Most people use Facebook to keep in touch with their friends, plan their social calendars, crowdsource apartment hunts and even finagle a first date.
Why not use it to land a job?
That’s the idea behind Jibe, a New York start-up hoping to revitalize online job search using Facebook.
Jibe is one of the start-ups housed in Dogpatch Lab’s New York
office, a technology incubator backed by Polaris Ventures, a Boston-area venture capital firm. The company recently raised $875,000 in seed funding from Polaris Ventures, Josh and Jared Kushner, Zelkova Ventures and Lerer Media Ventures. On Tuesday, the service comes out of beta.
To start, job seekers connect their LinkedIn and Facebook profiles to pull in education and work history to quickly build a profile on Jibe. Then, they can begin searching for companies and industries they are interesting in working at to see who they know employed in those areas and can easily get in touch with friends to ask for advice or a reference or inquire about job openings.
Many start-ups have tackled reinventing the jobs board, with varying success. Others, like Craigslist and Monster.com, tend to be overrun with duplicate postings and have a high volume of applicants for each listing. And still others, like TheLadders, target people in search of executive positions and six-figure salaries.
Jibe, however, is setting its sights on the collegiate crowd and recent graduates who are starting from scratch and likely to be bewildered by the job application process, said Joe Essenfeld, co-founder and chief executive of the company.
“We want to help entry-level job seekers find their first job and get recommendations, which is something you don’t learn in college,” he said.
The company said its primary goal is attracting new users to the service.
The next step for Jibe, Mr. Essenfeld said, is incorporating job listings culled from the Internet and through partnerships with companies looking to target a small pool of qualified applicants for entry-level positions.
“We’re targeting white-collar companies in cities looking for entry-level candidates in finance, health care and marketing,” said Mr. Essenfeld.
To monetize its service, Jibe will charge employers to have full access to its pool of job candidates. Recruiters can search through the database free, Mr. Essenfeld said, but to send a message to a Jibe member or see a full profile will cost money.
As a former hiring manager, Mr. Essenfeld said he believed that employers would be happy to pay for access to a smaller pool of qualified applicants, rather than wade through the hundreds of résumés that are sent to each listing on sites like Craigslist and CareerBuilders.
In addition, Mr. Essenfeld said the service would charge its highest-volume users.
“If you want to be a power user and apply to 25 jobs in a week, you pay $5 to do that,” he said. “But if you only want to apply to four or five jobs in a week, that’s free.”
Alternatively, job seekers can earn credits that unlock paid features by using services within Jibe, like writing a recommendation, tweeting about the service and inviting friends to join the network.
“We want to give everyone the opportunity to apply for a job for free,” Mr. Essenfeld said.
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Economy - Job market picks up for professionals in Michigan
Source: The Detroit News
Unemployment rate down to 12.4 percent after many leave area
Brian J. O'Connor / Detroit News Finance Editor
John King is in a very small, very exclusive and very encouraging Michigan club: People who landed a job in November.
King, 36, started as technical delivery manager at the Troy office of Ally Financial on Nov. 1, overseeing information technology projects. That was after 13 months in a lower-level, lower-paying job and three months with no paycheck at all, after losing a similar job in a mass layoff in June 2009.
"At the time I got laid off, five managers at my level were laid off at the same time," said the Lake Orion father of two.
Only 1,999 other Michiganians joined King in the new-job club in November, according to state data released Wednesday that contains both good news and bad news.
The good news is that the state jobless rate fell by four-tenths of a percentage point, down to 12.4 percent. That means 22,000 workers aren't pounding the pavement for a new job.
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The bad news is that 20,000 workers either retired, left the state, died or just quit looking for work.
Despite the huge job losses that have hit the state, John King and other professionals in accounting, technology and finance are seeing encouraging signs on the hiring line.
"In the last six to eight months, I was getting more phone calls from recruiters," King said. "Things were definitely opening up."
Matt Lewry, executive vice president for Accretive Solutions of Troy, a national recruiting firm that placed King, sees opportunities for experienced professionals opening up.
"The silver lining is that if you are a professional in Michigan, demand is picking up," Lewry said.
The reason is that some people have retired or left the state, shrinking the pool of job-hunters, he said.
As the automakers and others have recovered from the near-collapse of the industry, the demand for experienced professionals is beginning to change the balance of power between candidates who'd take anything a year ago and employers who suddenly are discovering that a good CPA is hard to find.
"All last year we would have 10 candidates for a position, and 90 percent of those were really good people who were displaced," Lewry said. "Today, that candidate pool might be down to five."
Part of the demand is being driven by technology upgrades at companies that have put off spending on infrastructure improvements since the downturn started, he added.
"There's a lot of investment in information technology now, which drives a lot of investment in people and processes and organization changes."
Laura Barron started her new job as chief financial officer of Financial One Inc. in Plymouth on Monday, after a year of finding nothing but consulting and contract work. Her last employer moved out of state in July 2008, and Barron decided to take some time off until the youngest of her three sons started kindergarten.
"I started looking in late summer of 2009, and that was when the job market just completely crashed," the 40-year-old Novi resident said. "I was using five recruiters, and there really wasn't anything until this fall."
When job offers did start picking up, Barron said, she noticed salaries were coming back to pre-recession levels, too.
"When I was looking in the fall of 2009, there weren't many positions available, but the ones I did get called on where a lot lower paying," she said. "If there was a job out there, it was scooped up by people who had a lot more experience than the position required, and it was at a lower salary.
Even professionals who managed to hang on to their jobs are being tempted to make a move, Lewry said.
"Throughout the last two years if people stayed in their jobs they either got zero increases or took a decrease in salary," he said. "Now we're seeing people move for increases."
While the improved job outlook for some experienced professionals is encouraging, entry level jobs aren't opening up, and some sectors, such as construction and government jobs, are still experiencing large losses. The shrinking unemployment rate has mostly come about because 46,000 fewer people are in the work force looking for jobs than there were in November 2009.
Despite an impressive drop in unemployment by two full percentage points — from 14.4 percent to 12.4 percent — in the past 12 months, the number of people in the state getting paychecks has fallen by 19,000 workers.
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And while the news from the financial services and information sectors is encouraging compared to November of last year, those categories still have a combined loss of 9,000 jobs.
Even the recruiter Lewry doesn't overstate the good news.
"The balance for some employment seekers is starting to come back to something like normal," he said. "But that's not hard to do when you had almost nothing the year before."
Unemployment rate down to 12.4 percent after many leave area
Brian J. O'Connor / Detroit News Finance Editor
John King is in a very small, very exclusive and very encouraging Michigan club: People who landed a job in November.
King, 36, started as technical delivery manager at the Troy office of Ally Financial on Nov. 1, overseeing information technology projects. That was after 13 months in a lower-level, lower-paying job and three months with no paycheck at all, after losing a similar job in a mass layoff in June 2009.
"At the time I got laid off, five managers at my level were laid off at the same time," said the Lake Orion father of two.
Only 1,999 other Michiganians joined King in the new-job club in November, according to state data released Wednesday that contains both good news and bad news.
The good news is that the state jobless rate fell by four-tenths of a percentage point, down to 12.4 percent. That means 22,000 workers aren't pounding the pavement for a new job.
Single and looking. Email me
The bad news is that 20,000 workers either retired, left the state, died or just quit looking for work.
Despite the huge job losses that have hit the state, John King and other professionals in accounting, technology and finance are seeing encouraging signs on the hiring line.
"In the last six to eight months, I was getting more phone calls from recruiters," King said. "Things were definitely opening up."
Matt Lewry, executive vice president for Accretive Solutions of Troy, a national recruiting firm that placed King, sees opportunities for experienced professionals opening up.
"The silver lining is that if you are a professional in Michigan, demand is picking up," Lewry said.
The reason is that some people have retired or left the state, shrinking the pool of job-hunters, he said.
As the automakers and others have recovered from the near-collapse of the industry, the demand for experienced professionals is beginning to change the balance of power between candidates who'd take anything a year ago and employers who suddenly are discovering that a good CPA is hard to find.
"All last year we would have 10 candidates for a position, and 90 percent of those were really good people who were displaced," Lewry said. "Today, that candidate pool might be down to five."
Part of the demand is being driven by technology upgrades at companies that have put off spending on infrastructure improvements since the downturn started, he added.
"There's a lot of investment in information technology now, which drives a lot of investment in people and processes and organization changes."
Laura Barron started her new job as chief financial officer of Financial One Inc. in Plymouth on Monday, after a year of finding nothing but consulting and contract work. Her last employer moved out of state in July 2008, and Barron decided to take some time off until the youngest of her three sons started kindergarten.
"I started looking in late summer of 2009, and that was when the job market just completely crashed," the 40-year-old Novi resident said. "I was using five recruiters, and there really wasn't anything until this fall."
When job offers did start picking up, Barron said, she noticed salaries were coming back to pre-recession levels, too.
"When I was looking in the fall of 2009, there weren't many positions available, but the ones I did get called on where a lot lower paying," she said. "If there was a job out there, it was scooped up by people who had a lot more experience than the position required, and it was at a lower salary.
Even professionals who managed to hang on to their jobs are being tempted to make a move, Lewry said.
"Throughout the last two years if people stayed in their jobs they either got zero increases or took a decrease in salary," he said. "Now we're seeing people move for increases."
While the improved job outlook for some experienced professionals is encouraging, entry level jobs aren't opening up, and some sectors, such as construction and government jobs, are still experiencing large losses. The shrinking unemployment rate has mostly come about because 46,000 fewer people are in the work force looking for jobs than there were in November 2009.
Despite an impressive drop in unemployment by two full percentage points — from 14.4 percent to 12.4 percent — in the past 12 months, the number of people in the state getting paychecks has fallen by 19,000 workers.
And while the news from the financial services and information sectors is encouraging compared to November of last year, those categories still have a combined loss of 9,000 jobs.
Even the recruiter Lewry doesn't overstate the good news.
"The balance for some employment seekers is starting to come back to something like normal," he said. "But that's not hard to do when you had almost nothing the year before."
A Stanford engineering degree -- and no job
by Kelsey Mesher
Mountain View Voice Staff
Mountain View resident Chad Bowling, 23, never thought he would fall a victim to the down economy.
As a chemical engineering student at Stanford University, "I assumed that I would not have a hard time finding a job," he said.
His plan was to work for a few years before applying to graduate programs in his field, a move often encouraged by professors to broaden a student's perspective. In the fall of his senior year, Bowling casually began his search.
"I never considered that a year or two break would be a hard ordeal," he said.
Fall passed, and winter and spring quarters rolled by. It was graduation time and Bowling still didn't have anything lined up.
By that time, he was "desperate," he said. He decided to widen the pool of jobs he would apply for, and continue his search from his parents' house in Kentucky, with the eventual goal of heading back to the Bay Area.
"I was sending out tons of e-mails every day," he said, "applying for everything I could online, e-mailing alumni -- anything I could do. But it was all so electronic and anonymous, and nothing came back."
"I decided I'd take the plunge and move out to California and just try my luck," he said.
'I felt guilty'
With the support of his family, Bowling began leasing a Mountain View apartment month-to-month in August. He kicked up his job search, but nothing came through, and unemployment began to take its toll.
"It was a really hard place to be in," he said. "It was a balancing act between convincing myself to a certain degree that it was just the state of the job market -- but I also had to keep up the other side of it in that it was my responsibility."
"The whole time when I was searching for a job I felt like I could not really enjoy all the things that I normally did," he said. "I felt guilty during all of my free time. I realized that I could work only so many hours without getting totally down on myself. You can only send so many e-mails a day."
In order to save money, he didn't do much of anything beyond applying for jobs, he said. "I ate a lot of bean burritos."
His relationships with peers changed, too. While friends wanted to check in with him, he said, it was a "sensitive subject."
"It's really hard to take advice from people because you're doing everything you can," he said. "All your friends, when they're talking to you, they want to help you."
"It's also a hard place to be in, looking around at everyone else who has a job and think, what did they do that I didn't do? How did I fall into this?"
Overqualified
Heading into winter with no prospects, Bowling began applying for more "immediate" positions. He took weekend babysitting gigs, and submitted his resume at restaurants or retailers with "now hiring" signs in their windows.
At one point he went through two rounds of interviews for a serving position at the Olive Garden. Despite having restaurant experience in the past, the manager said Bowling was overqualified -- he might leave the job if something better came up.
"The manager told me they had interviewed the broadest range of people they'd ever interviewed," he said. "People who had owned their own companies were coming in to work as waiters."
The irony, Bowling said, was his academic training made him too qualified for some jobs, but he didn't have enough experience for most science-related positions.
"It put me in a hard place because I really had to focus on entry level jobs which just weren't there," he said.
Two interviews
Finally, in March, Bowling landed an interview with Envia Systems, a Hayward start-up that makes lithium ion battery materials for electric cars. The company was looking to hire a Ph.D., but agreed to speak with him anyway on the recommendation of a professor.
Though he was unqualified for the open position, the company offered him a temporary job in their lab, with the potential for full employment in six months.
"It took a while to hit me, and it was also strange because I had numbed myself from getting too excited about job prospects," he said. "When I heard about it I didn't want to get too excited until I had signed the paperwork and sent in the signed job offer."
In the end, Bowling only interviewed with two companies during his time out of college. He said the quantity of applications he submitted and job-related e-mails he sent numbered well over a thousand.
Looking forward, Bowling said he would be more conservative about job changes, and about saving money.
"I'm just going to take everything as a positive right now," he said. "Even if I'm only at this job for a couple months it's going to be great experience and it's going to be a building block."
Mountain View Voice Staff
Mountain View resident Chad Bowling, 23, never thought he would fall a victim to the down economy.
As a chemical engineering student at Stanford University, "I assumed that I would not have a hard time finding a job," he said.
His plan was to work for a few years before applying to graduate programs in his field, a move often encouraged by professors to broaden a student's perspective. In the fall of his senior year, Bowling casually began his search.
