小妲己直播

Graduating into a U.S. economy that鈥檚 plunged into free fall ever since the coronavirus pandemic hit in mid-March, the just under 150 members of the Class of 2020 not commissioning into the armed services face an uphill battle as they search for their first post-college jobs. Thankfully鈥攁nd in the true VMI spirit鈥攖hey鈥檙e not facing that battle alone.

As graduation loomed for the class, and the U.S. unemployment rate rose to a level not seen since the Great Depression, the and the Office of Career Services began to work together to bolster new graduates鈥� chances of job-hunting success. But it wasn鈥檛 the first time they鈥檇 joined forces.

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to ramp up and enhance a partnership with the Office of Career Services,鈥� said Thom Brashears 鈥�95, chief operating officer of the Alumni Agencies, explaining that helping alumni with career development is one of the functions of the Alumni Association.

Brashears has found a strong ally in Lt. Col. Ammad Sheikh, director of the Office of Career Services. A 20-year veteran of the career services field, Sheikh has seen the job market wax and wane many times over in response to outside events, and he knows that the fundamental principles of how to get a job don鈥檛 change just because economic data looks grim.

Together, Sheikh and Brashears have developed a series of eight webinars for new alumni. Each Wednesday at 2 p.m., there鈥檚 a webinar on a different topic, ranging from networking and career management to tips for applying to graduate schools. Leading the webinars are alumni in various fields and various stages of their careers. So far, said Brashears, alumni have included lawyers, defense industry professionals, and business owners of all types. More are always welcome.

鈥淲e need alumni from all age ranges, all backgrounds,鈥� said Sheikh.

The webinars are recorded for the benefit of those unable to attend at the live times. Polishing them up for their intended audience has been a task for Maj. Mary Kate du Laney, VMI鈥檚 web designer/manager. du Laney explained that since very few people are going to sit and watch an hour-long recorded webinar, she cuts the file down to 10 or 15 minutes, seeking to include only the most valuable information.

鈥淚鈥檓 making it into more digestible snippets,鈥� she commented. 鈥淚t鈥檚 supporting the [Office of Career Services] mission and putting a little bit of polish on it.鈥�

The Office of Communications and Marketing has also been promoting the webinars via social media so new graduates will be reminded of the dates, times, and topics.

Brashears and Sheikh are also seeking to help cadets who鈥檇 like more direct alumni assistance with their job searches. A few weeks before graduation, Sheikh sent an email to all soon-to-be graduates who weren鈥檛 commissioning, asking them if they鈥檇 like help from alumni in finding a job. 小妲己直播 a dozen cadets have responded by sending their resumes to Sheikh, who then sends them on to Brashears. Brashears, in turn, forwards the resumes to alumni in the appropriate fields.

鈥淚鈥檓 very pleased that we鈥檙e able to do this,鈥� Brashears commented. 鈥淓veryone is concerned that these young men and women get off on the right foot.鈥�

For his part, Sheikh sees plenty of possibilities for this year鈥檚 graduates, even as newspaper headlines predict a doom-and-gloom scenario for new college graduates nationwide.

鈥淓mployers will always need smart young people to solve their problems,鈥� said Sheikh. 鈥淣ow is not the time to panic. These cadets are still attractive to employers.鈥�

 - By Mary Price