Margaret BauerFor this year’s graduating class, finding a job may not be as difficult a task as it has been in the past.
Recent reports about the job market for the class of 2004 have been quite positive. The nonprofit National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) measured the potential jobs available for grads by polling its company members on four separate occasions during the academic year. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, a NACE survey last month indicated that employers plan to hire 11.2 percent more college graduates from the class of 2004 than the previous class. Marilyn Mackes, the executive director of NACE, noted in the article that this is the first time since 2001 that they have seen “an increase from employers for college hiring.”
Unfortunately, some feel the NACE survey is a little too optimistic, especially for this early in the employment cycle.
Amanda Matheu, director of Engineering Career Services at Washington University, cited the Recruiting Trends Report from the Collegiate Employment Research Institute (CERI) as reason for doubting NACE’s results.
“The database of employers that the CERI surveys is larger than the NACE,” said Matheu of the report, which is used at Michigan State University. “They showed that the job market was a little better, but [they] weren’t quite as confident as the NACE.”
However, this slight increase in job opportunities for 2004 graduates is consistent with what she has seen for the University’s engineering students.
“In my opinion, [employment] is picking up a little bit,” said Matheu. “We’ve seen more employers on campus this year, and I think students have gotten more interviews than last year. But it’s not as good as it used to be when the economy was much stronger.”
Georgia Binnington, associate dean of the School of Art, echoed Matheu’s sentiments. Although students in art often take many different paths after graduation, their jobs are still affected by the rise and fall of the economy, especially in what she calls the “applied arts,” namely fashion design, graphic design and other applied media.
“Our graduates in these areas have found positions relatively quickly after Commencement,” Binnington said of previous classes.
Though she has not noticed any difference over the past couple of years, Bennington said that this year “things are looking up.”
“I’m hearing from more students that they are having more success [whether looking] for grants, graduate programs, or jobs,” she said. “Based on word from students and faculty…we’ve got everyone placed.”
Other University faculty members believe that there is a pronounced increase in this year’s employment opportunities. Jill Murphy, manager of business development at the School of Business Career Center, voiced her agreement with the NACE’s findings.
“From what we’ve seen, there’s been a 50 percent improvement over the past year in terms of the number of companies that have visited campus for recruiting opportunities,” said Murphy.
Matheu cited Accenture Ltd. (a consulting firm) and Saint Jude Medical (a medical device manufacturer) as two companies that have already made offers to students after recruiting on campus. The Wall Street Journal reported that Accenture plans to hire 1,600 graduating college seniors this year, up from 750 last year.
Increased company visits, however, are not the only reason behind Murphy’s excitement for this year’s potential graduate employment.
“This year, the number of people who’ve already reported full-time job offers is 23 percent,” she said. “That’s a 16 percent increase from last year.”
Senior Erik Trooien said the career center at the School of Business helped him land a job with LaSalle Bank in Chicago. He accepted the job offer in November after interviewing with representatives on campus.
“It’s tough to take time away from your schedule to go do first-round interviews everywhere,” Trooien said, noting that University career resources enable students to work interviews into their daily routines by bringing potential employers to campus. “When [businesses] come to campus they know about Washington University and are interested in the students. It helps you get exposure to a lot of different companies.”
Lea Luchetti, the former director of the Career Center, said earlier in the semester that she was optimistic about the potential range of opportunities for University graduates.
“We are very encouraged by the recent news that the entry-level job market is much better than it had been in recent years,” she said. “Students can only benefit from these recent announcements as [they] affect a variety of job categories around the country.”
A recent press release from CollegeGrad.com, which advertises itself as the number one entry-level job site, stated that “for the first time in four years, the tide has truly turned as employers are again singing the praises of entry level college grad hires.” The site reports more than 120,000 jobs for 2004 grads, with a 12.8 percent increase in hiring compared to last year.
According to the Wall Street Journal, a Boston company called Experience Inc. that provides recruiting software to more than 500 schools has claimed that approximately 440,000 jobs have been posted on its system during the 2003-04 recruiting season, a 13 percent increase from last year.
Murphy maintains that there is no cause for celebration just yet.
“We’re anxious to see the trend continue as the economy grows. We’re excited to see that we’re ahead of where we were last year,” she said. “However, right now we’re cautiously optimistic.”
Matheu said that while the employers’ market is always competitive, she expects job opportunities to continue to improve for 2005 graduates.
“Everybody’s experience is different. Students have different things to offer to employers, and they need to highlight those things and target them that way,” Matheu said, citing the career centers on campus as good resources for seniors who are still looking for jobs.
Although job opportunities for 2004 graduates are on the rise, the trend has affected some industries more than others, and those students willing to put in extra effort may have an easier time finding employment.
As CollegeGrad.com President Brian Krueger said recently, “the jobs are there to be found for those who take the time to do the research.”