Job Prospects for College Grads Look Rosy
If you are a senior in college planning to graduate in 2007, your job prospects are looking better. Employers expect to hire 17.4 percent more new college graduates in 2007 than they hired in 2006, according to a recent E-mail survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Some 42.6 percent of the 257 employers who responded plan to maintain the number of college gradates they hire, up from 15.3 percent last year. Only 5 percent of the employers plan to decrease their entry-level hiring, down from 18.2 percent last year. But to get that first job, you have to know where to look.
The service sector will be hiring
"We're still seeing a very heavy emphasis on financial services employers interested in recruiting our students and recent grads," says Elaine Stover, associate director of career services at Arizona State University. NACE found that the largest increase in hiring (19.8 percent) is expected to be in the service sector, with smaller increases in hiring in the manufacturing (9.5 percent) and government/nonprofit (9 percent) sectors. In addition to financial services, the service sector includes banking, engineering, consulting, and computer software development jobs. MonsterTRAK, a job search website for students, says the highest number of entry-level-job postings are for jobs in accounting, financial analysis/research, human resources, and administrative positions.
Try the South
The biggest hiring gains will be in the South, predicts NACE, where employers expect to hire 25.5 percent more new college graduates, followed by the West (23 percent), Northeast (16.9 percent), and Midwest (10 percent). "There are definite differences in terms of supply and demand by state, so students must be aware of the market," says Warren Kistner, director of the career center at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Ill.
Go to the fair
"Employers are coming to job and internship fairs in record numbers," says Matt Berndt, director of career services at the University of Texas–Austin. Almost all the companies who responded (94.9 percent) plan to attend career fairs to market their organization (64 percent) and meet students face to face in an informal setting (44.7 percent).
Find companies that need fresh blood
The employers who anticipate hiring increases cited company growth as a major reason, but also a workforce close to retirement age, and attrition. Some 52 percent of employers report they expect to hire more new college graduates in 2007 than they hired in 2006, down from 66.5 percent of employers who planned to increase hiring last year.
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