"I never considered that a year or two break would be a hard ordeal," he said.
Fall passed, and winter and spring quarters rolled by. It was graduation time and Bowling still didn't have anything lined up.
By that time, he was "desperate," he said. He decided to widen the pool of jobs he would apply for, and continue his search from his parents' house in Kentucky, with the eventual goal of heading back to the Bay Area.
"I was sending out tons of e-mails every day," he said, "applying for everything I could online, e-mailing alumni -- anything I could do. But it was all so electronic and anonymous, and nothing came back."
"I decided I'd take the plunge and move out to California and just try my luck," he said.
'I felt guilty'
With the support of his family, Bowling began leasing a Mountain View apartment month-to-month in August. He kicked up his job search, but nothing came through, and unemployment began to take its toll.
"It was a really hard place to be in," he said. "It was a balancing act between convincing myself to a certain degree that it was just the state of the job market -- but I also had to keep up the other side of it in that it was my responsibility."
"The whole time when I was searching for a job I felt like I could not really enjoy all the things that I normally did," he said. "I felt guilty during all of my free time. I realized that I could work only so many hours without getting totally down on myself. You can only send so many e-mails a day."
In order to save money, he didn't do much of anything beyond applying for jobs, he said. "I ate a lot of bean burritos."
His relationships with peers changed, too. While friends wanted to check in with him, he said, it was a "sensitive subject."
"It's really hard to take advice from people because you're doing everything you can," he said. "All your friends, when they're talking to you, they want to help you."
"It's also a hard place to be in, looking around at everyone else who has a job and think, what did they do that I didn't do? How did I fall into this?"
Overqualified
Heading into winter with no prospects, Bowling began applying for more "immediate" positions. He took weekend babysitting gigs, and submitted his resume at restaurants or retailers with "now hiring" signs in their windows.
At one point he went through two rounds of interviews for a serving position at the Olive Garden. Despite having restaurant experience in the past, the manager said Bowling was overqualified -- he might leave the job if something better came up.
"The manager told me they had interviewed the broadest range of people they'd ever interviewed," he said. "People who had owned their own companies were coming in to work as waiters."
The irony, Bowling said, was his academic training made him too qualified for some jobs, but he didn't have enough experience for most science-related positions.
"It put me in a hard place because I really had to focus on entry level jobs which just weren't there," he said.
Two interviews
Finally, in March, Bowling landed an interview with Envia Systems, a Hayward start-up that makes lithium ion battery materials for electric cars. The company was looking to hire a Ph.D., but agreed to speak with him anyway on the recommendation of a professor.
Though he was unqualified for the open position, the company offered him a temporary job in their lab, with the potential for full employment in six months.
"It took a while to hit me, and it was also strange because I had numbed myself from getting too excited about job prospects," he said. "When I heard about it I didn't want to get too excited until I had signed the paperwork and sent in the signed job offer."
In the end, Bowling only interviewed with two companies during his time out of college. He said the quantity of applications he submitted and job-related e-mails he sent numbered well over a thousand.
Looking forward, Bowling said he would be more conservative about job changes, and about saving money.
"I'm just going to take everything as a positive right now," he said. "Even if I'm only at this job for a couple months it's going to be great experience and it's going to be a building block."
Tough competition makes summer job hunt harder
By Kathleen Pender
Tough competition makes summer job hunt harder
Getting a summer job is harder this year, but not impossible for students if they are patient and persistent.
In general, there seem to be more applicants for fewer positions than last year, a result of the slowing economy.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo is hiring about 1,400 seasonal workers this year, down from 1,500 last summer. Yet it received 8,600 applications this year, up from 7,000 last year. An increase in the state minimum wage pushed its entry-level pay to $8 per hour from $7.50 last summer.
At California's Great America, the applicant pool has grown so large that "We don't have enough people to handle all the interviews," says Al Garcia, spokesman for the Santa Clara amusement park. Some applicants have had to come back a second day.
The park has filled most of its regular 2,000 summer slots, but turnover is high and replacements are hired throughout the summer. Bucking the trend, Great America is hiring 500 people this year to build and staff a new Halloween-themed program that will run in October. The park is still hiring for those positions, which start in August.
The teen unemployment rate in California, which tracks the overall unemployment rate, has been rising. It was 18.7 percent in April, 18.3 percent in April 2007 and 16.3 percent in April 2006.
Tony DiStefano, executive director of Enterprise for High School Students in San Francisco, says its job bank "is thinner than it has been historically."
There are still lots of household positions open, but fewer commercial jobs. That's partly because college graduates "are willing to take jobs they wouldn't normally be willing to take," he says. Also, older people are staying in jobs "you would have expected them to move on from."
Amari Bolmer of San Francisco had been looking for a part-time job since last August, with no luck. "I went to a lot of interviews. I put out my resume, applications," the 17-year-old says.
A month ago, he signed up with Enterprise, which found him a couple of domestic jobs such as helping a woman move and helping another with her Web site. This week, he got a referral to Century Theatres, which hired Bolmer to work in the concession stand starting next week at $9.36 per hour, San Francisco's minimum wage.
"I had to work really hard to find a job," he says.
Enterprise employs some students directly, in jobs that are subsidized by corporate donors, the city and an antique auction. Demand for those jobs is way up. For its Career Exploration Program, "we had 150 applicants, up almost 50 percent, for 41 positions," DiStefano says.
Yuri Dew, executive director of Jobs for Youth in San Francisco, says "there are retail jobs aplenty." But some companies, for economic reasons, have stopped hiring interns through her nonprofit organization, which targets 16- to 21-year-olds.
Dew has been able to replace many jobs by working with new industries. A group of real estate and property management companies has sponsored 29 new internships this summer. About 15 are still open at $12 per hour.
Ruby Tomas, program coordinator with San Mateo County Jobs for Youth, says that while some employers - such as Kaiser Permanente and SamTrans - are hiring more students this year, overall there are fewer job openings.
Only 30 to 40 percent of the young people who come through her county-run program, which requires a job-skills workshop, end up getting jobs. That's mainly because their parents pushed them to come but "the kids aren't really ready to work," Tomas says. They fail to send applications or show up for interviews.
Any student who is "really motivated" will find a job, Tomas insists. "You have to be determined and patient. A job search is an actual job."
Tomas says she has about 60 job listings - mostly in restaurant and retail - for 16- and 17-year olds and about 100 openings for those older than 18.
It's harder for people younger than 18 to find jobs because state laws restrict their work hours, says Mayela Gutknecht, a specialist at Jobs for Youth in San Francisco.
It's also "very hard for youth with any type of criminal background," even misdemeanors for marijuana possession, she says.
Youth from disadvantaged communities can have trouble getting jobs because of transportation problems or because "they haven't had the family support," Gutknecht adds. They sometimes lack the "presentation and interpersonal skills" employers expect.
Students from higher-income families "are more likely to be part of a network where opportunities are made available to them or the basics are taught to them, such as how to prepare a resume or come across as a professional," DiStefano says.
Gutknecht says students here often have to compete for entry-level jobs with immigrants, including college grads. "There's a lot of competition in the city," she says. "People from England are coming here with a college degree and working for a restaurant because they want to live here."
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS.
Tough competition makes summer job hunt harder
Getting a summer job is harder this year, but not impossible for students if they are patient and persistent.
In general, there seem to be more applicants for fewer positions than last year, a result of the slowing economy.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo is hiring about 1,400 seasonal workers this year, down from 1,500 last summer. Yet it received 8,600 applications this year, up from 7,000 last year. An increase in the state minimum wage pushed its entry-level pay to $8 per hour from $7.50 last summer.
At California's Great America, the applicant pool has grown so large that "We don't have enough people to handle all the interviews," says Al Garcia, spokesman for the Santa Clara amusement park. Some applicants have had to come back a second day.
The park has filled most of its regular 2,000 summer slots, but turnover is high and replacements are hired throughout the summer. Bucking the trend, Great America is hiring 500 people this year to build and staff a new Halloween-themed program that will run in October. The park is still hiring for those positions, which start in August.
The teen unemployment rate in California, which tracks the overall unemployment rate, has been rising. It was 18.7 percent in April, 18.3 percent in April 2007 and 16.3 percent in April 2006.
Tony DiStefano, executive director of Enterprise for High School Students in San Francisco, says its job bank "is thinner than it has been historically."
There are still lots of household positions open, but fewer commercial jobs. That's partly because college graduates "are willing to take jobs they wouldn't normally be willing to take," he says. Also, older people are staying in jobs "you would have expected them to move on from."
Amari Bolmer of San Francisco had been looking for a part-time job since last August, with no luck. "I went to a lot of interviews. I put out my resume, applications," the 17-year-old says.
A month ago, he signed up with Enterprise, which found him a couple of domestic jobs such as helping a woman move and helping another with her Web site. This week, he got a referral to Century Theatres, which hired Bolmer to work in the concession stand starting next week at $9.36 per hour, San Francisco's minimum wage.
"I had to work really hard to find a job," he says.
Enterprise employs some students directly, in jobs that are subsidized by corporate donors, the city and an antique auction. Demand for those jobs is way up. For its Career Exploration Program, "we had 150 applicants, up almost 50 percent, for 41 positions," DiStefano says.
Yuri Dew, executive director of Jobs for Youth in San Francisco, says "there are retail jobs aplenty." But some companies, for economic reasons, have stopped hiring interns through her nonprofit organization, which targets 16- to 21-year-olds.
Dew has been able to replace many jobs by working with new industries. A group of real estate and property management companies has sponsored 29 new internships this summer. About 15 are still open at $12 per hour.
Ruby Tomas, program coordinator with San Mateo County Jobs for Youth, says that while some employers - such as Kaiser Permanente and SamTrans - are hiring more students this year, overall there are fewer job openings.
Only 30 to 40 percent of the young people who come through her county-run program, which requires a job-skills workshop, end up getting jobs. That's mainly because their parents pushed them to come but "the kids aren't really ready to work," Tomas says. They fail to send applications or show up for interviews.
Any student who is "really motivated" will find a job, Tomas insists. "You have to be determined and patient. A job search is an actual job."
Tomas says she has about 60 job listings - mostly in restaurant and retail - for 16- and 17-year olds and about 100 openings for those older than 18.
It's harder for people younger than 18 to find jobs because state laws restrict their work hours, says Mayela Gutknecht, a specialist at Jobs for Youth in San Francisco.
It's also "very hard for youth with any type of criminal background," even misdemeanors for marijuana possession, she says.
Youth from disadvantaged communities can have trouble getting jobs because of transportation problems or because "they haven't had the family support," Gutknecht adds. They sometimes lack the "presentation and interpersonal skills" employers expect.
Students from higher-income families "are more likely to be part of a network where opportunities are made available to them or the basics are taught to them, such as how to prepare a resume or come across as a professional," DiStefano says.
Gutknecht says students here often have to compete for entry-level jobs with immigrants, including college grads. "There's a lot of competition in the city," she says. "People from England are coming here with a college degree and working for a restaurant because they want to live here."
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS.
Solid Job Market for Banking and Finance Grads Reported
By Lofton, Lynn
This is a good year to be graduating with a major in banking and finance. The state's universities are reporting positive job results for 2008 spring graduates.
Delta State University had 92 undergraduates and 16 graduate students from the College of Business at spring commencement, according to Dr. Billy C. Moore, dean of the College of Business.
"The banking and finance graduates at Delta State University report good results from job markets following graduation," he said. "There is a need for continued education with the industry changes that are being made every year."
Indicative of that need, he highlighted two success stories. They are Russell Watkins, who will complete the MBA in July after a 25- year career in banking, and Bill Bethany, who received the MBA this spring while working full time as a branch sales manager for Regions Bank in Greenville.
"I saw the educational need for my career and chose Delta State for my graduate and undergraduate degrees, hoping to find greater opportunities in the job market," Watkins said. "The banking industry has always had good quality job opportunities for graduating seniors."
Scott Maynard, director of Mississippi State University's Career Center, also sees a strong job market this year. "Of the employers that recruited banking and finance majors this year, 39% came from financial planning, 35% from non-banking industries, 17% from banking and 9% from non-profit and government sectors," he said.
He feels the recent volatility in the mortgage industry and the decline in the housing market will have some impact going into fall, but overall says it appears to be stable.
"Many of the employers that traditionally recruit banking and finance students have already scheduled to be on campus in the fall," Maynard said. "Most of the recruiters I have spoken with are cautiously optimistic."
Recruiters will also be returning to the University of Southern Mississippi this fall, says Amy Yeend, assistant director of Career Services in the College of Business, and the employment outlook is encouraging.
"We had a strong presence on campus - all normal recruiters came back," she said. "Some employers cut back on the number of jobs, but they are hiring. In Career Services, we work with the main banks, large and small financial firms and some real estate firms. The jobs are out there, but employers might hire eight graduates instead of 10."
Lisa Gooden, recruiting coordinator for the University of Mississippi Career Center, says the job outlook for the school's banking and finance majors is positive for students with competitive grade point averages, relevant employment experience and strong references.
"Banking and finance students at Ole Miss have been recruited through the Career Center at the same rate this year as they have been in past years," she said. "I have not noticed a significant change. However, individual companies have not reported their offer numbers yet."
The University of Mississippi School of Business hosted a Banking and Finance Career Fair this spring that attracted more than 20 companies.
"We mostly see entry-level recruitment from banks and financial planning agencies such as Regions Bank and Strategic Financial Partners," Gooden said. "We also have noticed an increase in the number of internship announcements for banking and finance students from large corporations."
Delta State University professor of economic and finance Dr. K.P. Sridharan said, "I have not seen any slow down in the job market in the banking sector. Slow down has not been felt and not echoed by students as of yet."
