Before March 2020, then-senior Vanessa Blair Young had plenty of job prospects. The University of Delaware communication major juggled four internships, including on-campus positions at WVUD Radio, the UD Career Center and the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment, and a stint as a background assistant during Paris Fashion Week when she studied abroad for her fashion management minor.

But when COVID-19 shut down the economy, forcing nationwide furloughs and hiring freezes, Young’s options suddenly disappeared.

“I was nervous to graduate in the height of the pandemic; I was scared about the fact that this might set me back in my career,” she said. “After many meetings and networking at home before graduation, I had no contacts that worked at companies hiring at that point in time.”

The results of an outcomes survey of Class of 2020 graduates indicates that 60% of graduates are employed, compared to 71% for the classes of 2019 and 2018. With the country’s unemployment rate in April 2020 higher than its been since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began collecting data, many UD graduates were left with few — if any — professional opportunities.

Young said it was hard to stay positive with no end in sight. “Not only was the Class of 2020 actively grieving [the loss of] normalcy, but we were also scrambling to find a job in a time that felt hopeless,” she said.

As Young was searching for a job, Class of 2019 graduate Nick Vitolano was preparing to lose his. The hospitality industry management major was only in his ninth month of working for Marriott as an operations manager at the Courtyard Atlanta Airport North when contingency plans for the coronavirus began.

“Since we were located close to the airport, most of our business was airline groups, pilots and business travelers, so we were tracking COVID in early February,” Vitolano said. “At one point, we had a discussion with the team about reducing schedules. However, it was the night that the NBA shut down and the NCAA basketball tournament was canceled that I knew the inevitable was coming.”

Vitolano was furloughed shortly after and began hunting for a new position almost immediately. “My boss and I had a great relationship and I trusted that he would do whatever it took to get me back to work as opposed to just terminating me,” he said. “However, I knew I would need to begin exploring my options as the hospitality industry was facing such uncertain times. I knew deep down that this wouldn’t be just two or three months.”

Senior political science major Jacob Wasserman was lucky to find a remote internship in June 2020 with the campaign of Delaware U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester. But facing another semester of virtual learning before his graduation date in December 2020 and dealing with the emotional fallout of the pandemic created considerable distractions from his job search.

“There have been a number of stressors present for pandemic-affected UD students that were simply not an issue for any other class,” Wassserman said. “Almost everyone knows someone who either died from COVID-19 or was seriously ill from it, which obviously is incredibly traumatic. Not to mention the fact that the normal social and networking opportunities were taken away quite abruptly, as well as having to do upper-level classes through Zoom.”

While the initial outlook was grim, the job market is bouncing back. In April 2021, just one year after hitting a record-high unemployment rate, the U.S. had more jobs available than before the pandemic. A greater number of graduates who completed the 2020 career outcomes survey updated their response from “seeking employment” to “employed” over the course of the summer than in previous years. There is also an increase in 2020 graduates who are continuing their education (30% of responders) in comparison to 2019 graduates (23%).

Despite the obvious obstacles, the Class of 2020 reports 90% of bachelor’s degree graduates are employed or pursuing further education, only a 5% decrease from the Class of 2019.

After months without results, Young was finally rewarded for her countless applications. She currently works as a marketing assistant at GrowthForce, an outsourced accounting and bookkeeping company for small businesses and nonprofits. “I found the position through LinkedIn and had no prior connections at the company,” Young said. “I had three to four Zoom interviews, each with someone new from the team, which gave me a great opportunity to get a feel for who I might be working with.”

The position is one Young wouldn’t have found or thought possible before the pandemic. “They’re located in Houston, Texas,” she said. “But I work fully remote.”

Wasserman’s remote internship led to a job offer as a digital assistant for Rochester’s campaign in March 2021. He encourages recent graduates to make meaningful connections to make their job search successful. “As a member of the Class of 2021, I just want to emphasize the importance of networking,” Wasserman said. “Always be meeting new people, asking questions and then using existing connections to make new ones. It will pay off at some point.”

While furloughed at Marriott, Vitolano found a new position as a strategic operations analyst at Davidson Hospitality Group in February 2021. He credits UD with helping him be able to bounce back quickly. “On paper, based on work experience, I could be considered green and underqualified for the role that I’m currently in,” he said. “However, because of my education at UD, I stepped into the workplace ready to hit the ground running. There’s no better feeling than being trained on something and saying, ‘Thanks, but I’m already familiar with that.’ I was lucky to be part of a major which helped me to become well-rounded.”

Vitolano urges Blue Hens who are still seeking jobs to find ways to stand out and stay the course. “Do things that set yourself apart from other candidates and show genuine interest in the positions you’re applying for,” he said. “Applying to jobs can be an odds game at times. It took me over 125 applications to get to my current position. Don’t give up, even if you don’t hear back.”

For assistance in your job search, schedule an appointment with your career counselor via Handshake and reach out to the UD Career Center at udcareers@udel.edu. For more information and explanation of UD's student surveys, visit the Career Outcomes website and click “See our data gathering method.”