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Degree ln one hand, resume in the other: Many college grads

BySarahSmatland illaryBethVcrsaci

ne day last spring, Ali Parentisat in a large leciure hall at theUniversity of Arizona, and herorofessor asked the class ofgiaduating seniors how many

of themhad found jobs.

Only one or two people raised theirhands, Parenti said.

The professor's casual poll aptlyreflects the weakened job market andeconomy in general, and specifieally,the shortage of employment for thegraduated Class of zoo9.

Parenti, zz, of Hinsdale, graduatedin May with a degree in communiea-tions, and months later, is still search-ing for a job.

"It's a little bit frustrating butthere's tons of other people looking,too," Parenti said. "It's basically a bigcompetition."

Elnrhurstrsident $€Ean Trant tooks_ovcr her math books. Try" ryill.b" !"*hing math atMetea \talley Hlgh Schod in Auron aftergoing toth€ Uni$ersity of lilinois"

Megan Trant

Ben Westergaard

Unernptoyed THE FUTURE? Afur lgr:aduate, lwant to be

XIW MIIw IOBS APPI,JED FOR 1F20 an architect and have nry own firm.

Conrpf,ld by JT nnrs,Catherine O"*t, Ufkq, fmnm ald t{koh Sosryrsld

Out of school, into marketGraduates are entering a job market

where the nationwide unemploymentrate was 9.7 pereent in August. Tbemarket is worse for people il Illinois,with a state unemployment rate of ro.5percent in fuly, and even harsher in theChicago, Naperville and ]oliet area,where it reached ro.7 percent thatsame month, according to the U.S.Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Many young graduates fall withinthe zo-to-24 age group, whieh is facedwith the largest national unemploy-ment rate - r5.z percent.

Graduates are being hit hard in theeconomic downturn, wiih hiring col-lege grads straight out of school downg percent, according to a RecruitingTrends Research Report fromMichigan State University's CollegiateEmployment Research Institute.

There have been fewer positionsposted by employers through theCenter of Professional Excellence atElmhurst College, said Peggy Killian,director of career education at thecenter.

"They just don't have the positions,or they've had to cut back and have ahiring freeze," Killian said.

Of the iobs available, many are

A(#,22

TOWil Etmhurst

COLLEGE University of itlinois

MAJOR Mathematics. with a minor in sec-ondary education

GRADUATED MAY 2OO9

JOBSIATUS Employed by Indian PrairieSchootDiatrict 204, wilt be a math teacherat Metea Valtey High khoot

HOW MANYJOBSAPPLIED FOR BEFORE

GETT|N6 HIRED Apptied for teaching posi-

tions in at least l0 ditferent schoot districtsbefore getting hired. Megan is retieved tohave been hired so quickty after giadua-tion; especially since applying for iobs was anerve-wrecking experience. Megan's parents

are absotutely thritted and excited for her tostart her new life and career.

AGE22

TOWNGten Eltyn

COI,IEGE Univenity of lltinois atChampaign-Urbana

MAJOR Architecture

GRAIXTAIED May 2009

EMPLOYMEHTSTATUS

WHAT ARE YOIJ DOING IIOW?t'm workine part-tinre jobs forneighborc

ARE YOU COilSIDERING GRADSCH@L? I'm going to gmd schoolat University of lllinois because the

iob marketstink.

U/HAT ARE YdJR PL/AI{S FOR

inapshotsrnnu burbantifd.Com/80379 6 Staff photo byErica Benson

Eager,UNElanded in a hostile iob market. NoW it's September and they're stitt wai

being filled by older candidates whohave more experience in the workforce.That makes it difficult for recent collegegraduates to compete with candidateswho have worked in the field for years,said Sarah Zehr, assistant dean and direc-tor of career services for the College ofEngineering at the University of Illinoisat Urbana-Champaign.

"Many people are looking at, oraccepting, jobs below their level,', Zehrsaid.

Parenti has applied to about io jobs.She says it's possible she willbe offeredone of them, but with so many peopleapplying for the same positions, it will bedifficr:lt.

"My main job for the summer is find-ing a full-time job," Parenti said.

Crowding the call for helpMairreen Roach, senior assistant diree-

tor of the career center at Illinois StateUniversity, said the centerhas become crowded inrecent months with stu-dents and alumni comingto take advantage oftheservices.

"The comment I've beenhearing is, 'I didn't think itwonld take this long to finda job,"'Roach said.

A common sentiment shehears from students is thatthey will take any job offered- an attitude unheard of afew years ago when the mar-ket was stronger.

Throughout the past few months,Parenti has broadened her own horizonsin hopes of securing a full-time position,She originally was seeking a job in publicrelatibns or event planning because shehad internships in both those fields, butshe said she's now open to a job in mar-keting, advertising or publishing.

In this economy, graduates need toaccept they might not be getting theirdream jobs right out of college and needto be more flexible with the jobs offeredto them, said Gail Rooney, director ofUniversity of Illinois' career center.

When the economy is stronger, gradu-ating students are able to make moredemands of employers, Rooney said. Thatisn't the case now.

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"The biggest thing is you have to beless selective," Parenti said. ,,I don,tknow how many of my friends are in theirdream jobs - maybe none.,,

Before she was director of the careercenter at Wheaton College, Ita Fischerwas a law student graduating in the midstof an economic slump. It took almost twoyears, but she eventually found ajob intechnology.

