Job Search Difficult for Grads
2008 Job Market: Graduates Have Problems Finding Employment
Job Search Difficult for Grads
2008 Job Market: Graduates Have Problems Finding Employment
College life is over. Students are excited about their job searches because experts predict an improvement for the job market in 2008.Who will get the job this fall and which students will be home watching talk shows?
Graduates are complaining that they are not getting responses from employers. Employers expect to hire 8% more college graduates in 2007-08 than they hired in 2006-07 according to The National Association of Colleges and Employers' Job Outlook 2008 Spring Update (NACE), but some graduates have still been unsuccessful. This year, the unemployment rate has gone up from 4.9% to 5.1% and an estimated 958,000,000 of graduates in the U.S are unemployed according to the United States Department of Labor.
Experts Give Advice:Who Will Find a Job?
There are tips that can make searching easier.
"It is challenging to find a job for college students this year," said Mike Moriarty, Associate Director of Career Planning and Placement at New Jersey City University in Jersey City, New Jersey in an April 2008 telephone interview. Moriarty knows that the students who will prevail have prepared during school by participating in internships and extra curricular activities, using software and tools of their trade, preparing resumes and working in their field. He doesn't recommend using templates from Microsoft Office for resumes, but says joining interview programs, such as the Mock Interview Programs at NJCU are good.
Don't take a vacation after college if you want to land a good job.
"Many employers have a lot more positions at entry-level than higher levels. That's tough on seasoned job seekers, where specialization is sought, but good news for grads with marketable skills," said Peter Dunn, a career consultant from Career-Hunter in Denver, Colorado in a April 2008 Interview via e-mail.
Here is a student whose job search has been easier than mostly everyone she knows who has graduated.
"I have been working towards a good job in my field since I was a sophomore. I started as an intern at a radio station and worked my way up," said Reisha Ramai, 25, from Montclair State University in an April 2008 Interview.
She has been working as a News Desk Associate at CBS News Network for over a year, and will receive her Bachelor's degree on May 15, 2008 in Speech Communication.
Job Searching Tips: What Graduates Should Know
The average graduate in 2007-08 should take three to six months to land a legitimate job if he or she is consistently searching or is in the right field, for example, Computer Science for entry-level employers is harder to find a job in because there are fewer jobs, and a demand for additional certification and experience according to Moriarty. When searching for jobs, the top five personal qualities/skills employers seek, according to NACE's Job Outlook 2008 Survey, are communication skills, work ethic, teamwork skills, initiative, interpersonal skills. Also check the status of applications after applying, and make sure the punctuation and spelling on resumes and cover letters are correct. Last, at the job interview, be very pleasant and professional.
