GradLeaders recently performed three separate surveys to learn how students, career development professionals, and employers are dealing with their current circumstances in a virtual world. Below are the results of each survey.
Students:
In the student survey there were a total of 279 participants. When choosing what best describes their current situation, most students (28%) said they were going a little stir-crazy while taking classes at home and 62% said they prefer in-person classes.
27% of students said they’re on video meetings for 3-5 hours per week while 24% said they were on virtual meetings for 6-10 hours each week. Because of this, over half (53%) of all students stated that they had video meeting fatigue.
In comparison to last year, students said they’re spending their free time a little differently now. The top six things they’re spending more time doing include being at home (62%), being on their phone (53%), looking at social media (46%), binge-watching shows and movies (37%), doing schoolwork (36%), and being with family (28%).
When asked what new shows they’ve been binge-watching, there were a few popular choices. Multiple students listed Blacklist, Criminal Minds, Schitt’s Creek, The Office, Shameless and New Girl. When asked about their favorite new apps and video games we found a few other popular choices including Tik Tok, Among Us, Spotify, and Facebook.
Career Centers:
In the survey designed for career development professionals, there were a total of 163 participants. When choosing what best describes their current situation, most career development professionals (43%) said they were happily working from home, but they’d still prefer in-person meetings and events.
40% of career development professionals said they spend at least 11 hours per week on video meetings which lead the majority of them (64%) to say they have video meeting fatigue.
In comparison to last year, career development professionals are spending more time at home (82%), more time outside (43%), more time with family (40%), more time binge-watching (40%), more time on their phone (38%) and more time working (37%).
When asked what new shows they’ve been binge-watching, there were a few popular choices, yet many stated they didn’t have time to continuously watch television. Some of their favorites include Schitt’s Creek, Emily in Paris, Ozark, The Umbrella Academy, and The Good Place. When asked about their favorite newly found apps they listed Animal Crossing, Scrabble, Tik Tok, and Zoom.
Employers:
In the survey designed for employers, there were a total of 137 participants. When choosing what best describes their current situation, most employers (31%) said they were happily working from home, yet 47% said they still prefer in-person meetings and events.
27% of employers said they spend 3-5 hours a week on video meetings and as a result, 59% said they didn’t have video meeting fatigue yet.
In comparison to last year, employers are spending more time at home (76%), on their phone (45%), binge-watching shows and movies (42%), being outdoors (36%), and looking through social media (30%).
When asked what new shows they’ve been binge-watching, many stated they also didn’t have time to continuously watch television. Out of those who did, we found a few popular choices including Grey’s Anatomy, Schitt’s Creek, The Umbrella Academy, and Haunting of Bly Manor. When asked about their favorite newly found apps, they listed Tik Tok and Among Us.
Based on the results of these surveys, we were able to find many similarities between students, career development professionals, and employers. The majority of these participants are still working from home but prefer in-person classes and meetings. Most participants stated that they’re on video meetings for at least 5 hours a week and have video meeting fatigue. Some other similarities among students, career development professionals and employers include how they’ve been spending their free time. Most people said they’re spending more time at home, on their phones, binge-watching television and working or doing schoolwork. There were also some popular TV shows, games and apps that many people spent their time on. Schitt’s Creek, Umbrella Academy, The Office, and Blacklist were the most popular shows while Tik Tok was the favorite app and Among Us was the new favorite game.
Still virtual today? Struggling to connect and engage with each other in our virtual world today? Don’t hesitate to contact us for help. After hundreds of conversations this Fall with our career center and employer partners, we’d love to share any best practices we’ve heard.