"This generation doesn't know whatthat's like," Fischer said. ,,They've neverexperienced anything like this. Theydon't know how to handle it becausethey haven't had to."

Part-time, no-time,grad school

According to an exit suwey conductedby the University of lllinois, r8 percent of .

the suweyed students had acceptedfull-time jobs at the time of graduation, downfrom z4 pereent in zoo8.

This information corrob -orates a sfudyperformedby the National Associationof Colleges and Employers,which indicated only r9.7percent of the zoog gadu-ates who applied for jobshadthem.

The University of Illinoissurvey also included infor-mation about gaduateschool. In the survey, z4percent of participants had

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ii.:. beenacceptedtograduateschool for the following

academic year, as compared to zt percentinzooS.

According to figures from ElmhurstCollege's graduate school, applicationsfor fall zoog were up by almost tr percentfrom fall zoo8. In contrast, fall zooS hadseen a drop of seven percent in applica-tions from fall zoo7.

However, graduate school is not alwaysthe best option, said ]eff Denard, directorof Career Development at North CentralCollege. Graduate school makes somepeople more marketable, but the effectdepends on the industry.

"People have to ask themselves, ,Am Igoing to grad school for the right reason?'If you're hiding, grad school may not besuccessfirl." Denard said,

PLOYIThe Career CounselorPeggy Killain, director of career educ;Center for ProfessionaI ExcellenceElmhurst CollegeI90 Prospect Ave;Elmhurst(630) 6r7-3s00www.elmhurst.edu

What can students do to makethemselves more marketable?Lately we've been kicking things into highgear simply because of the economicdownturn. We stepped up opportunitiesfor students to network and get in front ofemployers. We atso urge students to getinternships and attend career fairs as muchas possibte. That is what they're going tohave to do much more than ever before.Students need to connect however they can,meet people and network the skills to pres-ent themselves well.

ls going to gnduate school beneficialtogetaiob?It seems like a tot of students are consideringgrad schoolmore than ever before. I think it

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The RecruiCarlBarnard, maKristen Krope, miCompany Advanrl90l Butterfietd t

Downers Grove(630) 4e3-9ritwww.advancedrr

t{hat specifictnit arcyou lookingfor in a additionagnduate? work exDeCommunication, and graduates that are sure volunteeraboutwhattheyVanttodoandarevery co[ege, Mspecific about it. They should be enthusiastic require a r

and engaged in the job search. We see some your footpeoplethataregenuinetyinterested,and recentlvirsome that are just there because they assume full-time i

they need to get a job. We like people who are though it:verycareer minded, and search fortheir job for he was inlafter cottege while they're stillat schoot.

DoesgradHow much experience is recommended? difierencrlf you have additionaleducation, certi- lf linterviefications or skilts, it may make you more stand out,competitive in the job market and open up scale. A GF

Compiled byAlllson Home

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PLOYID,and they're stitt waiting.

The Career CounselorPeggy Killain, director of career educationCenter for Professional ExceltenceEtmhurst Cottege190 Prospect Ave:Etmhurst(630) 617-3500www.elmhunt.edu

What can students do to makethemselves more marketable?Latety we've been kicking things into highgear simpty because of the economicdownturn. We stepped up opportunitiesfor students to network and get in front ofemployers. We atso urge students to getinternships and attend career fairs as muchas possibte. That is what they're going tohave to do much more than ever before.Students need to connect however they can,meet people and network the skills to pres-

ent themselves well.

ls going to gnduate school beneficiattogetaiob?It seems like a lot of students are consideringgrad school more than ever before. lthink it

is a very positive choice, especiattywith thewaythe industry isgoing. ln this dayandage, ybu almost need that degree because abacheto/s degree is atmost not enough any-more. There are also other options such asthe Peace Corps and Americorps that people

.might not havethought about before, butthey do open up other avenues.

How has your advice to studentschanged nowwith the economy?They have to work harder than ever before,have patience and keep at it on an everydaybasis. Graduates have to use every resourcebecause time is of the essence. We have alot of students attending more businessprograms because they realize they need tobe participating.

The RecruiterCar[ Barnard, managing director/recruiter, andKiisten Krope, managing directorCompany Advanced Resources1901 Butterfield Road, No.l90DownersGrove(630) 493-9ilrwww.advancedresources.com

What specifictrait arc you looking for in agnduate?Communication, and graduates that are sureabout what theyVant to do and are veryspecific about it. They shoutd be enthusiasticand engaged in the iob search. We see somepeople that are genuinely interested,andsome that are iust there because they assumethey need to get a job. We like people who arevery career minded, and searchfor their job foraftercollege while they're stillat school.

How muth experience is recommended?lf you have additionaleducation, certi-fications or skills, it may make you morecompetitive in the job market and open up

Compited by Allison Home

additionaldoors. lf you don't have muchwork experience, you need to considervolunteering or taking an internship aftercollege. Maybe even take a job that doesn'trequire a college degree, at least to getyour foot in the door for a large company. I

recently interviewed someone who worked afull-time iob while working for a degree eventhough it wasn't related to the type of workhe was interested in.

Does gnde point average make adiffercnce?lf I interview l0 gnduates, a fuw are going tostand out whether on the top or bottom ofthescale. A GPA shows how diligent studentsare.