DSU's Billy Moore added that Careerbuilder, a popular job website, has 1.6 million job listings with 9,226 banking jobs and 6,958 finance jobs available. California leads with 1,117 job opportunities and New York is second with 900. Currently, Careerbuilder reports 244 banking jobs available in Mississippi.
Source: Mississippi Business Journal, The
This is a good year to be graduating with a major in banking and finance. The state's universities are reporting positive job results for 2008 spring graduates.
Delta State University had 92 undergraduates and 16 graduate students from the College of Business at spring commencement, according to Dr. Billy C. Moore, dean of the College of Business.
"The banking and finance graduates at Delta State University report good results from job markets following graduation," he said. "There is a need for continued education with the industry changes that are being made every year."
Indicative of that need, he highlighted two success stories. They are Russell Watkins, who will complete the MBA in July after a 25- year career in banking, and Bill Bethany, who received the MBA this spring while working full time as a branch sales manager for Regions Bank in Greenville.
"I saw the educational need for my career and chose Delta State for my graduate and undergraduate degrees, hoping to find greater opportunities in the job market," Watkins said. "The banking industry has always had good quality job opportunities for graduating seniors."
Scott Maynard, director of Mississippi State University's Career Center, also sees a strong job market this year. "Of the employers that recruited banking and finance majors this year, 39% came from financial planning, 35% from non-banking industries, 17% from banking and 9% from non-profit and government sectors," he said.
He feels the recent volatility in the mortgage industry and the decline in the housing market will have some impact going into fall, but overall says it appears to be stable.
"Many of the employers that traditionally recruit banking and finance students have already scheduled to be on campus in the fall," Maynard said. "Most of the recruiters I have spoken with are cautiously optimistic."
Recruiters will also be returning to the University of Southern Mississippi this fall, says Amy Yeend, assistant director of Career Services in the College of Business, and the employment outlook is encouraging.
"We had a strong presence on campus - all normal recruiters came back," she said. "Some employers cut back on the number of jobs, but they are hiring. In Career Services, we work with the main banks, large and small financial firms and some real estate firms. The jobs are out there, but employers might hire eight graduates instead of 10."
Lisa Gooden, recruiting coordinator for the University of Mississippi Career Center, says the job outlook for the school's banking and finance majors is positive for students with competitive grade point averages, relevant employment experience and strong references.
"Banking and finance students at Ole Miss have been recruited through the Career Center at the same rate this year as they have been in past years," she said. "I have not noticed a significant change. However, individual companies have not reported their offer numbers yet."
The University of Mississippi School of Business hosted a Banking and Finance Career Fair this spring that attracted more than 20 companies.
"We mostly see entry-level recruitment from banks and financial planning agencies such as Regions Bank and Strategic Financial Partners," Gooden said. "We also have noticed an increase in the number of internship announcements for banking and finance students from large corporations."
Delta State University professor of economic and finance Dr. K.P. Sridharan said, "I have not seen any slow down in the job market in the banking sector. Slow down has not been felt and not echoed by students as of yet."
DSU's Billy Moore added that Careerbuilder, a popular job website, has 1.6 million job listings with 9,226 banking jobs and 6,958 finance jobs available. California leads with 1,117 job opportunities and New York is second with 900. Currently, Careerbuilder reports 244 banking jobs available in Mississippi.
Source: Mississippi Business Journal, The
Solid Job Market for Banking and Finance Grads Reported
By Lofton, Lynn
This is a good year to be graduating with a major in banking and finance. The state's universities are reporting positive job results for 2008 spring graduates.
Delta State University had 92 undergraduates and 16 graduate students from the College of Business at spring commencement, according to Dr. Billy C. Moore, dean of the College of Business.
"The banking and finance graduates at Delta State University report good results from job markets following graduation," he said. "There is a need for continued education with the industry changes that are being made every year."
Indicative of that need, he highlighted two success stories. They are Russell Watkins, who will complete the MBA in July after a 25- year career in banking, and Bill Bethany, who received the MBA this spring while working full time as a branch sales manager for Regions Bank in Greenville.
"I saw the educational need for my career and chose Delta State for my graduate and undergraduate degrees, hoping to find greater opportunities in the job market," Watkins said. "The banking industry has always had good quality job opportunities for graduating seniors."
Scott Maynard, director of Mississippi State University's Career Center, also sees a strong job market this year. "Of the employers that recruited banking and finance majors this year, 39% came from financial planning, 35% from non-banking industries, 17% from banking and 9% from non-profit and government sectors," he said.
He feels the recent volatility in the mortgage industry and the decline in the housing market will have some impact going into fall, but overall says it appears to be stable.
"Many of the employers that traditionally recruit banking and finance students have already scheduled to be on campus in the fall," Maynard said. "Most of the recruiters I have spoken with are cautiously optimistic."
Recruiters will also be returning to the University of Southern Mississippi this fall, says Amy Yeend, assistant director of Career Services in the College of Business, and the employment outlook is encouraging.
"We had a strong presence on campus - all normal recruiters came back," she said. "Some employers cut back on the number of jobs, but they are hiring. In Career Services, we work with the main banks, large and small financial firms and some real estate firms. The jobs are out there, but employers might hire eight graduates instead of 10."
Lisa Gooden, recruiting coordinator for the University of Mississippi Career Center, says the job outlook for the school's banking and finance majors is positive for students with competitive grade point averages, relevant employment experience and strong references.
"Banking and finance students at Ole Miss have been recruited through the Career Center at the same rate this year as they have been in past years," she said. "I have not noticed a significant change. However, individual companies have not reported their offer numbers yet."
The University of Mississippi School of Business hosted a Banking and Finance Career Fair this spring that attracted more than 20 companies.
"We mostly see entry-level recruitment from banks and financial planning agencies such as Regions Bank and Strategic Financial Partners," Gooden said. "We also have noticed an increase in the number of internship announcements for banking and finance students from large corporations."
Delta State University professor of economic and finance Dr. K.P. Sridharan said, "I have not seen any slow down in the job market in the banking sector. Slow down has not been felt and not echoed by students as of yet."
DSU's Billy Moore added that Careerbuilder, a popular job website, has 1.6 million job listings with 9,226 banking jobs and 6,958 finance jobs available. California leads with 1,117 job opportunities and New York is second with 900. Currently, Careerbuilder reports 244 banking jobs available in Mississippi.
Source: The Mississippi Business Journal
This is a good year to be graduating with a major in banking and finance. The state's universities are reporting positive job results for 2008 spring graduates.
Delta State University had 92 undergraduates and 16 graduate students from the College of Business at spring commencement, according to Dr. Billy C. Moore, dean of the College of Business.
"The banking and finance graduates at Delta State University report good results from job markets following graduation," he said. "There is a need for continued education with the industry changes that are being made every year."
Indicative of that need, he highlighted two success stories. They are Russell Watkins, who will complete the MBA in July after a 25- year career in banking, and Bill Bethany, who received the MBA this spring while working full time as a branch sales manager for Regions Bank in Greenville.
"I saw the educational need for my career and chose Delta State for my graduate and undergraduate degrees, hoping to find greater opportunities in the job market," Watkins said. "The banking industry has always had good quality job opportunities for graduating seniors."
Scott Maynard, director of Mississippi State University's Career Center, also sees a strong job market this year. "Of the employers that recruited banking and finance majors this year, 39% came from financial planning, 35% from non-banking industries, 17% from banking and 9% from non-profit and government sectors," he said.
He feels the recent volatility in the mortgage industry and the decline in the housing market will have some impact going into fall, but overall says it appears to be stable.
"Many of the employers that traditionally recruit banking and finance students have already scheduled to be on campus in the fall," Maynard said. "Most of the recruiters I have spoken with are cautiously optimistic."
Recruiters will also be returning to the University of Southern Mississippi this fall, says Amy Yeend, assistant director of Career Services in the College of Business, and the employment outlook is encouraging.
"We had a strong presence on campus - all normal recruiters came back," she said. "Some employers cut back on the number of jobs, but they are hiring. In Career Services, we work with the main banks, large and small financial firms and some real estate firms. The jobs are out there, but employers might hire eight graduates instead of 10."
Lisa Gooden, recruiting coordinator for the University of Mississippi Career Center, says the job outlook for the school's banking and finance majors is positive for students with competitive grade point averages, relevant employment experience and strong references.
"Banking and finance students at Ole Miss have been recruited through the Career Center at the same rate this year as they have been in past years," she said. "I have not noticed a significant change. However, individual companies have not reported their offer numbers yet."
The University of Mississippi School of Business hosted a Banking and Finance Career Fair this spring that attracted more than 20 companies.
"We mostly see entry-level recruitment from banks and financial planning agencies such as Regions Bank and Strategic Financial Partners," Gooden said. "We also have noticed an increase in the number of internship announcements for banking and finance students from large corporations."
Delta State University professor of economic and finance Dr. K.P. Sridharan said, "I have not seen any slow down in the job market in the banking sector. Slow down has not been felt and not echoed by students as of yet."
DSU's Billy Moore added that Careerbuilder, a popular job website, has 1.6 million job listings with 9,226 banking jobs and 6,958 finance jobs available. California leads with 1,117 job opportunities and New York is second with 900. Currently, Careerbuilder reports 244 banking jobs available in Mississippi.
Source: The Mississippi Business Journal
Graduates' chances at a job steadily improve
Source: Philly.com
By Patricia Kitchen
Newsday (MCT)
MELVILLE, N.Y. - New college grads may at least have a fighting chance to get jobs this year.
After two years of bleak prospects, there's a flicker of hope for the Class of 2011 as national projections show the job market may be opening up.
Hiring for the class of 2011 is expected to be up 13 percent to 14 percent compared with last year, according to two polls, one in the fall with 197 employer respondents and one in February with 112, conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, said Edwin Koc, director of research.
The market for new college grads took a dive starting in the spring of 2009, as the recession and financial meltdown led to layoffs, hiring curbs and a national jobless rate that rose to a high of 10.1 percent in October 2009. The unemployment rate for 20- to 24-year-olds with bachelor's degrees was 8.8 percent in 2009 and 9.2 percent in 2010. As a result, more former students have taken on survival jobs outside their fields of study, moved back home with parents or applied for graduate school.
But John Hyde, dean of career services at the New York Institute of Technology, said there is a "brightening up" in this year's entry-level hiring market.
Recruiters who shied away the past couple of years are calling, and employers recently posted about 18 new job openings, many sales and marketing positions, on the school's proprietary job board.
While this is a positive trend, Koc said, "We're not back yet to the levels of the class of 2007," when students had a median of 2 offers by April. Last year, more than 60 percent of new grads had no offer by April.
Hyde said he's seeing an uptick in interest in engineering and computer science students, especially those with a background in cyber security; occupational therapy and physical therapy majors; and hospitality management majors, as some hotels and high-end restaurants are resuming entry-level hiring.
But they're not alone. Some employers are looking for business, marketing and communications majors from among this year's graduates.
Enterprise Rent-a-Car, which was No. 2 last year on the CollegeGrad.com list of top entry-level employers, wants to recruit 40 new grads in the coming months as management trainees in New York's Long Island area alone, about a 25 percent increase from last year, said Dylan Schweitzer, group talent acquisition manager. "Our business is growing. More people are renting cars," he said.
Enterprise has 68,000 employees nationwide.
Although the focus is on business and communications students, "we hire all majors," Schweitzer said, looking for candidates who show leadership skills and "the ability to speak confidently about themselves and what they've done."
As part of its continuing expansion, TD Bank plans to open 10 new branches on Long Island this year and early in 2012, creating about 150 new jobs, some entry level, said Chris Giamo, regional president.
Bank representatives are recruiting at college job fairs, seeking candidates to be tellers and customer service representatives, he said. Ideal candidates will have retail or customer service experience, as well as studies in business or finance.
Even with a glimmer of improvement, the job market will still be competitive, say directors of college career centers, with employers seeking candidates with internship experience and good communication skills. When it comes to local hiring, "it's still hard to call," said Fred Burke, executive director of Hofstra University's career center, which just hosted its annual job and internship fair with the same number of employers as last year.
Lynsey Rocco, 23, said that "last semester, I was really nervous about going out into the world" because of concerns that there would be no jobs.
A senior majoring in accounting, Rocco said she's been taking the advice of her Molloy College professors, who emphasize the value of networking.
One interview in December with an accounting firm led to an internship, but not a full-time job.
However, a friend at a midsize accounting firm in Manhattan passed her resume along, which resulted in two interviews. She said her meetings went well, as she practiced ahead of time and "prepped myself with questions to ask."
On March 5, she received a coveted letter, one that started out with: "Dear Lynsey, It is with pleasure that we offer you a position as a staff accountant."
Rocco, of Oceanside, N.Y., said, "I was really, really excited." Her job starts in the fall, so she's planning to use the summer to study for the certified public accountant exam.
"Networking really is your best bet. ... It's all who you know," she said.
Even though she didn't get the job, Tiani Kennedy, 21, took heart that she was among the top three candidates out of 100 applicants for a full-time position with a literary management agent.
Kennedy, who graduated from Adelphi University in December with a degree in English, has been searching for an entry-level job with a publishing house or literary agency. But she said she's found that most are looking for candidates with some experience in the field.
Kennedy, who lives in Brooklyn, said she's been networking with professors and looking for opportunities on Bookjobs.com, as well as the school's job opportunities site, called Pantherzone. Read more...
By Patricia Kitchen
Newsday (MCT)
MELVILLE, N.Y. - New college grads may at least have a fighting chance to get jobs this year.
After two years of bleak prospects, there's a flicker of hope for the Class of 2011 as national projections show the job market may be opening up.
Hiring for the class of 2011 is expected to be up 13 percent to 14 percent compared with last year, according to two polls, one in the fall with 197 employer respondents and one in February with 112, conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, said Edwin Koc, director of research.
