There is good news for seniors. According to a hiring survey by Michigan State University (MSU) released last week, this year’s college graduates will have an easier time finding jobs than their counterparts did a couple of years ago.
The survey of 527 businesses, industries and governmental agencies projects a 4.7 percent increase in the number of new graduates who can expect to get jobs—the third straight annual improvement.
Still, Patrick Scheetz, director of the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at MSU and author of the survey, warned the Associated Press that it is only a modest improvement.
“It remains a very competitive job market out there, so the graduates by no means will find it easy hunting,” he said.
According to the results of the survey, the best job prospects are for engineers, computer scientists, business majors, health professionals and science majors.
Starting salaries are predicted to inch up only about half a percent from last year. Chemical engineers will garner the largest yearly wages—starting at $41,183—while journalists will earn the lowest—a mere $20,154 on average.
While the hiring will still be below the levels of 1988-89, graduates will find the best employment prospects in the southeastern and north-central regions of the country.
Despite all the good news, graduates will still have to fight for each employment opportunity.
“There has been so much downsizing and re-engineering going on that many of the opportunities that once existed have disappeared,” Scheetz said in the Associated Press interview. “There have been many jobs that have been lost in recent years, and those probably will not return for many, many years.”
Private employers are still wary of expanding business, while federal agencies are cutting staffing levels substantially in preparation for tighter budgets, he added.
In such a competitive job market, the survey concluded that prospects will be better for those graduates with career-related experience, such as an internship. Forty eight percent of last spring’s new hires had such experience, the survey said.
Also ranking high on employers’ lists of positive qualities in applicants are drive, enthusiasm and initiative. They want to hire graduates who are quick learners, independent thinkers and open-minded.
They also want applicants who have computer skills, work well as part of a group, have strong organizational skills and are respectful of cultures other than their own.
According to Theresa Lopez, ULV’s career development and placement director, University of La Verne students are adequately prepared in the areas with which employers are concerned.
She said that students here are aware of what they should be studying in order to get ahead, and professors are teaching important communications skills in their classes that can translate into the business world. Students also gain experience by taking advantage of the many leadership opportunities offered on this campus.
However, she said, ULV students are often surprised how prepared they are for the job market because they do not recognize the skills which employers are seeking.
While the Career Development Center does not keep statistics on how successful graduates are in obtaining jobs, Lopez said that students who start looking for jobs early, while they are still in school, and take advantage of the services offered by the University, are more successful finding work in their field after they leave La Verne.
The bottom line is, preparation for a career and the search for a job does not begin after a diploma is received. Sure, the job market is looking brighter than it has in the past couple of years, but graduates still have to face the harsh reality of a competitive, cut-throat arena and lower than desired salaries.
