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Survey Shows Recent Grads, Current Students Worried About Covid-19 Impact

Will the Covid-19 lockdown be worse than the 2008 slow down? Many people think it already is and even those who don’t think it might be, or will be.

Recent college graduates and current students think so too. According to a recently released survey by the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS), their concerns are significant.

National Society of Leadership logo in black and red

More than half (53%) of all college seniors, for example, said they were less confident about finding a job. And mor than four in ten recent graduates said they had already been negatively impacted by the viral outbreak.

Further findings from the survey, based on the public release, include:

  • More than 60% of alumni think it will take them at least one year (if not longer) to financially recover from the economic impact of COVID-19
  • Nearly 65% of alumni believe this recession will be worse than the 2008 recession

“Right now, it’s still too early to assess the full effect COVID-19 will have on our economy,” NSLS President Charles Knippen said in the press release. “We know from history and the Great Recession that we won’t understand the full impact until we are in the recovery years. Crises like COVID-19 are why the NSLS is committed to ensuring students have the skills and professional relationships needed to be successful in even the most financially difficult times.”

In addition to the survey, the NSLS is providing resources for navigating the crisis.

In March, the NSLS launched its Leading From Home webinar series to provide COVID-19 resources and information for its members, alumni and the general public.  The NSLS hosted its third Leading From Home webinar on Friday, May 15. Titled “Being Brave and Breaking the Shackles of Insecurity,” the live Q&A featured New York Times bestselling author and Girls Who Code Founder and CEO Reshma Saujani. Those resources can be viewed on the NSLS’ Facebook Page.

The NSLS is the nation’s largest leadership honor society. It was founded in 2001 to build a community of like-minded success-oriented leaders who come together to help one another succeed. The NSLS offers interactive broadcasts with the nation’s best speakers, training in goal setting, and team meetings in which students set and hold each other accountable for achieving goals. The NSLS has chapters on more than 700 college and university campuses nationwide and serves more than 1,000,000 members.

 The survey included responses from some 2,300 students and recent grads.