Hiring for Class of 2010 graduates to be down 7%

Future graduates to face toughest labor market in past 25 years

Arth Pandya

Staff Writer

This spring’s college graduates will be entering the toughest labor market the country has seen in the last 25 years, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Overall hiring for the Class of 2010 graduates is expected to decrease by approximately 7 percent.

The primary reason that employers gave for decreasing their new college hiring was the economy, according to a report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

“[Finding employment] is still incredibly challenging, and it will be that way for the foreseeable future,” said Carol Schroeder, director of the University Career Center.

Schroeder said, however, that it is important for future graduates to remain confident and motivated in their job search.

“In a bad economy, your best strength is to be extremely proactive in looking for a job,” she said.

In addition, Schroeder said future graduates need to be as flexible and creative as possible about finding a job in the field of their choice.

“That means going perhaps to a part of the country that isn’t as desirable as North Carolina, perhaps interviewing with a company you’ve never heard of before and perhaps taking a job that doesn’t pay as much as you hope you would make,” she said.

New college graduates seeking employment in the Northeast region may have more luck than graduates searching for jobs in the other three geographic regions. Northeastern employers plan to increase their college hires by 5.6 percent, according to NACE.

In addition, most experts agree that it is best to take a low paying job within your field rather than a job that is slightly higher in pay that is outside of your field.

“There are more job seekers than there are jobs. Sometimes you have to take any job you can take. But while you do that, you must also keep building your professional network and keep building connections,” Schroeder said.

Students also have access to the alumni association.

“They would gain access to a couple of major things that would really help them get the contacts they need to get them closer to jobs that might never be advertised,” said Sue Simonds, Director of Alumni Career Services.

“The alumni association directory is a great networking tool,” she said.

Simonds said the alumni association allows students and past students to network without worrying about the stigma associated with career support groups.

“Some of these job search support groups that exist, they’re really hard for people to want to go to,” she said. “I think we provide a different kind of experience for our alumnus. With the alumni association, they already have an automatic connection, and it’s the NCSU connection. It makes networking a little bit less intimidating.”

Another options that many are considering is attending graduate school.

“Graduate school interest has been accelerated by the economy,” said Duane Larick, dean of the University graduate school. “Applications are way up in the college of management and college of design.”

Dean said that obtaining a graduate degree is likely to impact one’s career opportunities for the rest of their life.

However, he said he encourages those interested in applying to graduate school to do their research.

“I encourage them to do a little more planning then ‘I don’t have a job, so I’m going to go to graduate school’,” he said. “My recommendation would be that if they’re considering graduate school, they should be talking to their advisors and professors to look into career opportunities in that field.”

Schroeder also said other alternatives were the Peace Corps, Americorps, and Teach for America.

“All of those are good potential places to gain experience, to gain exposure, to give back to society, while you hope that you can find another full-time job in your field,” she said.

Schroeder transitioned by saying how she would handle unemployment.

“If I lost my job, I would put myself in a situation where I help other people. I would maintain my physical fitness level at a very high level. I would put effort into developing my connections because it takes time and energy. I would get sleep. I would read the newspaper. I would find time to nurture myself psychologically, spiritually, and physically,” she said.

Schroeder emphasized the need for students to be persistent and keep trying.

“There’s no magic bullet, you just have to persistent and appropriately creative. You don’t loose heart. You maintain that spirit of ‘can do’. You don’t let it get to you,” she said.

“Be gracious, be humble, be positive, share with others, say thank you, and pay it forward.”