Experts Weigh In On Current Job Market Trends
March 29, 2021
Given the change of course that has happened in the world, we wanted to provide expert opinions on what aspiring graduates can do to start off their careers in an uncertain economic climate. We wanted to know what skills will be more important, where the economy is doing relatively well, and if there will be any lasting effects on the job market.
Companies are looking for candidates that can handle the new responsibilities of the job market. Recent graduates actually have an advantage because they are comfortable using newer technologies and have been communicating virtually their whole lives. They can take what they've learned and apply it immediately.
We spoke to professors and experts from several universities and companies to get their opinions on where the job market for recent graduates is heading, as well as how young graduates entering the industry can be adequately prepared. Here are their thoughts.
Our Panel of Experts
University of California, Riverside
Louis Santiago Ph.D.
Professor and Physiological EcologistUniversity of California, Riverside
Botany and Plant Sciences
WebsiteWill there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on graduates?
Louis Santiago Ph.D.: This is hard to predict. Some academic interactions that they would have had with faculty were curtailed due to online learning, but I think that faculty should be willing to write letters of recommendation considering the situation. There is also a loss of interactions with their cohort, which is difficult to gauge. Beyond these university-based changes, there will likely be a shifing job market, since everything shifted towards remote activity for a year.
What's a day at work going to look like for a recent graduate?
Louis Santiago Ph.D.: I am not sure. The concentration that we have had all year on a pandemic spread and vaccine development has put a huge spotlight on certain fields like virus evolution and epidemiology in general, but the long-term effects and how they relate to graduates remains to be seen. However, students graduating this spring will face a US that is half returning to normal, perhaps with co-workers beginning in person work for the first time in a long time.