The market for new college grads took a dive starting in the spring of 2009, as the recession and financial meltdown led to layoffs, hiring curbs and a national jobless rate that rose to a high of 10.1 percent in October 2009. The unemployment rate for 20- to 24-year-olds with bachelor's degrees was 8.8 percent in 2009 and 9.2 percent in 2010. As a result, more former students have taken on survival jobs outside their fields of study, moved back home with parents or applied for graduate school.
But John Hyde, dean of career services at the New York Institute of Technology, said there is a "brightening up" in this year's entry-level hiring market.
Recruiters who shied away the past couple of years are calling, and employers recently posted about 18 new job openings, many sales and marketing positions, on the school's proprietary job board.
While this is a positive trend, Koc said, "We're not back yet to the levels of the class of 2007," when students had a median of 2 offers by April. Last year, more than 60 percent of new grads had no offer by April.
Hyde said he's seeing an uptick in interest in engineering and computer science students, especially those with a background in cyber security; occupational therapy and physical therapy majors; and hospitality management majors, as some hotels and high-end restaurants are resuming entry-level hiring.
But they're not alone. Some employers are looking for business, marketing and communications majors from among this year's graduates.
Enterprise Rent-a-Car, which was No. 2 last year on the CollegeGrad.com list of top entry-level employers, wants to recruit 40 new grads in the coming months as management trainees in New York's Long Island area alone, about a 25 percent increase from last year, said Dylan Schweitzer, group talent acquisition manager. "Our business is growing. More people are renting cars," he said.
Enterprise has 68,000 employees nationwide.
Although the focus is on business and communications students, "we hire all majors," Schweitzer said, looking for candidates who show leadership skills and "the ability to speak confidently about themselves and what they've done."
As part of its continuing expansion, TD Bank plans to open 10 new branches on Long Island this year and early in 2012, creating about 150 new jobs, some entry level, said Chris Giamo, regional president.
Bank representatives are recruiting at college job fairs, seeking candidates to be tellers and customer service representatives, he said. Ideal candidates will have retail or customer service experience, as well as studies in business or finance.
Even with a glimmer of improvement, the job market will still be competitive, say directors of college career centers, with employers seeking candidates with internship experience and good communication skills. When it comes to local hiring, "it's still hard to call," said Fred Burke, executive director of Hofstra University's career center, which just hosted its annual job and internship fair with the same number of employers as last year.
Lynsey Rocco, 23, said that "last semester, I was really nervous about going out into the world" because of concerns that there would be no jobs.
A senior majoring in accounting, Rocco said she's been taking the advice of her Molloy College professors, who emphasize the value of networking.
One interview in December with an accounting firm led to an internship, but not a full-time job.
However, a friend at a midsize accounting firm in Manhattan passed her resume along, which resulted in two interviews. She said her meetings went well, as she practiced ahead of time and "prepped myself with questions to ask."
On March 5, she received a coveted letter, one that started out with: "Dear Lynsey, It is with pleasure that we offer you a position as a staff accountant."
Rocco, of Oceanside, N.Y., said, "I was really, really excited." Her job starts in the fall, so she's planning to use the summer to study for the certified public accountant exam.
"Networking really is your best bet. ... It's all who you know," she said.
Even though she didn't get the job, Tiani Kennedy, 21, took heart that she was among the top three candidates out of 100 applicants for a full-time position with a literary management agent.
Kennedy, who graduated from Adelphi University in December with a degree in English, has been searching for an entry-level job with a publishing house or literary agency. But she said she's found that most are looking for candidates with some experience in the field.
Kennedy, who lives in Brooklyn, said she's been networking with professors and looking for opportunities on Bookjobs.com, as well as the school's job opportunities site, called Pantherzone. Read more...
The new meaning of entry-level job according to CNN
Is an internship the new entry-level job?
By Natalie Avon, Special to CNN
December 7, 2010 9:02 a.m. EST
(CNN) -- Ani Kevork has interned at seven companies since she graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles in 2009. She's trying to get a full-time job, but there's just nothing out there.
"It wasn't really a choice," she said. "It's just the reality of the job market today."
No. 7 proved lucky for Kevork in that her current internship at a film studio in London is paid, unlike her six previous internships. Still, she has no benefits, no job security and no idea where she'll be in a few weeks.
Kevork and two of her former classmates started a blog, The Eternal Intern, about the struggles of the current job market for other college grads with the same plights.
"I want to do what I studied, and I don't want to settle," she said. "I'm still applying for full-time positions, but I don't see that happening anytime soon for me."
Like Kevork, a growing number of college graduates are forced into internships after graduation because of the lack of entry-level jobs. For now, it's important to take those internships, said Phil Gardner, director of Michigan State University's Collegiate Employment Research Institute.
"In this environment, if a young person gets an internship, I'd tell him to take it," Gardner said. "Not because he needs another internship, but because he needs to stay engaged in the labor market so that when jobs open, he can switch to a full-time position.
"You can't go home and sit and whine and wait for something to happen. This is one way to be proactive."
A growing movement
Full-time employment has dropped 9 percentage points among 18-to-29-year-olds since 2006, leaving only 41 percent of millennials with full-time jobs, according to "Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next," a report released by Pew Research Center in February.
These statistics hit home for the 1.5 million students preparing to graduate with a bachelor's degree.
"Last spring, there was a lot of anxiety among a lot of the students," said Andrea Lipack, associate director of Employer Relations at Stony Brook University and organizer of the school's career fair.
"The companies that used to come for both (full-time and internship positions) dropped coming to campus for full-time hiring and only came to campus for interns."
When the economy was good, Lipack said Stony Brook would see 150 companies coming to their career fairs. At the low point, only 80 or 90 companies were visiting campus.
Lipack said she thinks this year will see changes from last year. "I'm hoping, anyway."
With fewer jobs available and about the same amount of students graduating each year, the entry-level job market has gotten increasingly competitive. It's no longer enough to get a degree. Employers expect a certain skill set of those they consider for a job post-graduation.
"Evidence suggests that the internship now replaces the starting job as the place college students actually begin their journey into the workplace," Gardner wrote in a paper he intends to publish this month.
Students must make smart choices when selecting an internship, as their decisions will directly influence employment opportunities when they graduate, he said. It's the quality of your internships, not the quantity, that matter to a future employer.
But sometimes it's both.
How they're coping
Claire Brooks, an New York University senior now on her ninth internship, has taken very calculated career moves since her sophomore year in high school. She wants to be an independent producer and said she heard stories about kids dropping out of school and moving to Los Angeles to pursue their dreams.
She did the next best thing that her parents would allow during the summer between her sophomore and junior years of high school.
"I knew early on that I wanted to be a producer," she said. "When I got my first internship, it was just to figure out what working was and what being a producer meant."
The next summer, Brooks took a marketing internship at HBO. Since, she's interned in public relations, magazines, corporate communications and now again at HBO. It's her third time interning with the company.
"It was a very roundabout way to get to the same place, but I think it was really important," Brooks said. "Maybe if somebody looked at my experience, they would say, 'Oh my God, why did she do this to herself?' But I really see the connections to everything I do."
Like Brooks, Northeastern University senior Jennifer Gorden is doing all she can to ensure a job after she graduates.
Northeastern combines a five-year plan with a strong co-op program, where students take time off from classes to work full-time for a company, something that Gorden has done three times, supplementing her three internships.
"I now have a much better idea of what I like and what I don't like," Gorden said.
She hopes that her abundant experience will prevent her from having to get another internship after she graduates.
Advertisement
"I do believe that the harder you work, the more that will come to you," Gorden said. "I'm confident that the future is bright for me ... that I worked hard enough to get somewhere, and I don't want to settle."
Similarly, Brooks' nine internships have instilled her with the confidence to enter the work force. She plans to utilize the spring for producing two films at the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU and applying for jobs. This will be her first semester of college as simply a student -- not an intern.
"I don't really want to take another internship," Brooks said. "I feel like I've done so many of them, and I do feel very ready for an entry-level position or beyond."
A brighter future
For recent and soon-to-be grads, there is a light at the end of the tunnel: Hiring at the bachelor's level is expected to surge by 10 percent in the next year, according to Michigan State University's "Recruiting Trends 2010-2011" survey.
This might have an impact on the number of students getting internships after graduation instead of jobs, but it should not affect the number of students getting internships during their formal education.
It's important to have a few internships under your belt no matter what the field, said Brian Eberman, CEO of StudentAdvisor.com, a website for college students and their parents.
StudentAdvisor's guide to getting an internship has double the readership of the loans and the scholarship guides.
"We've seen a lot of demand for internships, and it's sort of risen to record numbers," Eberman said. "The number of internships doesn't matter. It's that they're engaged in the process."
It took Cheryl Harrison a year and a half to find a full-time position after she graduated in May 2009 from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. Harrison had five internships while in college and took a temporary position after graduation.
"I took it because I wasn't able to find the full-time job I thought I'd be a shoo-in for," Harrison said.
She focused on networking and getting experience through a slew of temporary jobs while she searched for something full-time.
For graduates who have had multiple internships and still can't find a job, the issue is not getting more internships, Gardner said.
"How are you packaging your skill sets? Do you really know what you got out of these experiences?" he asked. "Your problem may not be getting more experiences, but packaging yourself so you're presentable to employers."
Lauren Berger, the self-proclaimed "Intern Queen," had 15 internships during her time at the University of Central Florida but always kept her resume to one page.
"When I apply for a job, it's my responsibility to fill in my resume and make sure the things I include are really relevant," she said. "There's no reason why you can't include your biggest, best, most relevant experience."
Now in her first full-time job as of November, Harrison said it's important to keep building on that experience while unemployed instead of holding off until you get something permanent.
"Sometimes it was a little disheartening that I didn't have that full-time job yet," Harrison said. "But I always thought that....read more on cnn.com
By Natalie Avon, Special to CNN
December 7, 2010 9:02 a.m. EST
"It wasn't really a choice," she said. "It's just the reality of the job market today."
No. 7 proved lucky for Kevork in that her current internship at a film studio in London is paid, unlike her six previous internships. Still, she has no benefits, no job security and no idea where she'll be in a few weeks.
Kevork and two of her former classmates started a blog, The Eternal Intern, about the struggles of the current job market for other college grads with the same plights.
"I want to do what I studied, and I don't want to settle," she said. "I'm still applying for full-time positions, but I don't see that happening anytime soon for me."
Advertisement
"In this environment, if a young person gets an internship, I'd tell him to take it," Gardner said. "Not because he needs another internship, but because he needs to stay engaged in the labor market so that when jobs open, he can switch to a full-time position.
"You can't go home and sit and whine and wait for something to happen. This is one way to be proactive."
A growing movement
Full-time employment has dropped 9 percentage points among 18-to-29-year-olds since 2006, leaving only 41 percent of millennials with full-time jobs, according to "Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next," a report released by Pew Research Center in February.
These statistics hit home for the 1.5 million students preparing to graduate with a bachelor's degree.
"Last spring, there was a lot of anxiety among a lot of the students," said Andrea Lipack, associate director of Employer Relations at Stony Brook University and organizer of the school's career fair.
"The companies that used to come for both (full-time and internship positions) dropped coming to campus for full-time hiring and only came to campus for interns."
When the economy was good, Lipack said Stony Brook would see 150 companies coming to their career fairs. At the low point, only 80 or 90 companies were visiting campus.
Lipack said she thinks this year will see changes from last year. "I'm hoping, anyway."
With fewer jobs available and about the same amount of students graduating each year, the entry-level job market has gotten increasingly competitive. It's no longer enough to get a degree. Employers expect a certain skill set of those they consider for a job post-graduation.
"Evidence suggests that the internship now replaces the starting job as the place college students actually begin their journey into the workplace," Gardner wrote in a paper he intends to publish this month.
Students must make smart choices when selecting an internship, as their decisions will directly influence employment opportunities when they graduate, he said. It's the quality of your internships, not the quantity, that matter to a future employer.
But sometimes it's both.
How they're coping
Claire Brooks, an New York University senior now on her ninth internship, has taken very calculated career moves since her sophomore year in high school. She wants to be an independent producer and said she heard stories about kids dropping out of school and moving to Los Angeles to pursue their dreams.
She did the next best thing that her parents would allow during the summer between her sophomore and junior years of high school.
"I knew early on that I wanted to be a producer," she said. "When I got my first internship, it was just to figure out what working was and what being a producer meant."
The next summer, Brooks took a marketing internship at HBO. Since, she's interned in public relations, magazines, corporate communications and now again at HBO. It's her third time interning with the company.
"It was a very roundabout way to get to the same place, but I think it was really important," Brooks said. "Maybe if somebody looked at my experience, they would say, 'Oh my God, why did she do this to herself?' But I really see the connections to everything I do."
Like Brooks, Northeastern University senior Jennifer Gorden is doing all she can to ensure a job after she graduates.
Northeastern combines a five-year plan with a strong co-op program, where students take time off from classes to work full-time for a company, something that Gorden has done three times, supplementing her three internships.
"I now have a much better idea of what I like and what I don't like," Gorden said.
She hopes that her abundant experience will prevent her from having to get another internship after she graduates.
"I do believe that the harder you work, the more that will come to you," Gorden said. "I'm confident that the future is bright for me ... that I worked hard enough to get somewhere, and I don't want to settle."
Similarly, Brooks' nine internships have instilled her with the confidence to enter the work force. She plans to utilize the spring for producing two films at the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU and applying for jobs. This will be her first semester of college as simply a student -- not an intern.
"I don't really want to take another internship," Brooks said. "I feel like I've done so many of them, and I do feel very ready for an entry-level position or beyond."
A brighter future
For recent and soon-to-be grads, there is a light at the end of the tunnel: Hiring at the bachelor's level is expected to surge by 10 percent in the next year, according to Michigan State University's "Recruiting Trends 2010-2011" survey.
This might have an impact on the number of students getting internships after graduation instead of jobs, but it should not affect the number of students getting internships during their formal education.
