Sophomore Riley Fletcher, an interactive media major, shares some challenges she has faced in her job search journey during COVID-19. Fletcher shares her experience of how she has found it more difficult to find a job and internship.

“Now, I’ve started searching for an internship without much luck. A lot of places are still working remotely and/or aren’t willing to take on interns right now. The places that are hiring aren’t willing to offer much compensation for their interns as they’ve been affected financially by COVID,” Fletcher said.

Caroline Oberg, a junior interactive media major at Simpson, shares her similar experience. 

“COVID-19 has really put a damper on my job search. I was supposed to have an internship last summer, but then with COVID-19, I had to move home and get a job at a retail store there because my internship fell through. I am currently looking for an internship of some kind right now,” Oberg said.

“I have been using Simpson’s tools through career development, like applying through Handshake and having the people there help me with my resume, which has been so useful, and I would be lost without them,” Oberg said.

Assistant Director of Career Development, Laurie Dufoe, shares some hope and positive news in what she has noticed in regards to students’ recent job search journeys. 

Dufoe shared how she has been hearing great news from many students at Simpson. From job acceptance and being admitted into grad schools, Dufoe has seen Simpson students succeeding and taking leaps into their professional career opportunities. 

“We saw such a huge spike where we hit the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression and

Searching for a job can be a stressful time for many. Applying for jobs during a pandemic also brings additional challenges and difficulties.

Sophomore Riley Fletcher, an interactive media major, shares some challenges she has faced in her job search journey during COVID-19.

“Now, I’ve started searching for an internship without much luck. A lot of places are still working remotely and, or aren’t willing to take on interns right now. The places that are hiring aren’t willing to offer much compensation for their interns as they’ve been affected financially by COVID,” said Fletcher.

Assistant Director of Career Development, Laurie Dufoe, shares some hope and positive news in what she has noticed in regards to students’ recent job search journeys. 

Dufoe shared how she has been hearing great news from many students at Simpson. From job acceptance and being admitted into grad schools, Dufoe has seen Simpson students succeeding and taking leaps into their professional career opportunities. 

“We saw such a huge spike where we hit the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression, and now it’s bouncing back,” Dufoe said.

According to the Iowa Workforce Development, the national unemployment rate was nearly 15% last spring in April 2020. The national average unemployment rate in December of 2020 was 6.7%. Iowa’s unemployment rate in December 2020 had greatly improved and was half the national average, at 3.1%.

“The unemployment rate is lower than what I would picture it to be during a pandemic,” Dufoe said. 

Laurie Dufoe encourages students to reach out to career services for support in their professional career journeys. “We want to be a helpful resource for all students,” Dufoe said. 

Some resources career services provide include individual appointments, group workshops, internship support, an online job board, revising job application documents, encouragement, building connections with Simpson alumni and more. 

Simpson Career Services is located inside the student development suite on the Kent Campus Center’s second floor. Due to COVID-19, at this time, all meetings are held virtually via Zoom. 

To learn more about Simpson Career Services, email [email protected].