Hiring freeze for recent graduates due to the coronavirus pandemic, SU grads share their thoughts

SALISBURY, Md.- The coronavirus pandemic is making it difficult for some 2020 graduates to find work, Salisbury University says it’s all because of a hiring freeze.

“No one has really any definitive information, so a lot of our students are in a holding pattern,” Kevin Fallon, Director of Career Services at Salisbury University, said.

We’re told students trying to land their first job out of college are instead being met with companies that don’t want to hire because they are faced with too much uncertainty or are hurting financially.

“So, even if you wanna just get hired they might say yea we want to, but later resend your offer or they might not hire you at all because of the whole situation,” Abiodun Adeoye, 2020 Salisbury University graduate, said.

For some, the hiring freeze is adding to an already stressful situation.

“That right there causes a lot of anxiety and then the anxiety can then get them off their A game when it comes to being a job seeker,” Fallon said.

Harrison Leon, a recent SU graduate, said when he was looking for jobs the stay-at-home order narrowed his job search.

“That really restricted the type of jobs that I could apply for because they were closing down businesses essentially,” Harrison Leon, 2020 Salisbury University graduate, said.

But with the uncertainty of the future, SU Career Services is doing what they can to help.

“We’re staying focused on making sure that they’re looking at dream jobs, going online and finding the job options for their dream jobs,” Fallon said.

Moving forward, students just hope that businesses be more upfront with them, so they don’t have to stay in a holding pattern.

“I just think it’s up to businesses and a lot of places to see what they can do to help people get through this pandemic financially,” Adeoye said.

“Businesses are better off being frank with the students who are now graduating and telling them yea the situation is really bad right now,” Leon said.

SU Career Services said that they have participated in virtual job fairs for students during this time. The next one will be on June 19th.

You can visit www.marylandcareerconsortium.org.