Career Services Series (Part 1): Guidance for College Students Seeking Employment During COVID-19 

April 14, 2020

By Connie Harrington, Associate Director of Career Development & Employer Relations 

You may be uncertain about your job search and how it has been impacted by COVID-19, but you don’t need to worry.  Despite the increase in the unemployment rate, social distancing requirements, and restriction on travel, the job market for Capitol Technology University students and graduates is still lucrative. 

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) just released the results of their recently conducted polls from employers and colleges/universities, to find out how employers are managing college recruitment during COVID-19.  With some adjustments to move to virtual platforms, internships for fall look promising and employment for college graduates is staying relatively the same.  

With employers in your specific industries looking for students in your occupational majors, you should be accelerating your job search to keep ahead. This four-part series will cover everything you need to know to conduct your job search during this time. 

Part I – Resumes: 

Submitting a resume and never receiving a response is a common complaint of many job seekers – this is why a good resume format is key in getting your resume noticed. Be sure it is up-to-date and addresses the skills listed in the job post. This is important because online application systems called Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) scan for these words. If they are not in your resume you will not go forward in the screening process. Revise your resume for each position you are applying for to ensure they match and do the same for your cover letter. 

Additionally, the layout of your resume and the information you include can be the deciding factor. Employers give resumes approximately a six-second review and look at the top third of the page. Does your resume get you noticed? Are you getting calls from employers? If not your resume may need improvement.  

Assistance and additional information and resources are available at Career Services. You can schedule meetings via email at careers@captechu.edu, through Symplicity, and by calling 240-965-2494. All meeting will be held via Zoom. You will need to sign into Zoom to join the meeting and will be placed in a waiting room. 

These step-by-step Resume Resources provide great information to get you started: 

Click here to read Part 2 of this series - Conducting a Virtual Job Search.