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After-school hunting

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After four years of college (five for some super seniors) ASU students are often fearful of leaving the comfort of college life for the real world.

“It kind of scares me not knowing where I’m going to be working or what I’m going to be doing after college yet,” says public relations senior Adrianna Bigard. Bigard says she has done internships and gained contacts for networking, but she still doesn’t have a clear picture of where she wants to work.

On the other hand, there are those who are eager and feel ready to depart from college. “I’m ready to get out there, and I’m excited about the job possibilities I will have after school because, hopefully, I will be doing something that I enjoy and my hard work will have paid off,” says psychology junior Erin Mahoney.

Whether a student is apprehensive or enthusiastic about getting into a career, the job world is changing. With a suffering economy and a national unemployment rate estimated above 7 percent in 2008 and expected to rise, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Web site, it’s natural to worry. Many wonder how all of those early morning lab classes and treacherous finals will pay off if an awesome job isn’t waiting upon graduation. College students of all years, fear not. There’s still a world of opportunity out there for ASU graduates.

Grads won’t be the only ones working to break into a job of choice. Employers are not only going to have to fight for the head of the class, but they’re going to have to compete for the average, well-rounded grads as well — in 2010 there will be two workers leaving the skilled labor market (aka jobs that require a degree) for every one worker entering, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Web site. Baby boomers are clearing out their offices for a generation of new job seekers.

A sick economy won’t kill job availability

Kitty McGrath, Executive Director of Career Services at ASU, says the job outlook for 2009 graduates and beyond is more optimistic than would be expected for an ailing economy. “The economy is clearly going to have an impact, but there are still jobs everywhere for skilled, talented people,” McGrath says.

No need to flee to other countries for a career just yet. Another phenomena will be creating job spaces for graduates to fill — baby boomers are reaching retirement age. Census data from 2004 say there are around 78 million baby boomers out there, and pretty soon, they’ll be found at tropical beaches more often than boardroom meetings.

“There’s certainly going to be a number of openings that result from a growing number of people leaving or retiring from the labor force,” McGrath says. As mom and dad’s demographic continues to age, they’re going to need more medical care — therefore, there will be an increased availability of jobs in healthcare, and other professions that offer services to elderly crowds.

There won’t only be openings in jobs offering baby boomer-targeted services. In all skilled labor professions, there’s going to be a need for degree-holding graduates, says McGrath. “Companies that are looking for skilled workers are going to be redoubling their recruiting efforts.”

Thank you baby boomers, now go enjoy the golden years.

Grads seeking jobs, jobs seeking grads

It’s comforting to know there will be jobs available for graduates, regardless of the tanking economy — but what should graduates want in a job? “First and foremost, students look for work that they consider to be intrinsically interesting and challenging,” McGrath says. Psychology senior Chloe Barry says she ideally would like a job in the public schooling system. “It’s special to me because I want to feel like I’m making a difference, money isn’t the most important aspect,” Barry says.

McGrath says a first career job is no exception — grads should do something they enjoy, finances permitting. “Graduates do not have to take a highly undesirable job unless their financial circumstances are very difficult and they absolutely must work immediately,” McGrath says. McGrath reminds grads not to be overly idealistic about a first career, and also not to feel obligated to accept the first job that bites if it’s not a good fit.

McGrath says another important asset of a first job is the potential for advancement in a company. A job that has a potential for upward mobility is more desirable than a position that will lock in an employee to limited promotional opportunities.

And no one can forget about the money. “Salary is a major consideration, but a degree of job security is becoming more significant,” McGrath says. That means while entry salary is high on the career checklist, in economic hard times it can be more important having a job that won’t fold and leave employees, well, unemployed.

McGrath says it isn’t enough for employers to wait until grads come knocking. “Organizations that become active on university campuses, that interact with student organizations, that participate in career fairs and networking events, and generally invest time in the institution are much more likely to be successful in recruiting talent.”

ASU offers the Sun Devil CareerLink Web site for employers and students to connect. There are over 15,000 local and national employers that use Sun Devil CareerLink to match up with ASU students and sign up for career fair recruitments.

“Sun Devil CareerLink has many functions, aside from job and internship listings,” McGrath says. The Web site is a huge database that is searchable by employers looking for qualified students. “It’s also useful for students to identify representatives of firms in the employer database to contact about possible openings,” McGrath says.

“It behooves students about a year prior to their graduation to invest in themselves by conducting an active job search so that they will not find themselves in a bind,” McGrath says.

Resources like the ASU career service offices located on each of the ASU campuses and the Sun Devil CareerLink Web site are excellent ways to network and prepare for life after college.