It's important to have a few internships under your belt no matter what the field, said Brian Eberman, CEO of StudentAdvisor.com, a website for college students and their parents.
StudentAdvisor's guide to getting an internship has double the readership of the loans and the scholarship guides.
"We've seen a lot of demand for internships, and it's sort of risen to record numbers," Eberman said. "The number of internships doesn't matter. It's that they're engaged in the process."
It took Cheryl Harrison a year and a half to find a full-time position after she graduated in May 2009 from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. Harrison had five internships while in college and took a temporary position after graduation.
"I took it because I wasn't able to find the full-time job I thought I'd be a shoo-in for," Harrison said.
She focused on networking and getting experience through a slew of temporary jobs while she searched for something full-time.
For graduates who have had multiple internships and still can't find a job, the issue is not getting more internships, Gardner said.
"How are you packaging your skill sets? Do you really know what you got out of these experiences?" he asked. "Your problem may not be getting more experiences, but packaging yourself so you're presentable to employers."
Lauren Berger, the self-proclaimed "Intern Queen," had 15 internships during her time at the University of Central Florida but always kept her resume to one page.
"When I apply for a job, it's my responsibility to fill in my resume and make sure the things I include are really relevant," she said. "There's no reason why you can't include your biggest, best, most relevant experience."
Now in her first full-time job as of November, Harrison said it's important to keep building on that experience while unemployed instead of holding off until you get something permanent.
"Sometimes it was a little disheartening that I didn't have that full-time job yet," Harrison said. "But I always thought that....read more on cnn.com
What types of jobs are in demand in Nasville, Tennessee ?
Source: The Tennessean
Written by
G. Chambers Williams III
While thousands of high-paying jobs in manufacturing have evaporated in recent years — a loss made worse by the recession — there actually is a boom in hiring for information technology positions, many of which remain unfilled.
"These are good jobs with good pay," said Tod Fetherling, president and chief executive officer of the Nashville Technology Council, which reported that 1,065 advertised IT jobs were still available in Middle Tennessee at the end of December. They ranged from entry-level to CEO jobs, and 150 management positions were open.
"Yes, there are jobs, and they're paying about 53 percent higher than the average job in the region," Fetherling said. "There is a high demand for programmers in the health-care industry, for instance. The whole area of health information technology is just exploding."
There are IT jobs in many other industries as well, including Nashville's music business.
"Technology is booming, and there's a technology element in virtually every business and industry out there," said Mike Leih, assistant professor of information technology at Trevecca Nazarene University.
"Health care is a big one, but the service industries are looking for qualified IT workers," he said. "There are technology jobs in small mom-and-pop businesses, doctors' offices, attorneys' offices, even mechanics' shops. There are opportunities wherever you look."
There's a catch, though. These jobs aren't for everyone; many require specialized education and experience, especially for the positions that pay the most. Breaking into the technology field in almost any industry can be difficult for even the best students fresh out of colleges and technical schools.
"Some specialized training is available, but we still need a lot more," Fetherling said. "We're working with Metro and Williamson County high schools and the 17 colleges and universities in the area to help prepare students for technology careers, and we have 63 businesses actively engaged in this effort."
About 400 college graduates are coming out of technology programs in the region each year, he said, but there will remain shortages of experienced local candidates for the open positions.
"These needs are pretty specific, and a lot of those people would have to be recruited from outside," said David Penn, an economics professor at Middle Tennessee State University who follows employment trends. "But that could change if these employers are willing to rethink how they hire people in technology and are more open to bringing in entry-level people and raising their skills."
Hiring is a challenge
While many companies would prefer to hire only experienced personnel, that's not always possible, said Tom Stephenson, president and CEO of Nashville-based Healthcare Management Systems Inc., which provides information technology systems to community hospitals nationwide.
"As the government is pushing hospitals and physician providers toward electronic medical records, there is a need for technical resources — developers, programmers and interface specialists, as well as more customer-facing types of workers," Stephenson said. "And we're all fighting for talent. We're anticipating significant growth in our employee base this year just like we had last year."
But, he added, "There is a skill set we're looking for."
His company seeks candidates with medical backgrounds, such as nursing, who can learn the technology side, Stephenson said. "This makes it a very challenging market on the hiring side."
While experience is always a big plus, some companies are willing to hire entry-level candidates with basic skills and then give those new employees on-the-job training. Stephenson's company is among them, he said.
"I do think there is a lot of talent coming out of the schools," he said. "You just have to have a blend (of experienced and inexperienced recruits) and have a commitment to investing six or eight months of training to get a person up to a level of productivity. But in the end, you potentially develop very loyal people."
Colleges are doing their best to provide at least some hands-on experience to students by arranging internships, said Glenn Acree, a professor of math and computer science at Belmont University.
"I think internships are huge," he said. "The key is to have partnerships between the tech sector and the colleges, and networking is important. But the tech sector is going to have to take on some of the responsibility of training beyond college."
Another way to gain experience is for students to take part-time, entry-level jobs in the technology industry while still in school, Acree said.
"Any of our students who want to work are working today," he said. "They are not waiting until they are finished with school. What they're doing may not be what they plan for their careers, but they are finding jobs, even if they are entry-level positions."
'There's a future'
While many students enter college technology programs right out of high school, others are older, displaced workers seeking new careers, especially in growing industries such as health care.
Many once had good manufacturing jobs but have come to realize that they'll probably never find that kind of work again.
Among them is Brent Schultz, 41, of Spring Hill, who most recently was laid off from a job with Bridgestone.
He went back to school and earned a degree in business information technology from Columbia State Community College, and then took an unpaid internship with the college just to get some experience, he said.
Those efforts have paid off. In November, he was hired for a systems analyst position with Franklin-based Take Care Health Clinics, which decided to take a chance on him even though he wasn't very experienced.
"It's exactly what I was looking for, and even though the pay is at the low end now because I'm brand new, the job eventually will pay more than I was making at Bridgestone," Schultz said.
"The exciting thing is that there's a future in what I'm doing, especially in the next 10 to 20 years, because of all the baby boomers now coming into retirement age."
Although he found the job on the Internet, he used his own networking to get a foot in the door, he said. "It turned out that I knew a couple of people who had worked there, and that helped me get an interview."
Some new graduates haven't been so fortunate. Alicia Jones, 37, of Columbia was laid off from a manufacturing job with a General Motors supplier in 2009 and has since completed a training program in medical billing and coding technology. She's still looking for a job in her new field.
"Everywhere I go, they say they want someone with more experience," she said. "I'm looking at taking some advanced classes that might help."
On-the-job training
Some new tech workers with good jobs, such as Tim Pounders, 40, of Columbia, have found ways to move into the field from other positions in the companies where they were already working.
In December, Pounders took a new job as an IT analyst at Maury County Regional Medical Center, after getting the training and experience he needed at his former employer. There, he was hired to work in the finance department, but he saw an opportunity in IT and was able to move into that position after a while.
"I have a business administration degree, and I took some programming and computer-networking courses in college," he said. "But the rest I did on the job. Nothing replaces on-the-job training.
Single and looking. Email me.
"To be successful, giving yourself exposure to as many different IT areas as possible is very important," he said. "I did that within the company; I made myself available for work outside my job description, but it ended up giving me the experience I needed to move full time into IT."
The lack of experience that many job seekers face is an age-old problem, said Ann Wallbrech, senior corporate recruiter for Emdeon, a Nashville-based provider of payment- and revenue-management systems for health-care providers.
"It can be difficult to break in, especially when you're coming out of the economic situation the country has been in," she said. "Companies are being extremely selective in their hiring. They are doing more with less, and it's often easier to hire one experienced person who can hit the ground running, where in the past you might have hired two less-experienced people who would have needed more training."
Still, Wallbrech said, some entry-level applicants are hired, and they get the necessary additional training on the job.
"Coming out of college, we're not expecting you to have all of the knowledge you need for our business," she said. "But we do need to see opportunity in you, what you have attained through education, internships and school projects. Transferability is what we're looking for — how well the things you have learned will transfer to the job we have."
Written by
G. Chambers Williams III
While thousands of high-paying jobs in manufacturing have evaporated in recent years — a loss made worse by the recession — there actually is a boom in hiring for information technology positions, many of which remain unfilled.
 |
Students listen to a lecture Wednesday in Mike Leih's business information technology class at Trevecca Nazarene University. "There are opportunities where you look" in information technology, Leih said. |
"Yes, there are jobs, and they're paying about 53 percent higher than the average job in the region," Fetherling said. "There is a high demand for programmers in the health-care industry, for instance. The whole area of health information technology is just exploding."
There are IT jobs in many other industries as well, including Nashville's music business."Technology is booming, and there's a technology element in virtually every business and industry out there," said Mike Leih, assistant professor of information technology at Trevecca Nazarene University.
"Health care is a big one, but the service industries are looking for qualified IT workers," he said. "There are technology jobs in small mom-and-pop businesses, doctors' offices, attorneys' offices, even mechanics' shops. There are opportunities wherever you look."
There's a catch, though. These jobs aren't for everyone; many require specialized education and experience, especially for the positions that pay the most. Breaking into the technology field in almost any industry can be difficult for even the best students fresh out of colleges and technical schools.
"Some specialized training is available, but we still need a lot more," Fetherling said. "We're working with Metro and Williamson County high schools and the 17 colleges and universities in the area to help prepare students for technology careers, and we have 63 businesses actively engaged in this effort."
About 400 college graduates are coming out of technology programs in the region each year, he said, but there will remain shortages of experienced local candidates for the open positions.
"These needs are pretty specific, and a lot of those people would have to be recruited from outside," said David Penn, an economics professor at Middle Tennessee State University who follows employment trends. "But that could change if these employers are willing to rethink how they hire people in technology and are more open to bringing in entry-level people and raising their skills."
Hiring is a challenge
While many companies would prefer to hire only experienced personnel, that's not always possible, said Tom Stephenson, president and CEO of Nashville-based Healthcare Management Systems Inc., which provides information technology systems to community hospitals nationwide.
"As the government is pushing hospitals and physician providers toward electronic medical records, there is a need for technical resources — developers, programmers and interface specialists, as well as more customer-facing types of workers," Stephenson said. "And we're all fighting for talent. We're anticipating significant growth in our employee base this year just like we had last year."
But, he added, "There is a skill set we're looking for."
His company seeks candidates with medical backgrounds, such as nursing, who can learn the technology side, Stephenson said. "This makes it a very challenging market on the hiring side."
While experience is always a big plus, some companies are willing to hire entry-level candidates with basic skills and then give those new employees on-the-job training. Stephenson's company is among them, he said.
"I do think there is a lot of talent coming out of the schools," he said. "You just have to have a blend (of experienced and inexperienced recruits) and have a commitment to investing six or eight months of training to get a person up to a level of productivity. But in the end, you potentially develop very loyal people."Colleges are doing their best to provide at least some hands-on experience to students by arranging internships, said Glenn Acree, a professor of math and computer science at Belmont University.
"I think internships are huge," he said. "The key is to have partnerships between the tech sector and the colleges, and networking is important. But the tech sector is going to have to take on some of the responsibility of training beyond college."
Another way to gain experience is for students to take part-time, entry-level jobs in the technology industry while still in school, Acree said.
"Any of our students who want to work are working today," he said. "They are not waiting until they are finished with school. What they're doing may not be what they plan for their careers, but they are finding jobs, even if they are entry-level positions."
'There's a future'
While many students enter college technology programs right out of high school, others are older, displaced workers seeking new careers, especially in growing industries such as health care.
Many once had good manufacturing jobs but have come to realize that they'll probably never find that kind of work again.
Among them is Brent Schultz, 41, of Spring Hill, who most recently was laid off from a job with Bridgestone.
He went back to school and earned a degree in business information technology from Columbia State Community College, and then took an unpaid internship with the college just to get some experience, he said.
Those efforts have paid off. In November, he was hired for a systems analyst position with Franklin-based Take Care Health Clinics, which decided to take a chance on him even though he wasn't very experienced.
"It's exactly what I was looking for, and even though the pay is at the low end now because I'm brand new, the job eventually will pay more than I was making at Bridgestone," Schultz said.
"The exciting thing is that there's a future in what I'm doing, especially in the next 10 to 20 years, because of all the baby boomers now coming into retirement age."
Although he found the job on the Internet, he used his own networking to get a foot in the door, he said. "It turned out that I knew a couple of people who had worked there, and that helped me get an interview."
Some new graduates haven't been so fortunate. Alicia Jones, 37, of Columbia was laid off from a manufacturing job with a General Motors supplier in 2009 and has since completed a training program in medical billing and coding technology. She's still looking for a job in her new field.
"Everywhere I go, they say they want someone with more experience," she said. "I'm looking at taking some advanced classes that might help."
On-the-job training
Some new tech workers with good jobs, such as Tim Pounders, 40, of Columbia, have found ways to move into the field from other positions in the companies where they were already working.
In December, Pounders took a new job as an IT analyst at Maury County Regional Medical Center, after getting the training and experience he needed at his former employer. There, he was hired to work in the finance department, but he saw an opportunity in IT and was able to move into that position after a while.
"I have a business administration degree, and I took some programming and computer-networking courses in college," he said. "But the rest I did on the job. Nothing replaces on-the-job training.
"To be successful, giving yourself exposure to as many different IT areas as possible is very important," he said. "I did that within the company; I made myself available for work outside my job description, but it ended up giving me the experience I needed to move full time into IT."
The lack of experience that many job seekers face is an age-old problem, said Ann Wallbrech, senior corporate recruiter for Emdeon, a Nashville-based provider of payment- and revenue-management systems for health-care providers.
"It can be difficult to break in, especially when you're coming out of the economic situation the country has been in," she said. "Companies are being extremely selective in their hiring. They are doing more with less, and it's often easier to hire one experienced person who can hit the ground running, where in the past you might have hired two less-experienced people who would have needed more training."
