Eliza Williams couldn’t find a job when she graduated in December.
Williams, 21, persevered through the unstable job market and illustrated some work that employees at Spotify UK noticed, who then reached out to her through Instagram. “Having social media has increased my work and income,” said Williams.
With aspirations after years of work and training, postgraduates and soon-to-be graduates like Williams are trying to find opportunity in their careers as they adjust to the new normal the pandemic has created.
For Williams, the pandemic has increased the importance of touching on important issues. At the beginning of the pandemic, when everyone was hoarding toilet paper, Williams did an illustration on the shortage and people started finding her work when an art account reposted it. “Touching on social issues within my illustrations, I have definitely seen changes within my art,” Williams said. Although she wishes she could collaborate with people in person instead of a computer screen, she recognizes how the pandemic has helped her business Doolittle Illustrations . “I think that if the pandemic hadn’t happened, clients living in the UK or clients living in America wouldn’t have reached out to me,” Williams said.
Marina Vidal, 20, studies journalism and film and is in her final year at University Carlos III de Madrid in Madrid. She is required to get an internship before she graduates and says it has been difficult this year to find one. “I was doing an internship for a company that covered cultural news, but my bosses found it hard because no events were taking place and it was hard to film on location,” Vidal said. She currently goes to class two days a week. She had planned to finish her last year of school in Australia but will be starting an internship for a small production company in Madrid called The Tab Gang because of restrictions in her country caused by Covid. The company will not be able to pay her because they have not gotten much income as a result of the pandemic, but they are offering Vidal the opportunity to gain experience by working in different areas.
“The easiest way to get a job right now is being a freelancer, “Vidal said. She has sold some of her writing to magazines and media outlets.
Terrika Jones, 32, an OB/Gyn resident in her fourth year of residency at Medstar Washington Hospital Center, is concerned for what the pandemic will do for physicians that specialize in gynecology. “People think that doctors are immune to the whole thing because you will always need a doctor, but it depends on what kind of doctor you are and where your job security lies,“ Jones said.
Hospitals at the beginning of the pandemic in her sector were only doing obstetrics and in her residency program there are 40 residents. She was only scheduled to work for 24 hours every four to five days when she would normally work 80 hours a week. Obstetrics is an essential part of healthcare but some procedures from a gynecology standpoint are considered elective. “If we were to shut down again those positions would be heavily impacted,” she said. She is also worried that if there is another lockdown in place, her training would be affected. “We will always have a job, but not necessarily get all the things we need to get from it if we had to go on another lockdown,” Jones said. Elective surgeries make a lot for private practices and “you can’t sustain on just labor and delivery,” she said. Private practices and hospitals are trying to make up from the loss of income from elective surgeries during the pandemic.
“A lot of businesses are not hiring so it sucks for fourth years and makes it a little harder to get a job or look for a job,” Jones said.
Williams has expressed that although it has been pretty good for her, a lot of people in creative industries have struggled due to the pandemic.