Hiring Freeze Affect on Saint Mary’s Students

Ever since the influx of layoffs back in the spring, the job economy has taken a hit. College students everywhere, especially at Saint Mary’s College, are worried about what this could mean about applying for jobs come graduation in spring. 

By Francesca Caronna
American Journalism Student

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We all know someone, whether that's a family member, friend or parent who was affected by the lay offs this year. In the spring, tech companies laid off thousands of employees and went into a hiring freeze (Deadline). Companies like Meta, Docusign, Salesforce and Adobe with headquarters in San Francisco act as a funnel for local college students for entry level jobs in tech. Since the hiring freeze, it has sent soon-to-be-graduating college students into a panic. According to CNN, we are experiencing the lowest level of open jobs in the past few years, and there are no predictions as to when the job market will return to normal. 
    
This is a problem all over the country right now, but Saint Mary’s College seniors are especially worried about the potential effects the hiring freeze will have on their job search in the spring. It is a common process for seniors to start applying for jobs late winter or early spring to have something lined up after they graduate. This will start in a few short months, and senior Radha Rai stated, “I keep hearing that there are no jobs, I’m really concerned for what this will mean for me.” This is not an uncommon concern among seniors as many are scared for their future careers because this is the largest hiring freeze many of us have experienced in our lifetimes. 
    
Another Saint Mary’s College senior, Lauren Kassity, expressed her feelings of confusion towards this, stating, “The job market is so bad right now, I can’t even think of what this means for the graduating class of 2023.” She continued, asking, “What are we supposed to do?” This state of confusion and uncertainty is a recurring theme among seniors at Saint Mary’s College. Fellow senior, Jacalyn Swiestra explained she has been looking on LinkedIn for open job positions, and “...there are so many less opportunities than there were at this time last year.” The lack of jobs on the market and the current hiring freeze within tech companies is causing there to be not as many jobs available as there normally would be at this time. We’ll have to see what this means for the graduating class of 2024 and if it affects their future careers. 
    

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