Still, Wallbrech said, some entry-level applicants are hired, and they get the necessary additional training on the job.
"Coming out of college, we're not expecting you to have all of the knowledge you need for our business," she said. "But we do need to see opportunity in you, what you have attained through education, internships and school projects. Transferability is what we're looking for — how well the things you have learned will transfer to the job we have."
How to evade the trickiest question in any job interview
Tips for Evading the Salary Question
Lindsay Olson, On Thursday January 6, 2011, 3:16 pm ESTIt's hard not to panic when asked about salary during a job interview--and it will inevitably come up during the interview process. This can be especially difficult when switching industries or moving to a new city.
But how you respond to questions about how much you want to make will directly affect your future compensation package. That means that gracefully dealing with salary questions is one of the most important interviewing skills you can master.
Here are some key points to consider when discussing your salary requirements with a potential employer:
Timing. When you're asked about salary early in the process, recognize it as a screening tool to either bring you in for an interview or eliminate you from consideration. For this reason, do not include your salary requirements in a cover letter.Instead, salary discussions should come toward the end of the interview process, when the company already wants you and understands your value--when you have more leverage. Salary ranges tend to be more flexible once the employer knows you're the perfect candidate. Few hiring managers will let their perfect candidate get away because of a small gap in salary range.
Preparation is key. Prior to interviewing, do your homework and come up with a ballpark figure on the fair market value for the position and your experience. Use sites like Glassdoor.com to get an idea of what the employees (current or past) at that company earn, especially those who occupy a similar job. Research the employer's competitors, too. Don't forget to check out recent industry publications; many conduct salary surveys and share the results. If you have a relationship with a recruiter, she may also be a good source of information.
Become a skillful dodger. Avoiding the salary question makes most people nervous, so rather than dodge it, they answer it, then spend the next week beating themselves up over it. Don't answer the question. If the hiring manager asks you about your expectations, tell him you know the company likely has a budgeted range, and if he's willing to share that range, you could tell him whether you fit within it.
It's also important to emphasize that you're considering the overall job opportunity and compensation package. One way to avoid answering questions about your current salary is to say that your current job responsibilities and compensation package are surely different than what they're offering, so you'd rather discuss the job expectations and then determine a fair market salary for their job.
Don't be the first to name a price. When it comes to the salary game, if you're the first party to name a price, you're putting yourself at a disadvantage. You want to receive an offer based on your experience and market value, not based on your previous salary. While expecting a huge raise isn't always realistic, the company may offer a higher range for your experience. But you'll never know that if you reveal your hand first.If you're underpaid at your current job, you risk leaving the hiring manager with doubts, devaluing your experience, and falling out of the running for the job. If you state a number too high, you risk pricing yourself out of the job before the company fully understands your value.
If all else fails, give a range. This is your last resort, and it's where your preparation will pay off. Say something like this: "I assume [name of company] pays a fair market wage. In my research, I've found a position with these responsibilities in [geographical region] pays between $55,000 to $75,000. Is that what you had in mind?"
College Seniors Face Lack of Entry-Level Jobs
Melanie Breault
Source: The Nation
Ithaca College senior Scott Steimer wants to be a research analyst after he graduates in May. But as the people who were laid off during the recession apply for more entry-level positions, Steimer may face more competition for his dream job -- or any job -- than he anticipated.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, from January 2007 through December 2009, 6.9 million workers were displaced from jobs they held for at least three years. Of these workers who had been permanently laid off or received a notice of layoff or termination, about half were re-employed in January 2010.
James Borbely, an economist with the current population survey of the Division of Labor Force Statistics, said the level of displaced workers during that three-year period outpaced any other three-year period. He said there’s some linkage between young people just out of college having more difficultly finding work because of the competition with older workers who are still trying to find jobs.
“It seems reasonable to assert that there probably is some additional competition, some additional pressure on the labor market because there are so many people without work still,” Borbely said.
Peter Perri, financial advisor at Merrill Lynch, also said entering the job market is tricky this year because of the competition with displaced workers.
“[Displaced workers] who were making six figure incomes three or four years ago are more than happy to take half of that at this point,” he said. “Unless a business thinks they can hire a recent college graduate for half of that half, then they’ll take the experienced person for half price.”
For Steimer, a finance and accounting major, he said the rehiring of these displaced workers is hindering his job search.
“Even the job postings that don’t explicitly say two to three years, they will say one-year experience preferred, master of business administration preferred,” he said. “If I apply to this job, they may consider me, but as soon as an MBA kid shows up, I’m out of the running.”
However, John Bradac, director of career services at Ithaca College, cited a report published last Thursday by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, which said the hiring outlook for the class of 2011 is positive—53.3 percent of respondents anticipate an increase in their college hiring, up from less than 50 percent in the fall.
Bradac said graduates should not worry about displaced workers because there is always a market for entry-level professionals. He said searching for a job is a process that takes time, effort and energy.
Sherry Burford ’73, career coach with Horizons Career Coaching, said graduates from 2008 to 2010 faced a very difficult hiring environment, which could pose more competition for today’s graduates.
“For those graduates who have bailed out [of the job search], they have been waiting for things to improve,” she said. “Recent grads could be vying for the same jobs and that is largely due to the instability of the whole emerging job market.”
Burford said today’s graduates need to be prepared with a primary strategy, such as an ultimate career goal, but she also said they need to take responsibility to find employment throughout their lives.
Another Ithaca College senior Orhun Unsal, a finance and marketing major, said his dream job is to be an international environmental consultant for sustainable development. Unsal has applied for positions at several international development firms. Though he has the qualifications for particular positions, he said he does not have the new requirements many organizations now require.
“That’s really the route of the whole issue,” he said. “Why would a firm hire a new graduate when they can have a guy with five years experience instead?” Unsal said.
Source: The Nation
Ithaca College senior Scott Steimer wants to be a research analyst after he graduates in May. But as the people who were laid off during the recession apply for more entry-level positions, Steimer may face more competition for his dream job -- or any job -- than he anticipated.
 |
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James Borbely, an economist with the current population survey of the Division of Labor Force Statistics, said the level of displaced workers during that three-year period outpaced any other three-year period. He said there’s some linkage between young people just out of college having more difficultly finding work because of the competition with older workers who are still trying to find jobs.
“It seems reasonable to assert that there probably is some additional competition, some additional pressure on the labor market because there are so many people without work still,” Borbely said.
Peter Perri, financial advisor at Merrill Lynch, also said entering the job market is tricky this year because of the competition with displaced workers.
“[Displaced workers] who were making six figure incomes three or four years ago are more than happy to take half of that at this point,” he said. “Unless a business thinks they can hire a recent college graduate for half of that half, then they’ll take the experienced person for half price.”
For Steimer, a finance and accounting major, he said the rehiring of these displaced workers is hindering his job search.
“Even the job postings that don’t explicitly say two to three years, they will say one-year experience preferred, master of business administration preferred,” he said. “If I apply to this job, they may consider me, but as soon as an MBA kid shows up, I’m out of the running.”
However, John Bradac, director of career services at Ithaca College, cited a report published last Thursday by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, which said the hiring outlook for the class of 2011 is positive—53.3 percent of respondents anticipate an increase in their college hiring, up from less than 50 percent in the fall.
Bradac said graduates should not worry about displaced workers because there is always a market for entry-level professionals. He said searching for a job is a process that takes time, effort and energy.Sherry Burford ’73, career coach with Horizons Career Coaching, said graduates from 2008 to 2010 faced a very difficult hiring environment, which could pose more competition for today’s graduates.
“For those graduates who have bailed out [of the job search], they have been waiting for things to improve,” she said. “Recent grads could be vying for the same jobs and that is largely due to the instability of the whole emerging job market.”
Burford said today’s graduates need to be prepared with a primary strategy, such as an ultimate career goal, but she also said they need to take responsibility to find employment throughout their lives.
Another Ithaca College senior Orhun Unsal, a finance and marketing major, said his dream job is to be an international environmental consultant for sustainable development. Unsal has applied for positions at several international development firms. Though he has the qualifications for particular positions, he said he does not have the new requirements many organizations now require.
“That’s really the route of the whole issue,” he said. “Why would a firm hire a new graduate when they can have a guy with five years experience instead?” Unsal said.
Better Days Ahead for MBA Job Seekers
Source: Bloomberg
January 24, 2011
By Erin Zlomek
With the MBA job market on the rebound, 2011 will likely bring good news, particularly for students seeking to enter consulting and financial services
"Parallel paths" is a phrase that 2011 Columbia University MBA candidate Elizabeth McCarthy knows well. It's the euphemism her school used last year to prepare students for the possibility of not immediately landing a job in their desired field. "I'm not sure everybody would admit to this, but there are some jobs that are sort of stepping-stone jobs," she says.
Her first choice, consulting, was one of the hardest-hit recruiting areas for new MBA hiring last year, according to a poll of 89 business schools conducted last spring by the MBA Career Services Council (CSC). So she made backup plans to look for positions in general management. As it turned out, she didn't need to. She landed a consulting internship at Bain & Co. last summer, which was followed by a full-time offer.
McCarthy's experience was the Class of 2011's writ small. Expecting the worst after an epic downturn in the market for MBA talent, many developed Plan Bs that new research suggests will end up being the road not taken. New MBA hiring picked up slightly in 2010 and is likely to increase again this year, with the traditional MBA magnet fields of financial services and consulting expected to make comebacks, according to the most recent MBA CSC data, released earlier this month.
"It now appears that 2009 was likely the low point for us," says J. J. Cutler, deputy vice-dean for MBA admissions, financial aid, and career management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School (Wharton Full-Time MBA Profile).
Class of 2011 MBAs are also likely to face less job competition than their 2010 counterparts, who were competing against 2009 graduates for a smaller pool of entry-level MBA positions, says Elena Bajic, chief executive of Ivy Exec, a recruiting company focused on MBA job placement.
When it comes to pay, this year's class may not see too much of an advantage compared with 2010 grads. Sixty-nine percent of employers polled by GMAC said they do not plan to increase starting salaries of new MBA hires over last year. Four percent said they would decrease salaries vs. six percent the prior year.
JPMorgan Chase has not reduced new MBA hiring levels and will search for talent at 20 to 25 schools this year vs. about 15 last year, says Joanna Moody, head of campus recruiting for the company's investment banking unit in North America.
While hiring in financial services is up—about 55 percent of schools responding to the CSC survey reported an increase this school year—the types of financial service jobs available appear to be shifting. "Within financial services, we're seeing wealth management as the booming sector," says Ivy Exec's Bajic.
Investment banking, one of the most popular destinations for many MBA graduates, seems to have lost some of its luster, with both job postings and candidate interest in that category on the Ivy Exec website having dropped off over the past year, she says.
"From what I've been hearing, for people who are interested in sales and trading at an investment bank, it's a pretty tough area right now to get into," says Mary Phillips, a first-year MBA student at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business (Booth Full-Time MBA Profile), who is searching for summer internships in asset management.
A similar pattern was spotted at Wharton. "Students who came in and at one point said, I want to do investment banking, are maybe now looking at private equity or insurance," Wharton's Cutler says.
Real estate, manufacturing, and the nonprofit sector also showed "soft" recruiting in the fall, the MBA CSC data show.
At MIT, 15 percent of its MBA grads went to investment banking and 19 percent to tech fields in 2008, compared with 11.5 percent and 20 percent, respectively, in 2010. Wilbur says the percentage of MBA grads entering tech may rise further, even as financial service hiring resumes, citing a recent uptick in capital flows to tech companies and the continued popularity of Sloan's Entrepreneurship and Innovation curricular track, which has a technology emphasis.
MIT is not alone in experiencing a boost in tech recruiting. Nearly 40 percent of the schools responding to the CSC survey reported an increase as well. On Ivyexec.com, the highest number of tech-related opportunities have been in product management and marketing, Bajic says.
One company that has become more successful at hiring new MBAs who otherwise might have gone into finance or consulting is the telecom giant AT&T. The company's associate director of university relations, Joanna Clark, says AT&T has gradually increased new MBA hires since 2007, funneling them into such expanding areas as cloud computing and e-commerce. For two leadership development programs designed primarily for MBAs, AT&T plans to hire 50 new master's degree candidates in 2011, about the same as it did in 2010, Clark says, adding that half those offers have already been made.
Digital media and social enterprise have become popular MBA career choices at Columbia Business School (Columbia Full-Time MBA Profile), says Regina Resnick, assistant dean and managing director of the Career Management Center. MBA recruitment in pharmaceuticals, biotech, and health care also increased at most schools over last fall, the MBA CSC reported.
The shift toward nontraditional positions has changed MBA students' expectations regarding the timing of job offers. For example, 62 percent of MBA students had job offers before graduation in 2008, compared with 40 percent in 2010, GMAC reported. Even as the job market improves, both Cutler and Resnick say that figure may not go as high in the future, because employers of nontraditional MBAs tend to have later hiring schedules.
January 24, 2011
By Erin Zlomek
With the MBA job market on the rebound, 2011 will likely bring good news, particularly for students seeking to enter consulting and financial services
"Parallel paths" is a phrase that 2011 Columbia University MBA candidate Elizabeth McCarthy knows well. It's the euphemism her school used last year to prepare students for the possibility of not immediately landing a job in their desired field. "I'm not sure everybody would admit to this, but there are some jobs that are sort of stepping-stone jobs," she says.
Her first choice, consulting, was one of the hardest-hit recruiting areas for new MBA hiring last year, according to a poll of 89 business schools conducted last spring by the MBA Career Services Council (CSC). So she made backup plans to look for positions in general management. As it turned out, she didn't need to. She landed a consulting internship at Bain & Co. last summer, which was followed by a full-time offer.
McCarthy's experience was the Class of 2011's writ small. Expecting the worst after an epic downturn in the market for MBA talent, many developed Plan Bs that new research suggests will end up being the road not taken. New MBA hiring picked up slightly in 2010 and is likely to increase again this year, with the traditional MBA magnet fields of financial services and consulting expected to make comebacks, according to the most recent MBA CSC data, released earlier this month.
