I was a bit daunted by the prospect of coming up with a prediction for 2021. A year ago, none of us could have imagined some of the events of this past year and the effect they would have on business, media, education, and our personal lives.

The best I could do was provide some hopeful remarks that transitioning into 2021 would mark a positive move forward. But it all seemed so hollow. I knew there were people who had struggled in different and profound ways in the past year.

I decided to ask some of the journalists who I felt had been affected the most by the pandemic — recent graduates — to see how they were feeling about the future. They have experienced a unique set of obstacles: graduating into a pandemic economy, online-learning challenges, virtual job hunting, remote workplaces, layoffs, furloughs, career transitions, and a heated social and political landscape. I felt that their insights would be a better indication of the way forward than anything I could pontificate.

I reached out to a few recent alumni and was pleased with their quick and enthusiastic replies. Some were optimistic in their predictions as they relate to digital technologies and their industries.

“I think every facet of the digital world is going to expand,” said Michael Knop, a 2019 graduate of Texas State’s Digital Media Innovation (DMI) program and digital team lead at EBQ, a marketing support company for the tech industry. “With COVID and lockdowns, we have seen such a big shift in how we live our lives. People are more engaged digitally than ever, and businesses have had to adapt and establish much stronger digital presences than they have before.”

Ashley Romo graduated this summer with the DMI degree and is a social media coordinator at Khoros, a customer engagement platform company. She feels that some trends that originated with the pandemic will become commonplace. “We have continued to see growth in the digital industry during the COVID-19 pandemic as companies are relying more on the virtual experience for their existing customers and to expand their audience,” Romo said. “I predict this trend will continue, as companies have had to adapt to the virtual landscape, and customers will, or already have, become accustomed to the accessibility and conveniences.”

Sonia Garcia is a senior producer for the news startup Austonia.com. She graduated with the DMI degree in May. “I believe 2021 will continue to bring forth new ways to imagine news,” said Garcia. “In 2020, we saw multiple local organizations redesign their clunky news sites. In a pandemic, the way readers consume news on their phones is so important. “

“In 2021, I think we will see established organizations trying to catch up with the newer, more innovative organizations, to begin thinking about news as a product,” Garcia continued.

Some linked future success to cultural and social change.

“Media organizations will continue their push toward better diversity, equity, and inclusion in various capacities, from hiring practices, employee resource groups, internal corporate initiatives, and even some consumer-facing products,” said Sean Smith, a designer and front-end developer at Gannett in Austin. “With that push, however, will come stronger scrutiny and skepticism from audiences around an organization’s efforts and from an organization’s own members. Cross-organizational collaboration between product, human resources, ethics, and reporting teams will be necessary to see DE&I initiatives succeed.” Smith received a master’s degree in our program with a concentration in digital media in 2019.

Thomas Hodge is a creative hybrid at Pereira O’Dell advertising agency. “Pop culture will have an effect on everything we develop in the digital space, including applications, social media, and businesses,” Hodge said. “The younger generation wants to be able to connect and relate to businesses and their brands.” Hodge is a 2016 Electronic Media graduate, one of the first students to achieve our Digital Media concentration.

Hodge also addressed changes to work processes. “COVID has changed working entirely, but the silver-lining for some jobs is that it is now proven that work — and the vast majority of it —can be done from anywhere,” Hodge said. “Now, this will change how companies decide how and where to work.”

He offered questions to consider regarding how real estate savings could be better redistributed. “How else can companies better utilize their funds? Better benefits? Better pay? More hires?” he asked.

I allowed for anonymous comments, in order to get the most candid assessments. One responder was cautious about the potential for acceptance of emerging media platforms.

“Product and innovation teams will continue pushing their organizations to adapt to, catch up to or perhaps even get ahead of emerging media trends like audio storytelling, augmented reality and data interactives, and using APIs to automate wide-scale content syndication,” one anonymous responder said. “Unfortunately, they’ll also likely be stalled either by corporate bureaucracy or traditional newsroom silos.”

