Navigating Work Life After Graduation

For recent college graduates, COVID-19 has changed the dynamic of starting a career.

Ryan Fillman graduated from Kutztown University (KU) in December 2019 with a degree in Marketing and Economics. Since transferring from LCCC in 2016 to KU, Fillman wanted to work in business. He landed a job at Grubhub in Philadelphia right out of school, and moved into his new office in February of 2020.

Fillman was unaware of the change that would take place in the world just one month later when Grubhub went strictly to remote working.

"The biggest thing for me is morale because you don’t have people there to boost that spirit,” he said.

Fillman compared working remotely to taking an online class saying, “it comes down to you learning on your own."

Fillman believes building relationships in the workplace is eliminated by remote working and that the working environment itself as a new employee is difficult to navigate. He says the pressure to perform the job without actually getting the hands-on experience that the office environment provides as a new employee is difficult to comprehend.

The commitment, he noted, is necessary for remote working because "no one's there telling you that you did a good job."

While remote work is tough, Fillman said the remote interview process wasn’t easy either. He has gone through twelve online interviews since graduating.

“Each virtual interview feels the same regardless of the job," he said.

Fillman figured out a strategy for success. He sees the interview as an opportunity for him to interview the employer. This tactic has helped get him noticed in interviews.

Of the jobs he's obtained since graduating, he believes the disconnect between employers and workers is troubling. He’s now ready to go back to office life. After a little over a year working remotely, Fillman will be in an office environment once again. He accepted a management position at FleetRock LLC, and started the new job in April.