Tampa (The Tampa Tribune) – University of South Florida senior Nina Kavanaugh is graduating this weekend with a degree in business management.
“I chose business management as my major because I knew a good job would come out of it,” said Kavanaugh, 22.
Now she is facing the harsh reality of the job market.
She – like many college seniors – fears she will have to settle for whatever job is available.
“It’s not a good feeling,” Kavanaugh said. “Getting a degree feels like it’s not doing much nowadays. My goal was to graduate in four years, and now that I did, it’s like, what do I do now?”
Kavanaugh recently accepted a marketing internship at Dillard’s in hopes that she will land a job in business management.
She is optimistic.
“When I started college four years ago, the job market was in stable condition. But in the past few years it has become unstable,” Kavanaugh said. “I think it’ll take some time, but it should be back up in the next few years.”
Even in these tough times, college graduates generally are faring better in the work force than those without degrees.
But many local students are realizing they may have to move out of the Bay area to find work.
The Bay area’s unemployment rate in March was 10.4 percent, while the national rate was 9 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
USF senior Christina Cruz is a broadcast news major who is sending out resumes and demo tapes weekly.
“It’s kind of scary knowing nobody’s hiring at this point,” said Cruz, 23, who is working full time at a credit card processing company. “Anybody who is hiring is either in Indiana or North Dakota. I could have to move far away from my family.”
Tapping into resources
According to collegegrad.com, those with degrees in telecommunications and finance might be in the best position to land a coveted entry-level position. The Web site’s annual entry-level hiring survey found that Verizon Wireless is projected to fill the most jobs, at more than 13,000.
Other top employers of entry-level workers in 2009 are expected to be Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the Internal Revenue Service and Progressive Insurance.
Competition is stiff.
“People are not hiring,” said Drema Howard, director of the USF Career Center. “It’s just more competitive, and you have to do a lot more things to be able to stand out.”
More students are turning to professionals for help.
“In 2008, the Career Center had contact with more than 20,000 students,” Howard said. “The turnout continues to grow.”
The center offers career planning, assessments, resume critiques, workshops, outreach programs and job fairs.
Career fairs are held a few times each semester. The fairs were packed with job-seekers this semester, but the number of employers decreased.
In the fall, there were 178 recruiters collecting resumes and setting up interviews for internships. This spring, the number fell to 107.
The Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance is another resource for graduates.
The alliance, a citywide organization that focuses on job placement, provides help with resume writing and interviewing, and offers a professional networking forum.
In the past year, about 30 more students attended the weekly networking meetings, said Alfredia Mulkey, the Workforce Alliance’s business-executive professional recruiter.
“They know there aren’t as many jobs as in the past, so they’re just trying to get a head start,” Mulkey said.
Considering graduate school
Other students are opting to wait out the sour job market in school.
Last year, USF international business major Hugo Castro found himself in a position similar to that of Kavanaugh.
Castro, 23, was supposed to graduate in 2008, but instead he is trying to make himself more marketable by earning a second degree and special certifications.
“I’d rather stay in school for a little while longer and maybe get one more degree,” Castro said. “I plan to graduate in spring 2010.”
He is trying to set up internships in the United States and overseas.
Graduate school also is a possibility.
“Nowadays, a bachelor’s degree isn’t really what it used to be a few years ago,” he said. “A master’s degree is really on my mind because if you want to get ahead in your career, you most likely need a master’s.”
USF’s graduate school applications rose 11.3 percent this year, according to USF News. Other universities report a similar trend. The University of North Carolina had an 8 percent increase this year. The University of Texas reported a 24 percent increase, compared with two years ago.
Mulkey said putting a career search on hold for graduate school isn’t a bad idea.
“I think it all depends on what area they wanted to go into,” she said. “If they’re in a field on decline, I would say it’s best to stay and get the graduate degree so they can come out with a higher skill set and become more marketable. If they’re in a field like IT or health care, it may be beneficial to come out now and be ahead of the game a year or two from now.”
Kavanaugh is considering her options.
“College graduates are competing with unemployed people who already have job experience,” she said. “Having a master’s may give someone a bit of a competitive edge. Grad school is definitely something I’ll look into.”
By Kristen Martinez, Phil Neary and Jessica Stone
May 1, 2009
source: tbo.com
photo credit: Margan Zajdowicz