News Analysis
Fairfield University seniors will graduate this May with the future at their fingertips. Many will go on to graduate school, and some will change the world by doing service.’ But the majority of seniors will be looking for jobs in today’s unstable economy.
BusinessWeek magazine reports that employers will hire 22 percent fewer graduates this spring compared to last year, making this year’s drop-off the largest since the 9/11 attacks. And with so many already established workers being laid-off from their jobs across the country, college students looking to break into the business world for the first time are at an even greater disadvantage.
‘Up until recently, students could pick any one of multiple job offers,’ explained Cathleen Borgman, director of career planning at Fairfield University. ‘But a lot of those options don’t exist anymore. Companies are downsizing and putting a freeze on hiring.’
Fairfield economics professor Philip Lane said that companies in which students held internships last summer with hopes of employment do not even exist anymore.
As graduation rapidly approaches, seniors and even juniors who do not yet have plans for after May should start looking as soon as possible. Borgman explained that in a good economy it takes about six months and about 20 resumes sent to potential employers to find a job. Today, students who want to get jobs should think about sending out three times as many, and to be prepared to wait even longer for responses.
‘It’s discouraging for students,’ said Lane. ‘For them, they’ve worked really hard, done everything they were told to do, and aren’t getting anywhere.’
It might be time for students to start weighing different options that before were not considered. Staying in school for an advanced degree or doing service are alternative options. But if a student does want to start a career in a certain industry, the thing to do, according to Borgman, is to sit down and examine where the available jobs in that field lie. She recommends applying for and taking a job even if it is not exactly the student’s first choice. That is not to say a student should take a job that they actively dislike. But having a job with the opportunity of moving up in a chosen field when the economy improves is better than having no job at all.
Lane predicts students with education degrees will have one of the hardest times, as schools are cutting back significantly. However, students in nursing, accounting and engineering should be able to find employment, especially if they start looking for jobs in nontraditional places such as smaller, independent companies.
Fortunately, there is an end to this crisis in sight. There won’t be much positive activity until next year, but Lane predicts that the class of 2010 will have a much easier time with the job market.
Last year, 68.7 percent of the graduating class received full-time employment, while 21.2 percent went on to a graduate degree program, 3.7 percent did volunteer work, and 6.4 percent were left seeking other options.
As this year’s graduating class will bear the brunt of the job crash, one has to wonder what the future holds for the class of 2009 and even the class of 2010. It’s never too early to start looking, and Borgman recommends getting to the career center as early as possible.
‘Students often come in here just to talk and that’s OK too,’ she says. ‘You don’t always have to be participating in a mock interview or working on a resume. Sometimes just talking about things puts students at ease. They’re always welcome, even if it’s just to eat M’amp;Ms!’
Advice from Career Planning
If you are set on a particular career and don’t know how to get started on your path, the thing to do is to take advantage of the resources offered at the Career Planning Center, located in the Kelley Center.
One sure sign that the job market is tough is the busier than ever schedules of the career counselors there. The center has also been working with Fairfield alumni to create a network for graduates to help current students seek employment using their connections.
When asked what students could do to increase their chances of getting a job Borgman replied, ‘Get in here, get their resumes done, participate in mock interviews. Getting a job is like a full-time class.
‘You really have to do the homework.’
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