College graduates improve odds of finding work

Allison Hart and Stephanie Schultz graduated from Arizona State University last week and are all set to begin their post-college careers. Hart will be working as a financial analyst for Intel in Chandler, while Schultz will be a marketing associate for Stryker Corp., a medical technology company, in San Jose, Calif.

Hart is from Chandler, and Schultz is from Gilbert.

Despite all the talk of economic downturn, they and many other recent ASU graduates said they had no problems obtaining the jobs they wanted before commencement.

Employers remain eager to recruit recent graduates, as evidenced by recruiting at university career fairs, jobs posted online and employers accessing students' resumes, said Elaine Stover, associate director of ASU Career Services.

"We are seeing opportunities for our grads, and I think just because of (employers) tightening up a little bit, students may need to be a little bit more flexible in where they might consider going to work right out of school, whether it's the location or the organization," she said.

Despite the slowdown, salaries being offered to new grads this year are about 3 percent higher than they were last year, she said.

Employers are expected to hire 8 percent more college graduates from the class of 2008 than from the class of 2007, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers' Job Outlook 2008 Spring Update. That's down from a 16 percent increase projected last fall.

The national survey of 1,139 employers showed that much of the negative impact is concentrated in specific industries, such as finance, leaving a significant portion of the market craving new graduates.

"Maybe it might take them a little longer or maybe they have to look at a little bit wider range of organizations, but there are definitely opportunities," Stover said.

Hart said she has seen no evidence of any decrease in job opportunities for college graduates.

"It's kind of weird because you hear all of this stuff about the economy, but I don't have a single friend who hasn't been able to find a job," she said. "They got jobs in all sorts of things. Some are doing financial consulting, some are working with mutual fund groups, investing groups, a lot are going into ... sales or marketing for medical device sales companies. I know people who are working for IBM, Avnet ... and gas companies like Shell and Mobil."

Schultz has some advice for those still looking for jobs: Don't take no for an answer.

"Get yourself in front of the recruiters and show them your face, because just sending in resumes is not going to work," she said.

An instant edge

Graduates who obtained internships while still in school are automatically more marketable to employers, Stover said.

"Almost in every field it's going to be to their advantage because they've proven themselves to a certain extent," she said. "As a new graduate or recent graduate, an employer is taking a chance if I haven't had related full-time experience. If I've had related work experience in the form of an internship, that tends to be above someone else who pretty much has everything else but hasn't proven himself or herself in that field."

Hart interned with Intel, and that experience led to a post-graduation job offer.

"A lot of people like myself got jobs through the internships they did between their junior and senior years," she said.

Chris Luiszer, who graduated last week with a Bachelor of Science degree in supply chain management, interned with Honeywell and Whirlpool while in school, and is now considering two job offers from high-profile companies.

"I'm trying to use that to sort of differentiate myself, and I think it's worked pretty well," he said.

Guy Groff, director of the Graduate Career Management Center in the W.P. Carey School of Business, said finding the job you want is all about good networking. He expects 100 percent of those who just graduated with a Master of Business Administration will be employed by August.

"The MBA never does anything for anybody by itself," he said. "It's what you do with it. It's how you sell yourself. I tell my students all the time the most qualified person doesn't always get the job, which kind of upsets employers. It is the person with the best communication skills that gets the job."

Fifty percent to 70 percent of the available jobs are never posted and exist in what's known as the "hidden job market," Groff said. These jobs are only found through the networks and the people you contact, he said. LinkedIn.com is a good place to start networking with other professionals, he said.

"It's truly about building relationships and friendships with as many people as possible," he said.

Jeremy Veatch graduated last week with an MBA with a speciality in international business and begins his new job next month with Bank of America's Leadership Development Program. Coming from a nonfinancial background, he promoted interpersonal skills he gained as a young pastor to junior high and high school students.

"When I was a young pastor in Tucson, I had 10 to 15 volunteers who I worked with and a really small budget," he said. "I couldn't pay the volunteers, so I really had to work in finding ... which passion individual people had and then really tried to match their job with their passions. I really think that's part of being a manager at Bank of America."

Still searching

For many graduates, the job search continues for a variety of reasons, and not necessarily because there aren't jobs out there. Many students who attended college full time and worked full time postponed their job search until after graduation, said Kitty McGrath, director of the Business Career Center for undergraduates.

It's important not to discount a particular industry and company just because it has been shedding jobs, she said.

"When an organization lays off people, you assume that those layoffs are across the board, and they may not be," McGrath said. "That same company that's laying off in one division may be hiring like crazy in another."

Also, it's never too late to obtain an internship, and there's no shortage of internships out there, Stover said.

"It's a good way for individuals to try out an area because there are almost as many people who have said, 'Oh yeah, this is great, I love this work and I want to pursue it,' as there are who said ... 'this isn't a good fit and a good match for me,' " she said.

Corporate budget cuts aren't likely to include internships because it may cost less to hire an intern than a recent graduate or a more experienced candidate, Stover said.

In general, finding a job is a job in itself, she said.

"Use as many resources as you can," Stover said. "Networking is extremely important, so talk with faculty, the people you know, their friends, and their friends' families. Let other people know you're out there looking, what you're looking for and what you have to offer because you never know who might know someone who is looking for exactly what you have to offer."

Get networking online

LinkedIn.com offers graduates and other job-seekers crucial networking opportunities:

Find inside connections when searching for a job or new business opportunity.

Find past and present colleagues and classmates.

The network is full of industry experts willing to share advice. Have a question? Just ask.