Tight job market awaits this year's graduates
The thrill that comes with finally earning a diploma may be short lived for this year's college graduates, who are facing the tightest job market in at least a decade.
According to James E. Scales, director of Career Services, the recession of the early 1990s was limited to the private sector. Today, the public sector is a factor, with 40 states trying to address budget crises.
"There is a lot of supply for the demand, and this year the students have to compete with the laid off," he noted. "Yesterday, you may have had a vacancy and received 200 resumes. Today for that same vacancy, you'll get 2,000. That's for positions requiring anything from an associate of arts degree all the way up to Ph.D. The competition is extremely stiff."
Career fairs sponsored by Scales' office during this school year provide ample evidence of the downturn in the job market. Last fall's fair fell two weeks after the terrorist attacks Sept. 11, and between 35 and 40 companies canceled plans to participate. Scales noted some of the cancellations were the result of the difficulties with air travel immediately following the terrorist attacks.
Employer attendance bounced back for the spring career fair in February. However, Scales said there were 25 fewer companies compared to the February 2001 event.
"Ever since then, we have seen a holding back by employers because of the recession, even though you hear the recession is over," Scales said.
Nontraditional students have a competitive edge this year.
"When there is a downswing in funds, especially funds for training, the employer looks more at the student who already has been in the work world, came back to finish their education and now is ready to go back to work," Scales said. "They have already shown they have the skills, they know how to work, they want to work. The first thing an employer asks of a candidate is to sell yourself. The nontraditional student can sell experience and skills, as opposed to 'I've read the book and I got an A.' "
The job for Scales and his staff is to help the 21- or 22-year-old graduating student sell himself or herself.
"They have the skills but they have to put that into terms the employer will understand," he said. "We're trying to grab them as freshmen and get them highly interested in one, preferably two, summer internships, paid or unpaid. Then we work with them to verbalize what they have done. Even without an internship, what about student work, volunteer efforts, work in your church? We help them to see where they have done something."
Part of the problem for students is what constitutes work.
"One of the definitions they have, which throws them off base, is that volunteerism isn't experience because they didn't get a dollar," Scales said. "In America, over time, we have defined work to mean a dollar. We have to help them redefine that."
Scales also sees many students with unrealistic salary expectations. The average salary for this year's graduates is about $32,000, which is up $3,000-$4,000 over a year ago.
"Wages are up, but not according to a student," he said. "Ask a student with a bachelor's, and they think they will start at $60,000. Most students come from a home where someone has been working for 10, 15, 20 years and their salary has advanced. Maybe they make $85,000. But students are very unrealistic. They haven't been around as long as that person, and they don't yet have those skills. We're talking job availability, but the student talks about money."
He also sees students with unrealistic expectations about where they can find a job.
"We're not in business to make you feel good, but we are here to tell you what the realities are," he tells students. "I can make you feel good about yourself, but I'd be lying to you if I tell you there's a job around every corner in Carbondale. You want to stay in Carbondale and be an elementary school teacher? We don't have that many schools, all the positions are filled ,and most of those jobs are held by homesteaders who are from here and are not leaving. If you want to teach here, they won't pay you the same as you can get in Chicago or St. Louis."
The newly released survey of employers shows hiring among service employers will be down 27 percent. Among manufacturers, the drop will be nearly 52 percent, and among nonprofit employers, hiring will fall 22 percent. Hiring projections are worst among consulting employers, down 90 percent, followed by automotive/mechanical equipment manufacturers, down 63 percent and computer/business equipment manufacturers, down 59 percent.
There are a couple of bright spots. Scales said hiring of civil, mechanical and electronic engineering graduates is strong, and prospects look good for marketing and accounting graduates. Hiring also is strong in the education sector, though it is unclear how long that will hold as states try to grapple with budget shortfalls.
Even those receiving job offers have had the rug pulled out from under them.
"In the past, if an employer makes you an offer and you accept, it's a done deal," Scales said. "Today, because of the recession, employers have made offers and then withdrawn them. The recruiter is here in Carbondale, he calls back to the home office and is told they don't have the money and to withdraw the offer. When we're working with students, the first thing we want them to understand is they shouldn't put all their eggs in one basket. There is no law that says you cannot interview with six, seven, even eight companies."
- Tom Woolf
May 1, 2002
A new survey of employers conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers projects a 36.4 percent drop in hiring of new college graduates compared to a year ago.
