an internship now.
Another opportunity for employers to ease concerns around experience is by offering temporary or temporary-to-permanent work. Eighty-one percent of graduates said they would consider this option
Although employment has recovered dramatically over the last year, graduates saw what happened in March and April, and they are concerned about job security. Over 70% said they plan to stay at their first job for three years or more, compared to 55% of the 2020 graduating class.
Social media is their primary tool for job searching, followed by online job boards. Even if companies aren't listing their jobs on social platforms, LaSalle notes that employers should examine their presence there and make sure it represents the company and its culture accurately.
Several studies have found that workers value the ability to work remotely, but LaSalle found that graduates were more interested in culture, location and benefits. After a year or remote learning, remote work might not be very appealing, according to the report. Specific benefits that matter to graduates include:
- Medical coverage, particularly mental health, as 40% of respondents said mental and emotional health was a top concern for entering the workforce.
- 401(k) match, which LaSalle acknowledges might be a financial strain that some companies can't take on. The firm urges those companies to make it a priority when they can, and to consider other ways to address new hires' financial wellness concerns.
- Flexible hours, which might include remote work, but might also include flexible schedules. In fact, only 8% of respondents said remote work was very important to them, although respondents reported an average 20 hours as their ideal remote/onsite balance. "This means the majority of 2021 graduates are not exclusively targeting remote opportunities, but if given the option, they would work from home half of the week," according to the report.
- Just 10% of respondents said student loan assistance was extremely important to them, but LaSalle suggests this may be a temporary reaction to student loan forbearance that was granted last year. Graduates of the last two years were twice as likely to rate loan assistance as very important.
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