The pandemic has affected a large number of employers and many companies are having to adjust their hiring needs. Missouri Western is committed to ensuring our students and graduates are remaining career ready and staying vigilant in a shifting job market.

  1. Update their resume. Make sure they’ve included their completed degree, any activities or work that they’ve done in the last four years. Remove older, irrelevant items (primarily anything from high school). Make sure they’ve fully transitioned their personal brand from student to would-be professional.
  2. Understand what it is your student wants to be doing. This means they have at least two or three job titles or keywords they know to start searching for. Your student could also go the reverse route and identify the companies they’d like to eventually work for and see what entry-level positions they offer. Both steps require a little bit of research and a lot of self- reflection.
  3. Know how to navigate the job search sites. The most popular, universal job sites are Indeed.com, CareerBuilder.com, and Monster.com – my favorite is Indeed because of how user friendly it is. The #1 job search engine geared towards university students is Handshake.com, which your student already has an account in. Your student can also utilize industry-specific job sites. For example, HigherEdJobs.com is the best place to find faculty and administrative positions for colleges and universities. USAjobs.gov is where all government/federal positions are posted. Chances are, if your student is looking for a specific industry, they will have a separate job search site.
  4. Check the posting dates. Many companies have had to rapidly adjust to this new normal and aren’t remembering to update old postings, or have been placed on a hiring freeze. If a job has been posted in the last 2-3 weeks, then it is likely still being hired amid the crisis. If it is older than that, your student should call the company’s HR department and ask if they’re still accepting applications/reviewing candidates.
  5. Maximize LinkedIn. Both in making sure that their profile is updated and starting to make connections. Look up companies that your student can see themselves working for and find out if they have any shared connections with the employees, either by being a Missouri Western alum, sharing a fraternal organization, or having a friend in common. Personalized invitation requests are more likely to be accepted. Building their network is a key part in becoming career ready.