Slowed economy means tough job market for recent college grads

From wire and staff reports
Published: August 10, 2008

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 it 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 he can think of.

“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 would easily get multiple offers. As the economy teeters on the edge of recession, graduates this year 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, they 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 is sharply higher than 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.

Overall, unemployment rose from 5.5 percent in June to 5.7 percent in July, and the economy lost 51,000 payroll jobs.

“Many human resources representatives are cutting back on their hiring needs,” said Doug Banks, director of the center for career and workforce development at the Richmond-based Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges.

The foundation raises funds for 15 private liberal arts colleges in Virginia, including Lynchburg College, Randolph College and Sweet Briar College.

On Wednesday, the group held a bi-annual meeting in Charlottesville and discussed the drop in job opportunities coinciding with the rise in the number of employers offering internships as a way to become familiar with potential employees before hiring them.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers said employers offered higher starting salaries this year. But the increase in hiring recent college grads, especially in the financial services industry, has dropped from 17.4 percent for the class of 2007 to 8 percent this year.

The most desirable job candidates, career center officials and recruiters said, are those with engineering, information technology, math and science degrees. Job markets in industries such as health care, information technology, accounting and biotechnology remain strong.

Local colleges said add one more to that list: teaching.

“A lot of our teachers are getting offers before they even graduate,” said Randolph College spokeswoman Brenda Edson. “There are some areas that are still desperate for quality employees.”

As of the college’s graduation in May, she said, 52 percent of seniors had either already obtained a job or had plans to attend graduate school.

“What we’re seeing is an increase in the number of students who are looking at graduate school right now,” she said, perhaps because of a lackluster job market.

In 2007, 22 percent of seniors planned for graduate school, she said, and this year that number was at 33 percent.

Lynchburg College’s Debbie Driscoll, associate vice president for institutional effectiveness, said the school’s nursing and teaching graduates also have no problem finding jobs.

“Our graduates tell us that within six months, a good 80 percent of them have the jobs they’re looking for,” she said.

At Sweet Briar College, which recently had its career services ranked the sixth-best in the nation by the Princeton Review, 95 percent of seniors this year reported their post-graduation plans. Of those students, 78 percent had either secured a job, been accepted to a graduate school or other advanced study opportunity, or were pursuing a personal endeavor such as an internship or overseas travel.

“We still have a few that are looking out there, because times are tough,” Stark said. “But it’s good to know that our last graduating class is doing very well.”

Liberty University had similar survey results, said spokesman Johnnie Moore.

The school surveyed 1,200 of its nearly 1,900 residential graduates from 2007-08. More than half had already secured jobs, and another 25 percent had plans for graduate school, Moore said.

There can be geographic differences in job opportunities. The federal government and trade associations provide many opportunities in the Washington area, but other parts of the country are struggling more, career center directors said.

How does one stand out in a market like this?

Don’t rely only on Web sites that match employers with job candidates, said recruiters. If you are in college now, get as much experience as you can in your field, through internships, volunteering or part-time work.

Start your job search at least a semester or even a year ahead of graduation. Network. Reach out to alumni. Join professional associations. Even use connections you have through relatives and friends.

Be open to jobs you might not have considered before, even those that may pay less.

And keep your resume precise.

“The shorter, the neater, and the cleaner the resume is, the better,” Banks said. “Sometimes if they’re too long, I’ve actually heard from employers, they won’t even read them.”

The Washington Post and News & Advance staff writer Christa Desrets contributed to this article.