Well Past the Bottom
Evidence of a rebound is everywhere. Seventy percent of business schools surveyed by the CSC in December said full-time MBA job postings were up. Employers are not shy about their intentions, either. The Graduate Management Admission Council, the organization that publishes the GMAT, polled 210 employers in November, and 64 percent said they plan to hire new MBAs in 2011 vs. 60 percent that said the same in the prior year. The percentage of employers likely to hire holders of new bachelor's degrees remained unchanged."It now appears that 2009 was likely the low point for us," says J. J. Cutler, deputy vice-dean for MBA admissions, financial aid, and career management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School (Wharton Full-Time MBA Profile).
Class of 2011 MBAs are also likely to face less job competition than their 2010 counterparts, who were competing against 2009 graduates for a smaller pool of entry-level MBA positions, says Elena Bajic, chief executive of Ivy Exec, a recruiting company focused on MBA job placement.
When it comes to pay, this year's class may not see too much of an advantage compared with 2010 grads. Sixty-nine percent of employers polled by GMAC said they do not plan to increase starting salaries of new MBA hires over last year. Four percent said they would decrease salaries vs. six percent the prior year.
Positive Omens
Campus recruiting in consulting and financial services improved the most over last fall, according to the council's December data—a sign that bodes well for spring and summer job placements. About 65 percent of schools surveyed by the CSC reported an increase in recruiting by consulting firms, while nearly 60 percent reported an increase in financial services recruiting, the December data show.JPMorgan Chase has not reduced new MBA hiring levels and will search for talent at 20 to 25 schools this year vs. about 15 last year, says Joanna Moody, head of campus recruiting for the company's investment banking unit in North America.
While hiring in financial services is up—about 55 percent of schools responding to the CSC survey reported an increase this school year—the types of financial service jobs available appear to be shifting. "Within financial services, we're seeing wealth management as the booming sector," says Ivy Exec's Bajic.
Investment banking, one of the most popular destinations for many MBA graduates, seems to have lost some of its luster, with both job postings and candidate interest in that category on the Ivy Exec website having dropped off over the past year, she says.
"From what I've been hearing, for people who are interested in sales and trading at an investment bank, it's a pretty tough area right now to get into," says Mary Phillips, a first-year MBA student at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business (Booth Full-Time MBA Profile), who is searching for summer internships in asset management.
A similar pattern was spotted at Wharton. "Students who came in and at one point said, I want to do investment banking, are maybe now looking at private equity or insurance," Wharton's Cutler says.
Real estate, manufacturing, and the nonprofit sector also showed "soft" recruiting in the fall, the MBA CSC data show.
Tech Keeps Expanding
At the MIT Sloan School of Management (Sloan Full-Time MBA Profile), the tech market helped make up for MBA jobs lost in finance from 2008 to 2010, says Jackie Wilbur, Sloan's senior director for career development.At MIT, 15 percent of its MBA grads went to investment banking and 19 percent to tech fields in 2008, compared with 11.5 percent and 20 percent, respectively, in 2010. Wilbur says the percentage of MBA grads entering tech may rise further, even as financial service hiring resumes, citing a recent uptick in capital flows to tech companies and the continued popularity of Sloan's Entrepreneurship and Innovation curricular track, which has a technology emphasis.
MIT is not alone in experiencing a boost in tech recruiting. Nearly 40 percent of the schools responding to the CSC survey reported an increase as well. On Ivyexec.com, the highest number of tech-related opportunities have been in product management and marketing, Bajic says.
One company that has become more successful at hiring new MBAs who otherwise might have gone into finance or consulting is the telecom giant AT&T. The company's associate director of university relations, Joanna Clark, says AT&T has gradually increased new MBA hires since 2007, funneling them into such expanding areas as cloud computing and e-commerce. For two leadership development programs designed primarily for MBAs, AT&T plans to hire 50 new master's degree candidates in 2011, about the same as it did in 2010, Clark says, adding that half those offers have already been made.
More Nontraditional MBAs
A trend Wharton's Cutler noticed during the hiring lull is that interest in nontraditional MBA fields surged, which could diversify the job landscape for years to come, he says. "We're seeing more companies coming to campus in industries such as clean tech and new media, industries that haven't had a history of coming to MBA schools as a place to get talent."Digital media and social enterprise have become popular MBA career choices at Columbia Business School (Columbia Full-Time MBA Profile), says Regina Resnick, assistant dean and managing director of the Career Management Center. MBA recruitment in pharmaceuticals, biotech, and health care also increased at most schools over last fall, the MBA CSC reported.
The shift toward nontraditional positions has changed MBA students' expectations regarding the timing of job offers. For example, 62 percent of MBA students had job offers before graduation in 2008, compared with 40 percent in 2010, GMAC reported. Even as the job market improves, both Cutler and Resnick say that figure may not go as high in the future, because employers of nontraditional MBAs tend to have later hiring schedules.
Zlomek is a reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek.
New college grads face frustrating job market
Thomas Rumeau already had a bachelor's degree in economics but decided that a master's in public policy would make him more marketable. Three months after earning that...
By Nancy Trejos
The Washington Post
GAIL / THE WASHINGTON POST
Due to graduate in the fall, University of Maryland liberal-arts major Triston McIntyre, 23, has already started his own business in anticipation of a weak job market.
ALAN BERNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES
More than 4,000 University of Washington graduates received their diplomas June 14 in Seattle. About 38 percent of the country's young college graduates are underemployed, one economist says.
WASHINGTON — Thomas Rumeau already had a bachelor's degree in economics but decided that a master's in public policy would make him more marketable.
Three months after earning that master's from the University of Maryland, he still hasn't found a job in his field and is settling for part-time work at the university's career center. Thirty years old and married with a baby on the way, he is working alongside undergraduates nearly 10 years younger.
Since February, he has applied for about 60 positions as a researcher or analyst for the federal government, the state government, nonprofit organizations, private companies, associations — anyplace that came to mind.
"I didn't think it would take this long," Rumeau said. "It's even hard just to get an interview."
Rumeau is a victim of bad timing. During robust economic times, college students in undergraduate and graduate-school programs would easily get multiple offers. But this year, as the economy teeters, college graduates face a tough job market, leaving many without work in their fields or doing jobs that people without college degrees can do, career-center officials said.
Most affected, the officials said, are those looking to break into the financial-services industry, hard hit by the subprime-mortgage crisis.
The numbers aren't pretty. Unemployment among 20- to 24-year-olds, the typical post-undergraduate age group, is sharply higher than for the overall population. In the second quarter of this year, joblessness among this group reached 9.8 percent, according to the Labor Department. That is up from 7.7 percent last year at this time and 8.1 percent in the second quarter of 2001, about the time the last recession hit. Overall, unemployment rose to 5.7 percent in July from 5.5 percent the previous month, and the economy lost 51,000 payroll jobs.
The National Association of Colleges and Employers said employers offered higher starting salaries this year. That said, the increase in hiring of recent college grads, especially in the financial-services industry, has dropped considerably. Employers were expected to increase hiring 8 percent for the class of 2008, sharply below the 17.4 percent surge for the class of 2007.
"We're trying to get them thinking about and planning for Plan B and Plan C in the event their first choice is not available," said Jeannette Frett, assistant dean and director of MBA career management at Georgetown University.
The most desirable job candidates, career-center officials and recruiters said, are those with engineering, information-technology, math and science degrees. The job market in industries such as health care, information technology, accounting and biotechnology remains strong. There are also geographic differences.
"The jobs dried up"
Michael Stearns, 30, is hoping his Plan A will still pan out. A recent graduate of Georgetown's MBA program, he has been searching for a management-consulting or marketing job since last year. He has applied to about 50 companies in Boston and New York and all over the West Coast.
"The first semester, the economy was still good. Jobs were aplenty. I didn't think there would be problems," he said. "But as soon as 2008 hit, the economy took a big downturn, and the jobs dried up. From last year to this year it's changed quite a bit, and it's definitely been more difficult than I had anticipated."
That's about the time that Helen Stefan Moreau, president of the Midtown Group, a hiring agency in Washington, D.C., noticed a shift, with several law firms, financial-services companies and nonprofit organizations instituting hiring freezes. Many freezes have been lifted and jobs are available, she said, but applicants still have to be a lot more competitive these days.
"This market is one that just really needs to be navigated," she said. "It's not like the old days where someone could pop a résumé out there and get 15 interviews and five offers. You have to seek out opportunities more than in the past. In the past, they were coming to you."
The Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank in Washington, D.C., found that college graduates also might be worse off in other ways. After analyzing figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the institute found a 5 percentage-point decrease since 2001 in college graduates getting health-insurance coverage. Fewer than half of young college graduates receive any form of pension coverage, the institute reported.
"Having a college degree is not the guarantee of a good job with benefits the way it used to be," said Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute. "And college graduates are now being affected by the kind of squeeze being put on the middle class and blue-collar workers for a long time."
Paul Harrington, an economist at Northeastern University, also found that about 38 percent of young college graduates are "underemployed," or doing work for which they are overqualified.
"It's a loss of resources. It's a social loss. These are bright people who could be engaged in more productive activities, but ... we haven't figured out how to move them into productive activities," he said. "That's the tragedy of a recession."
Inventing his own job
Triston McIntyre, a 23-year-old English and political-science major at the University of Maryland, decided to take a more creative route to employment when he graduates this fall. He started his own business, partnering with a fellow blogger to create a Web site — UptownUncorked.com — that trains businesses in how to create a presence in social media and the Internet.
"Mainly, the reason I'm doing this is because there are not a lot of jobs, and I would rather be my own boss," he said.
Some career-center officials said they have heard of job offers being rescinded or jobs changing or being eliminated after graduates arrive at work. Others say undergraduates are planning to wait out the economic downturn in graduate school.
Recruiters painted a mixed picture.
Tim Namie, area manager for Manpower Professional, a hiring agency, said jobs are available but there are many more applicants to fill them. Ordinarily, when his recruiters post a job, they receive 100 or 150 résumés. Now they are getting more than 200.
"In a tight labor market like this, I would say employers are looking for the upper hand and trying to get more bang for their buck," he said. "They're looking for different things. They're looking for the internship. They're looking for someone who is more aggressive."
Advice for coping
How does one stand out in a market like this?
Don't rely only on Monster.com and other Web sites that match employers with job candidates, said recruiters and career-center officials. If you are in college now, get as much experience as you can in your field through internships or part-time work, even if it is unpaid.
Start your job search early, at least a semester or even a year ahead of graduation. Network as much as you can. Reach out to alumni. Join professional associations. Use connections you have through relatives and friends.
"A lot of students have pride. They don't want to ask Mom and Dad for connections, but you need to tap into every network you have," said Harold L. Gray Sr., director of Harvard's Center for Professional Development and the Center for Insurance Education.
And be open to jobs you might not have considered before. Mark Kenyon, associate director of the University of Maryland's career center, said many students he has counseled were considering jobs in the federal government when in the past they would have looked only at higher-paying, private-sector jobs.
"As recent graduates coming out of college, they need to be open to multiple types of career opportunities," he said, adding that most of his students found jobs.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Download the American presidents and first ladies pictures for only $2.95. You will be able to download all the 42 presidents' pictures from George Washington to the current president and the 43 first ladies' pictures from Abigail Washington to the current first lady in large size all at once in just one download.
DOWNLOAD NOW
By Nancy Trejos
The Washington Post
GAIL / THE WASHINGTON POST
Due to graduate in the fall, University of Maryland liberal-arts major Triston McIntyre, 23, has already started his own business in anticipation of a weak job market.
ALAN BERNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES
More than 4,000 University of Washington graduates received their diplomas June 14 in Seattle. About 38 percent of the country's young college graduates are underemployed, one economist says.
WASHINGTON — Thomas Rumeau already had a bachelor's degree in economics but decided that a master's in public policy would make him more marketable.
Three months after earning that master's from the University of Maryland, he still hasn't found a job in his field and is settling for part-time work at the university's career center. Thirty years old and married with a baby on the way, he is working alongside undergraduates nearly 10 years younger.
Since February, he has applied for about 60 positions as a researcher or analyst for the federal government, the state government, nonprofit organizations, private companies, associations — anyplace that came to mind.
"I didn't think it would take this long," Rumeau said. "It's even hard just to get an interview."
Rumeau is a victim of bad timing. During robust economic times, college students in undergraduate and graduate-school programs would easily get multiple offers. But this year, as the economy teeters, college graduates face a tough job market, leaving many without work in their fields or doing jobs that people without college degrees can do, career-center officials said.
Most affected, the officials said, are those looking to break into the financial-services industry, hard hit by the subprime-mortgage crisis.
The numbers aren't pretty. Unemployment among 20- to 24-year-olds, the typical post-undergraduate age group, is sharply higher than for the overall population. In the second quarter of this year, joblessness among this group reached 9.8 percent, according to the Labor Department. That is up from 7.7 percent last year at this time and 8.1 percent in the second quarter of 2001, about the time the last recession hit. Overall, unemployment rose to 5.7 percent in July from 5.5 percent the previous month, and the economy lost 51,000 payroll jobs.
The National Association of Colleges and Employers said employers offered higher starting salaries this year. That said, the increase in hiring of recent college grads, especially in the financial-services industry, has dropped considerably. Employers were expected to increase hiring 8 percent for the class of 2008, sharply below the 17.4 percent surge for the class of 2007.
"We're trying to get them thinking about and planning for Plan B and Plan C in the event their first choice is not available," said Jeannette Frett, assistant dean and director of MBA career management at Georgetown University.
The most desirable job candidates, career-center officials and recruiters said, are those with engineering, information-technology, math and science degrees. The job market in industries such as health care, information technology, accounting and biotechnology remains strong. There are also geographic differences.
