Corona Crisis: What Can Engineering Students Do to Beat the Gloom in the Job Market?
The outbreak of the lethal Coronavirus has caused significant global panic. People around the world are facing job loss, fear of contamination and of course, the dreaded isolation. No one is able to predict what will happen next and for how long this pandemic will last. Especially, the newly graduated engineering students are facing the fear of not getting their desired job or being unemployed. The brutal impact of the COVID-19 on businesses is not going to be over anytime soon. It is expected to continue for months or even a year post-retreat, till businesses get enough time to recover from the losses.
But we are here to provide you some useful tips to help you in continuing life normally and improve your chances of employability during and post-COVID-19 crisis.
Go Digital
As organizations are going digital and operating their businesses remotely through digital means, it is advisable for you to be digitally active to connect with your target companies. Seat at home and try all the professional digital channels to find your dream job. Through online job search platforms like Naukri, LinkedIn, Timesjobs etc. you can find companies looking for candidates in your domain and you can apply for them.
Apply for fewer openings
In good times, you apply at all the job openings related to your branch, but in situations like this, your strategy should be to apply at selected and most relevant job openings. Pick a good company, join with a reasonable salary package, learn the work and then look for better opportunities when you have confidence over your skills and situations are better.
Step out of your comfort zone
The current situation is more about survival and less about choices. Get prepared to go out of your comfort zone as finding a job during this recession is quite tough. Be open about moving to places and changing streams where the business is brisk. For instance, if you are a Mechanical Engineering graduate and have interest and training in the field of Machine Design, but you are getting a good opportunity in the field of Manufacturing Processes, then try to upskill yourself and grab the opportunity.
Apply the multi-channel approach
To grab the best possible opportunities, do not only rely on campus selections and job boards. Explore online job fairs, job portals, social media sites, reach out to recruiters, tap into your college alumni networks for openings in their organizations and try all other feasible ways. Doing this would help you to get a satisfying job in a good company during this recession.
Be more flexible
As the job market is down, there are more applicants and fewer jobs. Since the supply is more than the demand in the market, the salary that will be offered to you will be lower too. To adapt to such an environment, you should be flexible in terms of your salary expectation and job role.
Seek income not job
It's time to change your definition of a 'job' as jobs are tough to find. In a good time, you might consider hundreds of things before joining a job, but in recession time, imagine everything related to your domain that can put cash in your pockets. Go for contract work, freelance assignments, paid internships, time-bound project work or any other work that leverages your skills. With money in pocket, one is less desperate at job interviews and thus gets selected easily.
When the global economy is tanking into a recession, not only you but also everyone else is at risk of not getting a job or losing a job. Keeping in mind these tips while preparing your battle plan will help you in handling the situation more effectively and smartly.
