What do 120 credit hours invested into a bachelor’s degree and pandemic add up to? Answer: an underemployed and quarantined grad, in most cases. The COVID-19 pandemic is not the ideal scenario for the launch of any career. Still, you’ve invested hundreds of hours studying, interning, commuting to and from school, or working full-time to pay off student debt. And after all of your efforts, now is not the time to stop applying yourself.

Less than a year ago, Jack Kelly wrote an article for Forbes explaining the major challenge facing recent graduates: it’s not unemployment, but underemployment -- “gig-economy roles, temporary work or lower-end positions.” The quest for meaningful employment can seem daunting, but these challenges should be used to strengthen our mindset and continue pushing towards our dreams.  

Instead of pulling the “I graduated into a pandemic and now I can’t get a job,” excuse card, ask yourself what you could be doing to make yourself more marketable to future employers. More importantly, what could you do that would positively impact your mindset and resume?

Each journey is unique, and there is no right way to go about finding your path. These four tips may serve as a good starting point for recent graduates looking to get a head start on their careers.

1. Create a Digital Presence

It’s a shame future employers can’t experience your charisma or your million dollar smile in person, but they can still get a glimpse of it thanks to online platforms like LinkedIn. Make sure you create a LinkedIn profile complete with a professional headshot and listing of the most relevant experience you have in your field. Because most HR managers search for candidates on social media platforms, refine your social media posts to embody characteristics that give tribute to the qualities your employer is looking for in a candidate. Consider deleting any content that could harm your chances of getting the job or making a positive impression on your employer. 

You can also create a digital portfolio or website containing recent work or information about who you are and what you do. These digital representations are easy to share and help your resume come to life.

2.  Start Small

Dr. Meg Jay, a clinical psychologist and author of “The Defining Decade,” stresses the importance of creating “identity capital” with experiences “that metaphorically purchase jobs and relationships.” If there’s an opportunity such as a part-time role, internship or entry-level position in your industry today, even if it’s not what you’ve been looking for, it can connect and prepare you for your long-term role later.

Apply to online internships, take industry courses, and don’t be afraid to start ‘at the bottom’ when you’re climbing your ladder of success. The idea is to gain hands-on experience in your field and invest your time into something that builds a path for you to walk on in the future.

3.  Get Involved in Your Community

More than ever, communities need support from their members to stay safe, positive, and functioning. There are hundreds of ways and places to get involved, but if you want to refine your skills while volunteering your time, offering your abilities as a professional to a nonprofit is just one of the ways you can get involved.

Give your time to a cause you’re passionate about helping. In return, build your professional portfolio, discover new interests, and connect with people who can orient you in your career path. Gaining industry experience will never feel so good. 

4.  Take Time to Know Yourself

Although the pressure to get a job fresh out college has always been a common theme within grads, living through a pandemic hasn’t. With new distractions, anxieties, and more uncertainty than ever before, it’s crucial to stay centered, focused, and aware of the direction that you’re heading. You’re at risk of losing sight of your long-term goals if you don’t take the time to recognize the new or reoccurring thoughts in your headspace.

Invest in a therapist, talk to friends, read self-help books, listen to podcasts, meditate, work out, or do whatever you need to do to be vulnerable with yourself and others about what you feel and who you are. It’s okay not to be okay or want to aspire to do ‘something huge’ during a world health crisis, but don’t let that define who you are or what you want to be in the future.

While in college, I went through the motions attending class and getting involved in organizations because that’s what I thought would get me a job after graduation. Still, neither of those things brought any clarity to what I wanted to do in the future.

It wasn’t until my senior year that I understood that I was the only person going to make things happen for myself. I started working at a marketing agency as a public relations intern, and I finally began to see the light. 

Coming to realize that I was in control of how I invested my time, for the first time, I felt that my degree had a purpose and my career — a direction. By the time COVID-19 stormed into the U.S., I had created an online presence of my work, reconstructed my resume, and had gotten familiar with the PR and marketing scene in my area. 

Although nothing could have prepared me to graduate into a pandemic, making myself responsible for planting the seeds that would later sprout into internship and job opportunities has shifted my post-grad experience to be manageable -- enjoyable, even. My only regret is that I didn’t start investing in myself sooner, but it’s never too late to sprout. 

Georgina Vela is a recent public relations graduate from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a copywriter for Elite Group. She’s also refining her communication skills as a Public Relations Apprentice at MVW Communications as she aspires to grow and work in the field.