Career Advice for 2020 Grads - from CONMED Leaders Who Care

CONMED’s culture engenders a relentless commitment to delivering exceptional results, which is why we strive to recruit resilient, talented people to join our team. We know that 2020 graduates have had their share of challenges and surprises this past spring – including senior years cut short and graduation ceremonies canceled or postponed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. We recognize that it takes a great deal of resiliency and commitment to adjust to these unfortunate and unexpected changes and, as a company who prioritizes these traits, we see a lot of potential in the Class of 2020! That said, we understand that these are especially difficult times to start a career.

To offer our support, we asked four CONMED leaders who graduated college around the time of the Great Recession – the economic downturn that occurred between 2007 and 2009 – to share their advice on how 2020 graduates can make their next career move. We heard from:

Kim, Talent Acquisition Manager
Alex, Senior Product Manager
Nikki, HR Business Partner
Chris, Site Leader Quality Assurance

While each of their situations are unique, they all experienced the hardship of searching for a job and starting a career in a tough economy. Check out their advice on how you can navigate this challenging time and position yourself for career success.

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1. Consider continuing your education

Given the effects that COVID-19 has had on the job market, the plans graduating students had in mind may not be an option right now. This may seem discouraging, however it's important to take a step back and readjust accordingly.

Throughout most of her college career, Kim was set on pursuing a career in the hospitality and tourism industry. However, as a collegiate athlete whose senior season had come to an end, she realized she wasn’t ready to give up athletics upon graduation. Instead, Kim decided to change her career goals during her final college semester. She explained, “I had always had a background goal of continuing my education beyond a bachelor’s degree. This career/mind shift gave me the perfect opportunity.” Kim pivoted, and landed a great opportunity at a university where she worked full time in collegiate athletics while completing a master’s degree. Readjusting your plans for your career can seem overwhelming, however, as Kim states, “It’s not a failure to change course.”

Kim wasn’t the only CONMED employee who changed course and decided to pursue graduate school after college. Alex felt that there were almost no entry level opportunities available when he graduated in 2009. “The timing of my graduation seemed to correlate with a hiring freeze, similar to the situation we are in currently,” he explained. Alex decided his best option at the time was to pursue an M.S. in Biomedical Engineering. Although it wasn’t what Alex had originally planned, the choice to continue his education set him up for success in the long run. After graduating with his master’s degree, Alex found there were many more opportunities available to him even though the economy still hadn’t fully recovered.

2. Use this time to build your skillset

With social distancing practices in place and classes over, you may have some extra time on your hands. Nikki advises to take this time to work on yourself and continue to build on your skills, whether it be taking an online course, volunteering or completing an online certification.

Chris shared, “I attended a lot of free webinars to help get more exposure and experience in the field prior to formally getting the job I wanted.” By the time more job opportunities do become available, you’ll be able to share with hiring managers how you’ve been furthering your knowledge and preparing for your career.

3. Keep an open mind and consider different options

While you may have your eyes set on a specific job or industry, it's important not to limit yourself. Alex suggested, "Get outside of your comfort zone. Don't be afraid to take an internship or pursue an opportunity circumferential to your targeted job." It's okay to try something new and pursue a job you weren't expecting to take. This will only help develop you as a professional and provide you with a broader skillset.

Chris also suggested to look at the bigger picture and find ways that an experience outside of the role you desire could be leveraged in the career you want. Chris leveraged routine sales and warehouse jobs as learning opportunities he could bring into engineering interviews. “Explaining sales is no different than understanding needs and linking that need to a solution. Warehouse is about efficiency while balancing different deadlines and goals,” Chris explained.

By looking at the bigger picture and taking on different positions where he gained transferable skills, Chris was able to leverage these early experiences during job interviews, which ultimately led him to a quality engineering postion at CONMED in 2010. "Learn to recognize the similarities between what you have done and what you want to do, to strengthen the foundation needed to get into the career you want." said Chris, who has since grown his career at CONMED over ten years.

4. Network

Networking is very important for recent grads because building relationships and connections are key to finding job opportunities. Kim shared, "I was fortunate to create great relationships during graduate school, which parlayed into a couple of proactive full time offers." While you may be having a difficult time finding a job right now, networking is a great way to set yourself up for future opportunities.

Networking is also beneficial for learning more about different career options. Be ambitious and reach out to a recruiter to request an informational interview—this is a great way to learn more about what it’s like to work for a particular company. You can also connect with people on LinkedIn, become familiar with your school’s alumni network and keep in touch with your classmates to learn more about different industries and types of work.

5. Be Resourceful

There’s no doubt finding a job during this time is going to be challenging, and that those who are resourceful and creative are more likely to succeed. “If opportunities aren’t being presented to you, find them,” Nikki states. Set yourself apart from others by working hard and having a go-getter mentality. Set daily and weekly job search goals to help you stay on track. You can also utilize your school’s job board or reach out to your university’s career counselors for potential opportunities.

One helpful resource CONMED offers is our Talent Community. The Talent Community is a great way for you to stay connected with the company by receiving exclusive company updates, as well as real-time notifications when job opportunities become available. You can join the talent community here.

6. Stay Positive

Staying positive may be easier said than done considering the circumstances, however it’s important to keep your head in the game and push through these stressful times. “This tough time will pass, and many doors will be open to you. Try not to get discouraged and stay positive,” Nikki assures. Remind yourself that although this is a setback, you will get through this uncertain time.

Whether you’re having trouble finding a job, had a job offer that was rescinded, or you are lucky enough to have found a job opportunity but are still concerned about the future, we hope you find this advice from CONMED leaders helpful. The CONMED team wishes you the best of luck!

To learn more about and stay-up-to-date on the latest news at CONMED, we encourage you to connect with us on LinkedIn here.