“‘Traditional’ reporters and editors need to understand that they’re surrounded by resources that can elevate their journalism into something deeply experiential and meaningful for their audiences,” the responder continued. “While it’s understandable that content shifted back to the expected, easy, status-quo workflow when the pandemic disrupted everything, this time could be used to revolutionize the way news is produced.”

What advice did these young professionals have for others who will soon be graduating and seeking employment in still challenging times? Some emphasized breadth of competencies.

“Get comfortable with everything digital,” Knop said. “Having experience in a wide variety of things is very valuable.”

“Be a sponge. I have been told consistently that companies are attracted to me because my background is so diverse to come from a journalism program that teaches coding, shooting and editing video and Adobe creative programs,” Hodge said. “They’re like ‘what can’t you do?’ It’s not enough, in my opinion, to specialize in one thing and not know anything else.”

The breadth of competencies should also include cultural awareness.

“I would rather work with someone who knows a little about a lot of things and can introduce me to new things, than a person who specializes in one, not being to tell me what’s hot right now, what’s about to be the next big thing or just have a finger on the pulse of technology,” Hodge continued.

Some responders emphasized the reciprocal value of networking.

“My advice would be to find people who are in the position and/or company you’re interested in and reach out to them on LinkedIn,” Romo said. “People are so much more willing to help than we often assume, and a lot of companies offer referral bonuses, so it’s also in their favor to help you.”

“You will likely also get some insight about the company culture based on how you’re responded to, which may even help you determine if it’s a company you want to be a part of or not,” Romo continued.

Many recommended being open-minded when applying for positions and the importance of continuous learning to keep skills up to date.

“Apply for a job even if you don’t meet all of the requirements,” said Jacklyn Mann, a 2018 DMI graduate and marketing automation specialist at e-commerce platform BigCommerce. “Work on getting certifications and utilize LinkedIn learning,”

Juan Garcia Jimenez graduated in July 2020 with the DMI degree and is a full-stack web developer at Wytec International, Inc., a 5G telecommunication company. “Code during your free time and learn to be ok with not knowing everything,” said Garcia Jimenez. “I think coding has so many possibilities to solve a problem that it challenges you to be creative with your approach to the solution.”

But don’t discount those communication skills.

“During interviews try your best to also market your communication skills rather than just your coding skills,” Garcia Jimenez continued. “Communication skills are a bigger asset than any coding skills you might have.”

Several emphasized the importance of being flexible and taking initiative.

“Don’t expect your title to define what you do, nor should you let it,” Smith said. “It’s crucial to be able to hop into a project and use soft skills to solve problems.”

With flexibility, however, should come some insight on priorities. “It’s less important to know 20 different JavaScript libraries and more important to know if the data you’re presenting in an interactive is misleading or has enough context for the audience to understand it,” Smith continued. “You can always learn more or new ways to code, but not everyone can effectively ask ‘why’ a project is being done a certain way.”

Garcia’s time at Austonia.com has proven the value of initiative. She started with the organization as an audience development producer in June 2020 but recently moved up to a leadership role. She offered this advice. “Be ambitious and flexible — but professional and calm,” Garcia said. “Stop waiting for things to happen and be the change. The media is a tough industry, so to be in this industry, you have to buckle down and do this because you want to.”

In summary, these young professionals are approaching 2021 with optimism, adaptability, and a broad digital appreciation, with a measure of caution. Reading these insights made me hopeful for the year ahead, that our future was in good hands, even though there will be challenges to overcome.

The alumni above represent a range of innovative opportunities for those with broad digital awareness from a communication perspective. If you’re on the faculty of a journalism or media program, I hope you will take these comments to heart and assess the level to which your program is introducing digital innovation concepts for the benefit of your students. And all organizations should recognize the wide range of competencies their companies will need for continued success.

Now, more than ever, as we enter 2021, media professionals will need to be broadly prepared, flexible, and ready to contribute to innovation, so they can be and remain employed and their industries will remain sustainable.