"The jobs dried up"
Michael Stearns, 30, is hoping his Plan A will still pan out. A recent graduate of Georgetown's MBA program, he has been searching for a management-consulting or marketing job since last year. He has applied to about 50 companies in Boston and New York and all over the West Coast.
"The first semester, the economy was still good. Jobs were aplenty. I didn't think there would be problems," he said. "But as soon as 2008 hit, the economy took a big downturn, and the jobs dried up. From last year to this year it's changed quite a bit, and it's definitely been more difficult than I had anticipated."
That's about the time that Helen Stefan Moreau, president of the Midtown Group, a hiring agency in Washington, D.C., noticed a shift, with several law firms, financial-services companies and nonprofit organizations instituting hiring freezes. Many freezes have been lifted and jobs are available, she said, but applicants still have to be a lot more competitive these days.
"This market is one that just really needs to be navigated," she said. "It's not like the old days where someone could pop a résumé out there and get 15 interviews and five offers. You have to seek out opportunities more than in the past. In the past, they were coming to you."
The Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank in Washington, D.C., found that college graduates also might be worse off in other ways. After analyzing figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the institute found a 5 percentage-point decrease since 2001 in college graduates getting health-insurance coverage. Fewer than half of young college graduates receive any form of pension coverage, the institute reported.
"Having a college degree is not the guarantee of a good job with benefits the way it used to be," said Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute. "And college graduates are now being affected by the kind of squeeze being put on the middle class and blue-collar workers for a long time."
Paul Harrington, an economist at Northeastern University, also found that about 38 percent of young college graduates are "underemployed," or doing work for which they are overqualified.
"It's a loss of resources. It's a social loss. These are bright people who could be engaged in more productive activities, but ... we haven't figured out how to move them into productive activities," he said. "That's the tragedy of a recession."
Inventing his own job
Triston McIntyre, a 23-year-old English and political-science major at the University of Maryland, decided to take a more creative route to employment when he graduates this fall. He started his own business, partnering with a fellow blogger to create a Web site — UptownUncorked.com — that trains businesses in how to create a presence in social media and the Internet.
"Mainly, the reason I'm doing this is because there are not a lot of jobs, and I would rather be my own boss," he said.
Some career-center officials said they have heard of job offers being rescinded or jobs changing or being eliminated after graduates arrive at work. Others say undergraduates are planning to wait out the economic downturn in graduate school.
Recruiters painted a mixed picture.
Tim Namie, area manager for Manpower Professional, a hiring agency, said jobs are available but there are many more applicants to fill them. Ordinarily, when his recruiters post a job, they receive 100 or 150 résumés. Now they are getting more than 200.
"In a tight labor market like this, I would say employers are looking for the upper hand and trying to get more bang for their buck," he said. "They're looking for different things. They're looking for the internship. They're looking for someone who is more aggressive."
Advice for coping
How does one stand out in a market like this?
Don't rely only on Monster.com and other Web sites that match employers with job candidates, said recruiters and career-center officials. If you are in college now, get as much experience as you can in your field through internships or part-time work, even if it is unpaid.
Start your job search early, at least a semester or even a year ahead of graduation. Network as much as you can. Reach out to alumni. Join professional associations. Use connections you have through relatives and friends.
"A lot of students have pride. They don't want to ask Mom and Dad for connections, but you need to tap into every network you have," said Harold L. Gray Sr., director of Harvard's Center for Professional Development and the Center for Insurance Education.
And be open to jobs you might not have considered before. Mark Kenyon, associate director of the University of Maryland's career center, said many students he has counseled were considering jobs in the federal government when in the past they would have looked only at higher-paying, private-sector jobs.
"As recent graduates coming out of college, they need to be open to multiple types of career opportunities," he said, adding that most of his students found jobs.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Download the American presidents and first ladies pictures for only $2.95. You will be able to download all the 42 presidents' pictures from George Washington to the current president and the 43 first ladies' pictures from Abigail Washington to the current first lady in large size all at once in just one download.
DOWNLOAD NOW
Jobless? More Employers Say You Need Not Apply
Although More Americans Got Jobs in February, One Category of Workers Got Kicked to the Curb
Source: ABC News
By ALAN FARNHAM
March 4, 2011
Unemployment fell in February to 8.9 percent, and US companies added 192,000 people to their payrolls, but one category of workers is increasingly facing an overt form of discrimination.
In the bad old days of the 1800s, when it was legal for employers to discriminate against anyone they pleased, job postings used to say things like: "No Irish Need Apply." Now the unemployed, it seems, have become the new Irish: In advertisement after advertisement, employers come right out and tell them they're not wanted.
Right now CareerBuilder, one of the biggest job sites on the web, has a posting for an entry-level engineer. The candidate, it says, will perform structural analysis of telecommunications cell towers. A civil engineering degree is required, an undergrad GPA of at least 3.4 as is knowledge of AutoCAD. Some travel is required.
Oh, and there's one other thing: "No layoff candidates."
What?!
You heard right: If you've been laid off or are out of work, pal, scram -- this employer, like many others, doesn't want you. You're damaged goods.
Look anywhere where jobs are posted, and you'll see more examples. This discrimination isn't subtle. It's not covert. It's right out in the open, stated in the listings: A phone manufacturer looking to fill a marketing job stipulates "No unemployed candidates will be considered at all." An electronics firm looking for an engineer says it will "Not consider/review anyone NOT currently employed regardless of the reason." A Craigslist posting for an assistant restaurant manager in New Jersey says all applicants "Must be currently employed."
So prevalent is this new form of discrimination that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in February held hearings on it. The EEOC press release announcing them bore the catchy title "Out of Work? Out of Luck."
Testifiers included Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, a national nonprofit group that advocates on behalf of low-age and unemployed workers, and persons facing unfair or unlawful barriers to employment.
Owens says it's hard to know how widespread discrimination against the jobless has become, but she has seen human resource professionals widely quoted to the effect that turning away the unemployed is a growing trend.
As for the help wanted notices, "What you see stated in the advertisements is just the tip of the iceberg," Ownes says. "For every ad that's explicit, many more have the same policy but don't say so. We think it's widely happening and that it's grounds for concern, especially in an economy where job growth is so slow and so many qualified people are looking for work. It imposes an artificial and arbitrary barrier that job seekers shouldn't have to deal with."
She cited in her EEOC testimony the case of a Texas job seeker, an experienced pharmaceutical sales rep, who received from an executive recruiter an e-mail stating one express caveat: "Candidates must be currently employed or must have left the industry within the last six months."
In the 2½ years that Kelly Wiedemer, 45, has been out of work, she's received this kind of brush-off more than once.
Wiedemer, a former operations analyst, got a call last summer from a local technical college that was looking for an analyst. When she went in for her interview, the man who questioned her asked her about her experience and previous work. "He asked about my background, and I explained that I was an operations analyst." She felt she was doing a good job of selling herself. They talked for about five minutes.
"Then he asked me how long I'd been out of work," she says. "I told him." His facial expression changed. "As soon as he heard that, it was over." He asked her "in an accusatory tone" why she had been out of work for so long. What had she been doing? "I told him I'd been taking training courses to increase my skill set. I'd also done volunteer work. He did not respond."
"It was humiliating," says Wiedemer. "It's not like I haven't been looking for a job. It's not like I decided to take a couple of years off." On her way home, she says, "I didn't know whether to scream or cry."
In November she saw an ad on Careerbuilder.com for a business analyst. It sounded ideal. Not only was it just a few miles from where Wiedemer lives, it paid the same as her old job and had almost exactly the same responsibilities. The listing said the applicant would need to know how to implement a particular kind of software package -- the same one that Wiedemer had implemented in her prevous job. "I knew that system," she says. "I knew it better than the guys we called to come fix it for us."
She fired off her resume and got a response the very next day.
The recruiter, she says, was at first excited. Then the interview turned to how long Wiedemer had been out of work. The excitement cooled. Wiedemer says the recruiter said: "Here's what I'm going to do. I'm willing to submit your resume to the hiring manager -- but I'll be honest: Your long employment gap will be a tough sell."
Wiedemer never got another interview.
"It was such a perfect fit," she says dejectedly. "A perfect opportunity. I could have brought a lot to the table for them. They didn't even want to talk to me. It's like all my skill sets had no value to these people."
It's one thing, she says, "to get kicked to the curb." It's another to think, "I might never work in my old capacity again, at any rate of pay. The possibilities are slim for anybody who's been out of work as long as I have."
Owens says that while discrimination against the unemployed may be cruel and may be outrageous, it's not clear that it's illegal. That's one reason the EEOC held hearings -- to get opinions on that question.
Were the EEOC to decide to prohibit the practice, says Owens, there are two ways the commission could go about it. They could determine that such discrimination is itself illegal, or they could find that although legal it works a disproportionate hardship on certain categories of job seekers already protected by law, such as the elderly, the disabled, women and members of various ethnic minorities.
To the extent, says Owens, that an employer says the applicant must be recently employed or out of work no longer than six months, the stipulation disproportionately affects older workers, who tend to go unemployed for longer periods than the young. And the EEOC, she says, enforces laws against age discrimination.
Source: ABC News
By ALAN FARNHAM
March 4, 2011
Unemployment fell in February to 8.9 percent, and US companies added 192,000 people to their payrolls, but one category of workers is increasingly facing an overt form of discrimination.
Right now CareerBuilder, one of the biggest job sites on the web, has a posting for an entry-level engineer. The candidate, it says, will perform structural analysis of telecommunications cell towers. A civil engineering degree is required, an undergrad GPA of at least 3.4 as is knowledge of AutoCAD. Some travel is required.
Oh, and there's one other thing: "No layoff candidates."
What?!
You heard right: If you've been laid off or are out of work, pal, scram -- this employer, like many others, doesn't want you. You're damaged goods.
Look anywhere where jobs are posted, and you'll see more examples. This discrimination isn't subtle. It's not covert. It's right out in the open, stated in the listings: A phone manufacturer looking to fill a marketing job stipulates "No unemployed candidates will be considered at all." An electronics firm looking for an engineer says it will "Not consider/review anyone NOT currently employed regardless of the reason." A Craigslist posting for an assistant restaurant manager in New Jersey says all applicants "Must be currently employed."
So prevalent is this new form of discrimination that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in February held hearings on it. The EEOC press release announcing them bore the catchy title "Out of Work? Out of Luck."Testifiers included Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, a national nonprofit group that advocates on behalf of low-age and unemployed workers, and persons facing unfair or unlawful barriers to employment.
Owens says it's hard to know how widespread discrimination against the jobless has become, but she has seen human resource professionals widely quoted to the effect that turning away the unemployed is a growing trend.
As for the help wanted notices, "What you see stated in the advertisements is just the tip of the iceberg," Ownes says. "For every ad that's explicit, many more have the same policy but don't say so. We think it's widely happening and that it's grounds for concern, especially in an economy where job growth is so slow and so many qualified people are looking for work. It imposes an artificial and arbitrary barrier that job seekers shouldn't have to deal with."
She cited in her EEOC testimony the case of a Texas job seeker, an experienced pharmaceutical sales rep, who received from an executive recruiter an e-mail stating one express caveat: "Candidates must be currently employed or must have left the industry within the last six months."
In the 2½ years that Kelly Wiedemer, 45, has been out of work, she's received this kind of brush-off more than once.
Wiedemer, a former operations analyst, got a call last summer from a local technical college that was looking for an analyst. When she went in for her interview, the man who questioned her asked her about her experience and previous work. "He asked about my background, and I explained that I was an operations analyst." She felt she was doing a good job of selling herself. They talked for about five minutes.
"Then he asked me how long I'd been out of work," she says. "I told him." His facial expression changed. "As soon as he heard that, it was over." He asked her "in an accusatory tone" why she had been out of work for so long. What had she been doing? "I told him I'd been taking training courses to increase my skill set. I'd also done volunteer work. He did not respond."
"It was humiliating," says Wiedemer. "It's not like I haven't been looking for a job. It's not like I decided to take a couple of years off." On her way home, she says, "I didn't know whether to scream or cry."
In November she saw an ad on Careerbuilder.com for a business analyst. It sounded ideal. Not only was it just a few miles from where Wiedemer lives, it paid the same as her old job and had almost exactly the same responsibilities. The listing said the applicant would need to know how to implement a particular kind of software package -- the same one that Wiedemer had implemented in her prevous job. "I knew that system," she says. "I knew it better than the guys we called to come fix it for us."
She fired off her resume and got a response the very next day.
The recruiter, she says, was at first excited. Then the interview turned to how long Wiedemer had been out of work. The excitement cooled. Wiedemer says the recruiter said: "Here's what I'm going to do. I'm willing to submit your resume to the hiring manager -- but I'll be honest: Your long employment gap will be a tough sell."
Wiedemer never got another interview.
"It was such a perfect fit," she says dejectedly. "A perfect opportunity. I could have brought a lot to the table for them. They didn't even want to talk to me. It's like all my skill sets had no value to these people."
It's one thing, she says, "to get kicked to the curb." It's another to think, "I might never work in my old capacity again, at any rate of pay. The possibilities are slim for anybody who's been out of work as long as I have."
Owens says that while discrimination against the unemployed may be cruel and may be outrageous, it's not clear that it's illegal. That's one reason the EEOC held hearings -- to get opinions on that question.
Were the EEOC to decide to prohibit the practice, says Owens, there are two ways the commission could go about it. They could determine that such discrimination is itself illegal, or they could find that although legal it works a disproportionate hardship on certain categories of job seekers already protected by law, such as the elderly, the disabled, women and members of various ethnic minorities.
To the extent, says Owens, that an employer says the applicant must be recently employed or out of work no longer than six months, the stipulation disproportionately affects older workers, who tend to go unemployed for longer periods than the young. And the EEOC, she says, enforces laws against age discrimination.
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