Be prepared, it’s never too early

McGrath and other experts agree, it’s never too early to get started preparing for a career after college.

It’s crucial to do research, and stay informed with what’s going on in the business world. “Nothing beats thorough research on the organizations and the type of position. Without those two things, all of the other efforts students make will fall short,” McGrath says. A way students of all ages can keep tabs on the job market is to read up on which companies are successful and which companies are struggling.

There are plenty of indicators to determine how a corporation is doing — the value of a company’s stock is one. Watch financial news or go online to the Bloomberg or Nasdaq Web site to follow the stock market trends and see which companies are staying above the economic fallout.

Also, aim to learn about your desired profession in every way possible. In-depth information about what a profession entails, what professions have job openings, and how much an employee can expect to make in a given field of work can be found on the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics Web site, www.bls.gov.

Another important tool for being job ready is having an internship or two under the belt. Most companies want to hire employees who have exhibited an ability to do the job that they are seeking — a hands-on internship is a great sign of preparedness to an potential employer.

According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics Web site, employees who had participated in internships related to their profession received higher entry level salaries and have higher probability of promotions.

Another advantage of interning is if the job was done well, the intern may be asked to stay as an employee at the company — potentially beating other outside hopefuls who want the same spot. Building a resume, staying informed and getting hands-on experience won’t always guarantee the job — that’s where networking comes into play.

Although sometimes we don’t like to admit it, whom you know can be very important, especially when it comes to getting a job. Family in the company, past internship directors, even ASU professors can be influential references that might make the difference in getting a shot at an interview.

Clubs and fraternity/sorority affiliations can be an asset as well — the interviewer just might have been a Sigma Chi brother or a member of the Public Relations Student Society of America. Name-dropping, when done effectively and with discretion, can help.

Insurance and benefits not to be forgotten

“Graduates should look carefully at the types of benefits offered by the organization,” McGrath says. Benefits include everything from dental and medical insurance, savings plans, bonuses — even vacation time.

“A good healthcare plan supported by contributions from the employer is a must,” she says. Mom and dad won’t be able to extend insurance to graduates long after graduation, making it crucial that job seekers find positions that offer medical and dental coverage. McGrath says fewer organizations today pay for 100 percent of an employee’s healthcare insurance than was the case previously, so it’s important to find out what the contribution will be and what the plan covers. “Even if you don’t think that you’ll need healthcare coverage in the short term, it’s important to have coverage” McGrath says. “Those without healthcare insurance are running an enormous risk of putting all of their current assets as well as future earnings at risk,” McGrath says.

A retirement savings plan is another asset grads should look for in a career. “It sounds unnecessary to someone who is 22, but do the math,” McGrath says. She says starting to save toward retirement early in one’s career means a lifetime of savings and as well as accrued interest. “Manage your portfolio carefully because it is becoming rare for a company to provide full retirement benefits, and we have a crisis building in our Social Security system,” she says.

There’s the basic benefits, but cool perks play a roll in enticing graduates to jobs as well. “Lots of publications print lists of what they bill as the top 50 organizations to work for,” McGrath says. Fortune Magazine and other top publications often release a yearly feature on the best companies to work for and reveal exciting perks intrigue prospective employees.

Google is the prototype for highly desirably companies to work for and scored the No. 1 spot on Fortune Magazine’s 2008 top 100 employers to work for. Google, and other companies ranked on the list, don’t just want their employees to have good jobs, they want their employees to have great lives as well. Google helps enrich employee lives by offering onsite gyms, employee cruises and dog-friendly offices, to name a few perks. Recent ASU graduate Lauren Watson says working for Google would be her dream job. “It’s amazingly hard to get an interview at Google, but who wouldn’t want to work for a company that makes your outside life easier?” Watson says.

Genentech, a top biotech firm, is another company high on Fortune’s list. Genentech touts paid sabbaticals, onsite childcare, benefits to same-sex partners — even an onsite farmer’s market at their San Francisco headquarters.

Fortune Magazine reports their list is employee driven, with two-thirds of the scoring is based on how employees answered survey questions about happiness levels in work life and the quality of culture in the workplace.

Other companies that made the list include Genentech, Starbucks and Whole Foods. For the full list, visit http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2008/

McGrath says while cool jobs perks are enticing, she doesn’t put as much importance into what the magazines report as the best companies to work for because what is important to one job seeker isn’t necessarily of same importance to another. “It’s really true that an ‘awesome’ career is in the eye of the beholder,” McGrath says.

Reach the reporter at michelle.masek@asu.edu.


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