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Hiring Trends for 2014 and 2015 Graduates

Good news abounds for the job market. In a recent weekly address, President Obama announced, “Our businesses have now added nearly ten million jobs over the past 52 months. The unemployment rate is at its lowest point since 2008 – the fastest one-year drop in nearly 30 years.”

In the Current Employment Statistics Survey Summary, July, 2014, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, “Over the past three months, employment has increased by an average of 245,000 jobs per month.” (http://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/ceshighlights.pdf)

“Furthermore,” the White House states, “this is the first time since September, 1999 – January, 2000 we have seen a total job growth above 200,000 for five straight months.”

But how are college graduates doing?

According to a June, 2014 student survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, 30.1 percent of the class of 2014 had jobs at graduation. This figure shows a slight improvement from the Class of 2012’s 29.8 percent and 2011’s 29.3 percent. If the economy continues to improve, the class of 2015 could benefit even more.

Which graduates do best in the job market?

Traditionally, finance, accounting, computer science and engineering degree recipients fare best, and that is still the case. There is improvement though, for liberal arts, history, math, and education (K through 12) graduates. Interestingly, the computer science field has been underserved by graduates for the past few years.

“There's not enough graduates to meet the demands in the computer science field. The skill sets are very demanding and the new grads may not be the most competitive for those jobs,” said Edwin Koc, director of research, public policy, and legislative affairs for NACE. “Bachelor’s degrees are no longer adequate, and one-third to one-half of the Master’s and Ph.D. level graduates in this field are not U.S. citizens and are challenged by the difficult Visa laws.”

So, in a job market that appears to be promising, how does one stand out in the sea of applicants?

“There is no magic bullet,” Koc said. “Job seekers have to follow the same time-tested job search methods they have already heard.”

Are you a new graduate looking for a job? Follow these steps:

Work your network: Getting a job is harder than working. You have to research opportunities. Find networking contacts for the inside jobs.

Use college career centers to gain a lot of information and helpful advice.

Refine your resume: the most attractive resumes highlight the skill sets, courses, experience, internships and co-ops that match the jobs for which you apply.

Don’t be narrow-minded: Be open to the possibilities of different jobs and career fields. Use O*Net Online (www.onetonline.org) to find jobs and careers that are related to the ones you think you want.

Treat your job search like a job: “When you are unemployed you need to work 10 to 12 hours a day at finding a job,” Koc said. “Be persistent. The harder you work, the more likely you'll be successful. And, when you do land a job, you will already be used to working hard.”

 

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