Spring Break
College seniors needn't worry about jobs if they know where to go
Mary Ellen Podmolik | Chicago Tribune
Issue date: 4/15/09 Section: News
CHICAGO - The Class of 2009 may be cursing the economy, but they can't let it distract them from their job search
After college seniors enjoy their last spring break this month, they'll return to campus for the final weeks of academia before they enter a recession-weary real world with an 8.1 percent unemployment rate. The first job search is always daunting but particularly so for the estimated 1.5 million-strong Class of 2009.
In August, employers surveyed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers said they planned to increase hiring of college graduates by 6 percent over last year. By October, the revised projection was a 1.3 percent increase in hiring. Then the hiring expectations were flat. Last month's updated survey showed a staggering change of heart, with employers reporting they planned to hire nearly 22 percent fewer college graduates than they did from the Class of 2008.
Some seniors do have jobs waiting for them; others accepted offers in the fall, only to have them rescinded. Some are hoping to wait out the recession by heading to graduate school - a questionable strategy if it's not for the right reasons - or are looking at service programs that are inundated with applications. And others are career guidance office regulars looking for assistance.
However, there are worries on college campuses that many seniors either are throwing up their arms and giving up or are so focused on their last semester and confident in their abilities they wrongly figure they'll easily land a job after graduation.
"The marketplace is going to continue to get worse," said Phil Gardner, director of Michigan State University's Collegiate Employment Research Institute. "You have to be resilient. It's not all going to work out the way you want it to. You're going to be underemployed and not valued as much as you think. But you want to position yourself and keep your sights on where you want to go."
In other words, don't let a bad economy distract you from a good job search that needs to start now. The workplace may not need as many college graduates as it once did, but the need for the qualities they bring remains, career counselors say.
After college seniors enjoy their last spring break this month, they'll return to campus for the final weeks of academia before they enter a recession-weary real world with an 8.1 percent unemployment rate. The first job search is always daunting but particularly so for the estimated 1.5 million-strong Class of 2009.
In August, employers surveyed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers said they planned to increase hiring of college graduates by 6 percent over last year. By October, the revised projection was a 1.3 percent increase in hiring. Then the hiring expectations were flat. Last month's updated survey showed a staggering change of heart, with employers reporting they planned to hire nearly 22 percent fewer college graduates than they did from the Class of 2008.
Some seniors do have jobs waiting for them; others accepted offers in the fall, only to have them rescinded. Some are hoping to wait out the recession by heading to graduate school - a questionable strategy if it's not for the right reasons - or are looking at service programs that are inundated with applications. And others are career guidance office regulars looking for assistance.
However, there are worries on college campuses that many seniors either are throwing up their arms and giving up or are so focused on their last semester and confident in their abilities they wrongly figure they'll easily land a job after graduation.
"The marketplace is going to continue to get worse," said Phil Gardner, director of Michigan State University's Collegiate Employment Research Institute. "You have to be resilient. It's not all going to work out the way you want it to. You're going to be underemployed and not valued as much as you think. But you want to position yourself and keep your sights on where you want to go."
In other words, don't let a bad economy distract you from a good job search that needs to start now. The workplace may not need as many college graduates as it once did, but the need for the qualities they bring remains, career counselors say.
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