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May 21, 2005
ONEONTA - College graduates this year are stepping off the commencement dais into a better job market, employers responding to a national survey said, and starting pay is up.
Hiring has increased 13 percent, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, based in Bethlehem, Pa., and 75 percent of the employers describe the market as good or very good as a result of economic improvements and business growth.
Employment statistics for the class of 2005 at two colleges in Oneonta aren’t available, career development administrators said this week, but anecdotes indicate better results and prospects for graduating seniors.
"There are a number of students who are finding success in the job market," said Shannon Forbes, director of career services at Hartwick College in Oneonta.
About 300 seniors will graduate from Hartwick College on May 28. Graduation at the State University College at Oneonta will be Saturday, when about 1,500 students will receive bachelor’s and advanced degrees.
Three local students who have jobs attribute their success to factors including guidance, polishing cover letters, experience, persistence and luck.
Neither SUCO nor Hartwick has many recruiters visit the campus, but both have career development staff. Students who start well before graduation tend to have invitations to interviews if not jobs by graduation, students said.
"My job search was pretty long — it started in January," said Pedro Mendoza, 22, who will graduate from Hartwick. Mendoza, who studied accounting and business management, will start work as a financial-planning agent for New York Life in Newburgh in June. The job will pay $38,000 annually, plus commissions, he said.
"I’m pretty happy I have a job," said Mendoza, who is from Middletown. During this past semester, he juggled classes and his job search, including traveling for about six interviews, he said.
Service-sector employers projected hiring 14 percent more graduates this year than last year, according to NACE, and manufacturers, 13 percent more. NACE’s Job Outlook 2005 Spring Update was conducted in April, and 216, or 22 percent, of 988 employers responded.
Forbes said other Hartwick seniors have reported accepting jobs with State Farm; IT Convergence, an e-business consulting firm; American Express; and the Peace Corps.
Career development programs designed to help
For the second year, Hartwick offered "The Passport to the Real World Series." Workshop topics included interviewing techniques, values in the workplace, business etiquette at meals and a fashion show to display professional attire.
A preliminary post-graduation report on the class of 2004 garnered a 68 percent response from 270 students, Forbes said. The results: 72 percent were employed; 23 percent were in graduate school; 2 percent were unemployed; and 3 percent were in other pursuits, such as in a job search, completing an internship or having a baby.
At SUCO, the career development office helps students research their market, mail out resumes, refine cover letters and prepare for interviews, said Rebecca Tinker, director of career development and student employment.
"I remind them the phone book is an excellent resource," Tinker said.
Among 80 to 90 responses in an informal survey of the graduating class, 15 or 20 seniors are graduating with jobs, including positions in teaching, insurance, human services and advertising, Tinker said, and about the same number are going to graduate school.
The student population at SUCO is stronger academically than five years ago, Tinker said, and that reflects in job-search results. Students who have found success in the classroom are motivated in their job search with positive results, she said.
"With this graduating class, we’ve been doing more cheering from the sidelines," Tinker said.
Job found through a website
Desiree Greenier, 21, a communications studies major at SUCO with a minor in advertising, attributes her job-search success to Tinker’s five-week mini-course on career preparation. After guidance from the classes, she contacted monster.com, a job-search website, which resulted in interviews at Bella Marketing Inc. on Long Island during spring break.
At the conclusion of a second interview, she was offered an entry-level consulting job with management training, Greenier said, with commission pay of $700 to $1,400 a week during the first six months. She starts July 5.
Greenier, who is from Binghamton, said she is happy to be relocating to Long Island, where her friends will be, instead of conducting a job search from home.
"I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders." Greenier said. "It’s a good opportunity. ... I’m just really excited to start my job and life after school."
Greenier, who has worked in the career development office critiquing resumes for students, said her advice to other seniors looking for work is: "Don’t give up. There’s someplace for everyone."
Spencer Garrett, 21, of Staten Island has already passed several tests required to become a New York City police officer, and he is waiting for a call to start at the academy. Garrett, a political science major with a criminal justice minor, said he decided about two years ago to apply.
Six or seven months after graduation, about 75 percent of new college graduates have jobs, and about 20 percent opt for additional education, according to NACE.
Pay up, survey says
NACE’s 2005 salary survey reported accounting graduates had an average starting salary of $43,809, up 3.9 percent from a year ago. Average business administration/management salaries at $39,448 were up 3.2 percent, and marketing graduates saw average salaries of $37,832, up 6 percent.
The starting salary for a liberal arts graduate was $30,337, up 4.2 percent, according to NACE data. NACE said internships can give students an advantage in the job search.
For Max Woolf, 22, a SUCO student from Rochester, an internship resulted in connections that turned into a job at Frontline, an advertising agency.
Woolf, an English and mass communications major, said he will be doing ad campaigns at Frontline for its biggest client, The Dorschel Automotive Group, where he was an intern last summer.
Woolf said he found the maxim his parents said about "it’s who you know not what you know" to be true in his job search. Negotiations with Frontline in Rochester started in December, he said, and the firm wanted him to start right away. Woolf said he had to finish college but would start May 31 at a $30,000 salary, plus benefits and two weeks paid vacation.
"A lot of my classmates are jealous," Woolf said. "I feel really lucky."
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