First job search: what you can (realistically) expect
As college grads enter the real world this month, many have high hopes. A recent survey by Yahoo! HotJobs found college seniors feeling positive about the job market, in many cases justifiably so. However, the actual process of searching for a job may not be quite so rosy once recent graduates hit the pavement. Here are some tips on how to approach your first job search with a dose of realism:
Yes, the job market is getting better. The April Yahoo! survey of college seniors in six states found that 68 percent of students were optimistic about finding a full-time job in their desired field, which seems to square with what those who are doing the hiring have in mind. CareerBuilder.com says that 70 percent of hiring managers plan to recruit recent graduates this year, up from 62 percent in 2005. "The increased demand for educated labor is translating into a robust hiring outlook and bigger payoff for college graduates entering the job market this year," says Brent Rasmussen, chief operating officer of CareerBuilder.com.
Your salary expectations may not be realistic. While Yahoo! says that 42 percent of graduates expect a starting salary of $50,000 or more, CareerBuilder found that only 7 percent of hiring managers actually plan to offer that much. First-time job seekers' expectations are often based on what their friends are making, and that's just not realistic, says Ginger Goldsbury, associate director of career services for the University of Massachusetts–Amherst. She recommends that recent grads search salary.com for a correct understanding of the salary range in a specific career field and geographic region.
Your choice of field makes a big difference. Recent college graduates are being heavily recruited in the fields of sales, accounting/finance, healthcare, education, customer service, and administration, CareerBuilder found. Many college seniors wisely chose finance/business (20 percent) and healthcare (13 percent) as the field they will search for employment in, reports Yahoo! However, other seniors would prefer employment in arts and entertainment (13 percent) and advertising, public relations, and marketing (19 percent), where hiring is not quite so hot.
Get an idea of what managers want. When looking for a job, college seniors want a company with a good reputation (60 percent), a well-defined career path (56 percent), and a strong starting salary (58 percent), Yahoo! found. Hiring managers, on the other hand, are looking for candidates with relevant experience (23 percent), a good fit with company culture (21 percent), educational background (19 percent), enthusiasm (12 percent), and new ideas and questions (8 percent), CareerBuilder says. To their credit, many seniors are off to a good start. Some have visited job-search websites (49 percent), career centers (42 percent), asked friends and family about jobs (56 percent), and spoken with people in their first-choice career field (46 percent), Yahoo! found. These are all steps in the right direction.
Looking longer is OK. Yahoo! HotJobs found that 69 percent of college seniors believe they will find a job within three months of graduation, up from 52 percent in 2005. But graduates shouldn't be afraid to take their time job searching. Seniors shouldn't just take the first job offer because they're feeling desperate and then renege when something better comes up, says Goldsbury. "They should expect to take more time than that. If they start right after graduation, it could take longer than three months." But most seniors do expect to start their first full-time job at the bottom and work their way up (68 percent), Yahoo! found. "It may be that you don't land your dream job out of the gate," says Susan Vobejda, vice president of marketing at Yahoo! HotJobs. "It's a marathon, not a sprint."
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