Covid 19: Advice for students looking for internships or graduate roles

Posted on Monday, November 30, 2020 by Marketing Director of Debut Careers, Kim Conner StreichNo comments

The world is a very different place to the one we were living in two weeks ago. Alongside the worry about family and friends, we know a lot of students are also worrying about what happens next in relation to finding a role

To put this in perspective, employers are also concerned and are working to minimise disruption to the hiring process. With this much uncertainty, we have been speaking to many employers about how they are approaching the graduate and student recruitment.

The initial reaction

We have seen a mix of reactions. At the start of the application process, some employers have suspended recruitment activity and are not looking for more applications whereas others are continuing to actively recruit.

The part of the application process that will change most are the follow up stages after they have received your application. Interviews, assessment centres and other face to face activities have either been suspended or have been moved to virtual environments. For the companies that have suspended activities, they will be working around the clock to get an online version available.

Most of the larger employers especially in technology firms have been using remote working for years, so are very well placed to continue working.

From the conversations we have had, most of the companies are simplifying the process. One on one online interviews are going to be a big focus, although a few have retained the assessment centres in a virtual environment.

What will happen next

With so much uncertainty, around how long the Coronavirus will last, employers will be looking to establish a ‘business as usual’ feel as quickly as possible. This means they will likely resume activities once they have the systems in place to effectively handle the full application process.

Employers are mostly leaving jobs live, but with the big change in workflow we expect there to be some significant backlogs in dealing with the applications already received.

Expect timeframes to be longer, and the later stages of the interview process to be pushed back.

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