I graduated during a pandemic. It took 1,000 applications to find a job in my field.

One 2020 college graduate’s story about job searching during a pandemic, and words for the future class.

College students nationwide are more stressed than ever due to new rules, expectations and the new way of life. As a 2020 college graduate, I understand that stress. After graduating during the COVID-19 pandemic, it took me more than 1,000 job applications before I found a position in my field.

March 2020 is a time I will never forget. While enjoying my final spring break ever as a Eureka College student, I got an email from my school notifying us that our break had been extended another week due to the global pandemic. “This is just a safety protocol,” I thought to myself, not knowing the severity of the situation.

At the time, I had no idea I would never again sit in a classroom as a college student.

I thought this would be the greatest thing ever. I get to stay home, work at my own pace, sometimes not even leave my bed until noon. That thought ended quickly.

The thoughts starting circling in my brain, wondering how I was going to be able to finish my final three months of college online with such short notice. I could no longer just walk to a professor’s office during their open hours or go to the learning center if I need additional help. I had so many other concerns that needed to be addressed.

Once it was time to get back to work, it was a wakeup call, a slap in the face. It became one of the most stressful times in my life. The pandemic brought stress.

Trying to balance the new everyday life was hard enough; to add, finishing my degree online along with looking for a place to start my career after I graduated was now a problem.

I got through my last three months of college. But Eureka decided at first we would not be able to walk across the graduation stage for all the hard work we put into school because of the pandemic. Thankfully, in June 2020, I was able to walk across the grad stage and enjoy the moment I worked so hard for. It was a short victory, as the uncertainty came back.

Like a lot of people, I felt anxiety in my stomach. My appetite would disappear. One day I would feel normal, and the next I’d be in bed before the sun went down. My friends and family started to worry. Graduation had come and gone. I had very little drive to even continue looking for a job. It was hard, something that I would never wish upon anyone.

Throughout the year that followed, things trended toward normalcy, but I still struggled to find a job that allied with my communications degree. I was having a hard time mentally. It felt as if the pandemic took away everything I had worked more than six years for. For the first time in my life, something seemed impossible.

As the interviews rolled in for the more than 1,000 jobs I applied for, I always had in the back of my mind, “This is the one.” But over and over again, the result was always the same: disappointment.

On Sept. 1, 2021, after 16 months of searching, I finally got a break.

Dennis Anderson, vice president of news and content development at Shaw Media, reached out to me about a few professional opportunities. He was editor at the Journal Star in Peoria when I was in college, and I worked there as a part-time sportswriter. During our first Zoom interview, I felt Dennis could see the exhaustion lingering in my face. I promised him one thing: If he gave me a chance, it would be the last time he would have to see me like this. He believed in me, gave me a shot and that was all I needed.

Now, I’m employed by Shaw Media as a regional reporter located in the new DeKalb office for the Daily Chronicle, doing something I enjoy. Yes, it is stressful, but it’s the stress I signed up for, not the uncertainty stress I experienced before. The feeling that I would never be good enough started to slip away.

Patience is key: That is my biggest takeaway these past 16 months. I am not writing this to gloat about my success because I have a long way to go. I am writing this for future college graduates and those still looking for a job. It is going to be hard, it is going to take longer than you had hoped, but in the end something will go your way, even when you least expect it.

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