Working in a Pandemic

A Recent Graduate's Experience

2020 was a whirlwind of a year for everybody. An international pandemic through off so many plans that people had from weddings to vacations to graduations. My experience with the pandemic is not an uncommon one.

At the beginning of the year, I was teaching public speaking and finishing up my master’s thesis planning on attending graduation in May. During spring break in mid-March, I get an email saying that we’re going to be remote for the rest of the semester and I’d be teaching online without any preparation or anything. Of course graduation getting cancelled was a given and with no end in sight, I put everything into finding a job after grad school.

I eventually found one that started out as contract work in April and transitioned to full-time in June. It wasn’t the best job to start out with being 35 miles away from my new apartment in a new city with low pay and no benefits. But it was a job during a pandemic where tens of millions were laid off so who was I to complain?

As the economy started to heal and the pandemic worsened, I realized that this wasn’t the place for me. Despite several requests for people to wear masks, no one but me did. Despite multiple positive tests in the office, no one wore masks but me. On the long drive home, I asked myself, “why am I working for a place that doesn’t care about me enough to do something so simple (state-mandated) and effective?”

So at the end of September, I left. It was a tough financial decision that me and my fiancée discussed several times over and we felt that for our health, both physically and mentally, it’d be better to be unemployed for a couple months than work in an unsafe environment.

I’ve worked contract work since then and have been blessed to not struggle through this tumultuous time, but it hasn’t been without its frustrations. I’ve gone through more interviews than I could count, whether on the phone or in-person, and sent even more follow-up emails.

My ma would often tell me that the worst thing they can say is “no”, but it’s actually no response at all. For every rejection I got, there were at least three no responses. I wish employers would take the time to at least reject someone, but often times they don’t for some strange reason. I’m hoping that at the beginning of the new year opportunities will start showing up more, but it’s not a guarantee. The vaccine is being distributed while I write this and I’m prayerful that things start to open up more.

I think about all the recent graduates of 2020 trying to find their way in this hectic, unfair world we live in and I’m extremely privilege to not have to worry about finances too much. My biggest piece of advice to those out there trying to find a job is to not let them ghost you. Follow up with them every week until they respond. Don't worry about feeling like you’re annoying them because it just shows your tenacity and dedication to getting that job.

2020 wasn't our year for us graduates, but the future is absolutely ours for the taking.