With news headlines blaring a pending recession and the first decline in monthly job creation in nearly five years, college students might be intimidated by their prospects for employment. But bright, motivated students can use their smarts, along with employers’ willingness to hire new college graduates, to land on their feet, according to industry experts.
Indeed, employers expect to increase college hiring by 16 percent this year, a slight decrease from last year’s 17.4 percent increase, according to Job Outlook 2008* published by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
"This is the fifth consecutive year in which employers have projected double-digit increases," says Marilyn Mackes, NACE’s executive director. "Hiring projections are strong across the board, regardless of industry, economic sector or geographic region."
Many Colleges Plan to Increase College Hiring
Overall, nearly 58 percent of the employers who responded to NACE’s survey reported plans to increase their college hiring. More than one-third (36.5 percent) said they will maintain their college hiring at last year’s levels. Fewer than six percent expect to reduce their college hiring, according to the survey.
Competition for new college graduates is expected to be particularly fierce in engineering, computer science and accounting fields, where supply doesn’t meet demand, according to NACE research.
Two fields considered polar opposites of an economy that can support the middle class -- manufacturing and the service sector -- also plan to beef up their hiring of new graduates. Service-sector employers expect to increase their hiring from last year by about 18 percent. Manufacturers anticipate an increase of nearly 15 percent.
Look for a Signing Bonus
One sign of the increased demand is the willingness of companies to offer signing bonuses to students who sign up for jobs. "Not only are more employers planning to offer signing bonuses than last year, but the average planned bonus is 25 percent higher this year than it was last year," Mackes says.
Nearly 54 percent of the employers who responded to the survey say they will use signing bonuses to attract new college graduates, a jump from 47 percent in last year’s survey.
Indeed, more employers offered signing bonuses in the past two years than initial reports suggested. If the trend holds this year, 60 percent of employers could use signing bonuses to attract and hire 2008 graduates.
College graduates can expect to be offered signing bonuses averaging $4,450, a 25 percent increase from a year ago. Two-thirds of the employers who offer bonuses will use them for select job candidates.
Employers Seek the Skilled
Students who prepare themselves and who have spent time honing their skills should find themselves in demand, says Matt Krehbiel, a student getting his MBA at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
Krehbiel, 29, will graduate in late June. He has already landed a job as an assistant brand manager at Procter & Gamble in his native Cincinnati.
"It is a tough environment, but companies are always looking for top talent," he says.
Krehbiel practiced doing job interviews with his friends so he could hone his pitch to meet the prospective employer’s needs.
"It’s about not only telling stories about what you’ve lived through," he says. "It’s about explaining what changes you caused, the impact you had, and the results."
Rather than talk about one’s leadership qualities, students on job interviews should focus on how their leadership skills will help the prospective employer, says Krehbiel, who worked as a senior consultant in Deloitte’s technology practices and human capital businesses before he decided to change his focus to marketing.
"I wanted to work for a company where I could have an impact, drive results, have profit and loss responsibilities and take ownership of the business itself," he says.
Krehbiel also urges students to take advantage of their college’s or university’s career services department, networking opportunities, and advice from professors.
Kristen Watson, a 22-year-old senior at the University of Georgia majoring in agricultural communications, sees so many job opportunities that she isn’t sure whether she will seek work or go to graduate school.
Watson, who will graduate in May, says her academic background in the sciences and journalism helps her attract the attention of companies that need people who understand science and who can translate it to a mass audience. Potential employers include biotechnology companies that deal with agriculture, as well as farm bureaus and farm agencies that require public-relations experts who can publish newsletters and get the word out about their services.
Watson is optimistic about the job market, but her interest in birds may prompt her to attend the University of Georgia’s ornithology program for a master’s degree. Such a degree could help her conduct field work studying topics ranging from bird migration patterns to bird-flu transmission, to a newly evolving species of finches in the Galapagos Islands.
"There are many opportunities," she says.
* The survey of 1,199 of NACE’s employer members took place from mid-August through Oct. 5, 2007.
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