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Erin graduated from college in May 2008 and was surprised at the lack of resources for college students about what the transition into the "real world" is really like. In an effort to share her experience as a recent college graduate and create a resource for college students and recent grads, she created College Grad Lessons.

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Job Forecast for College Grads

About two weeks ago, @Falldog sent me an article that he thought would be fitting for College Grad Lessons. The article, “Job Forecast for College Seniors: Grimmer Than Ever,” was featured in Time and highlights what many of us are experience or trying to avoid. For recent college graduates, like myself, having any job is considered lucky. This might mean a rough start to our ideal career path, but it’s a reality. For college students thinking about graduating from college, the grim job forecast means flexibility and preparation are imperative.

The article highlighted the colleges and universities are amping up their career services because grad school might not be the best option for student that already have loans and even those with job offers need to keep handing out their resume:

Meanwhile, schools are pulling out the stops to help students beat out the competition. Counselors everywhere are encouraging students to turn to their alumni networks for help. The University of Maryland has conducted workshops with an emphasis on networking. The career office shared by Haverford and Bryn Mawr recently gave each senior 50 business cards listing their name and major.

For students who have already managed to snag an offer, they might want to keep their business cards handy. According to NACE, as many as 8% of employers will be forced to rescind at least some of the offers they made in the fall. “In this economy, we don’t even use the terminology ’sewn up’ anymore,” says Roseborough. More like coming apart at the seams.

The college that I graduated from and currently work for has certainly increased the number of resume and job-hunting workshops, but honestly I don’t know if they are even throwing a career fair.

What is your college or university doing to help students find jobs in the tough economy?

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 15th, 2009 at 9:36 am and is filed under Finding a Job, Graduate School, Work. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

3 Responses to “Job Forecast for College Grads”

  1. Stacey Derbinshire Says:
    March 15th, 2009 at 10:01 am

    I just stopped by your blog and thought I would say hello. I like your site design. Looking forward to reading more down the road.

  2. Amber Says:
    March 15th, 2009 at 1:22 pm

    I’m not graduating this spring but finding an internship has been incredibly difficult. I’m a journalism and PR major and most companies/newspapers that were taking on internships before are not anymore, or there not paying. It’s hard and scary. I can’t imagine how all the grads are feeling this spring..

  3. Erin Says:
    March 15th, 2009 at 3:48 pm

    Stacey - Thanks! Let me know if you have any suggestions for posts.

    Amber - The digital PR internship I did last summer after graduating paid $9/hr. It was definitely a reality check that a college degree don’t make you entitled to a full-time, salaried job - even if you graduated with honors and a few internship on your resume. At the same time, I like to think that things work out in the long run. It might take time to find a job after college or a summer internship may have to be unpaid, but for me it helped guide me to do want I am happiest doing regardless of pay. Doing something for free is a good way to test how much you like it.