CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With millions of people out of work, some recent graduates are looking to career coaches to help them land jobs during the pandemic.

Phillip Clark was slightly worried about landing a job in his field after graduating from North Carolina A&T with a degree in information technology.

“It’s kind of hard if you don’t have a position lined up to find a position coming right out of college,” Clark said.  

Each time Clark applied for a job with tech companies like Microsoft, IBM, or local banks, he heard nothing. To make matters worse, the COVID-19 pandemic widened North Carolina’s employment rate to 7.6 percent, according to Lendingtree.

“New hires, people from my school, they were let go so they were trying to figure out what they wanted to do and how they were going to move on,” Clark said.  

With the competition pool widening, Clark searched for ways to stand out. He contacted Jeremy Johnson with Opened Door Careers for help. 

The company builds resumes, Linkedin pages, and performs mock interviews. Together the two got to work via Zoom and compiled all of Clarks' accomplishments.

“He extracts it all, summarizes it up, and makes the best version of you on paper," Clark said.  

So, far Clark says he’s seeing progress.

“Now, I have interviews. I have actual interviews. Like I’m already seeing progress,” he said.

If you'd like to contact Opend Door Career Services for resume writing tips, check out the website.