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This article was last updated: 05/12/20

For all students active in Career Services as of 3/23/20, or any student who begins Career Services after this date

As the impacts of this crisis are felt throughout the world, we're aware our community is dealing with very real pressures that did not exist before the start of 2020. 

We recognize that many employers have made adjustments to their hiring processes and that networking and connecting with individuals in the field is also challenging owing to the disruption that new stay-at-home restrictions are causing. This flux has no doubt added to what is already a challenging time of job searching in a new industry. 

For all active students in Career Services:

• We’re providing up to 8 free extra sessions with your Career Coach, and adding 8 extra weeks to your Career Services enrollment. Other than networking event attendance (see below), requirements for the Tuition Reimbursement Policy will remain in effect for the duration of Career Services, and your policy eligibility date will also be extended automatically by 8 weeks.
• We’re offering an optional 4-week pause of Career Services for anyone impacted by the effects of COVID-19. This special pause will not impact Tuition Reimbursement eligibility. To request a pause, visit your student dashboard and click “Request Pause” in the “Course links” section on the right of your screen.
• Networking event requirements are waived for the months of March and April. Starting in May, students must attend at least 1 remote networking event a month to maintain eligibility for the Tuition Reimbursement.  

We have the following recommendations during this time:

• If you don’t need to take time off, continue your job search. We’ve seen that despite some employers freezing hiring, many companies are still actively interviewing and hiring candidates. In the past 7 days alone, Designlab students conducted 20 screening calls, 25 1st-round interviews, 10 2nd-round interviews, 9 3rd-round interviews, and received 4 job offers! Consider expanding your job search to remote job boards like WeWorkRemotely and remote.co. 
• Continue improving your own job search assets—your portfolio (case studies and visual design), your outreach materials (cover letters and resume), and your interviewing skills.
• Look for opportunities to network and build connections online. Many offline networking events are shifting to online gatherings, and individuals are also offering to connect with new graduates and junior candidates via Twitter. Stay active on Slack and connected with your peers to find out about these opportunities!
• Work with your Career Coach to create a plan for moving forward.

We’re monitoring the situation closely and will provide regular announcements on the topic. Our thoughts are with our community and we’ll support students in any way we can.