The economy isn't great, something we are all aware of, but something that is often overlooked are the challenges facing new grads entering the workforce.
The number of experienced employees seeking work has swelled over the past few months, companies are cutting back their forecasts and their hiring outlooks. If you think you are in a tough spot, you should empathize with all the new college grads that will be churned out this year. I think people who are older often underestimate the challenges facing recent college grads these days. Yes, most grads don't have kids they have to support right out of the gate and aren't necessarily tied down to a specific geographic area. But, they have also faced college costs that have skyrocketed over the past decade. The average private university will set students back well over $20,000 per year for tuition alone. Even public universities will run well over $20,000, over the course of a four year degree. New grads have a few months grace after graduation, then need to start making loan payments, car payments, rent and pay for all the expenses associated with starting out on your own.
Now these grads have a new battle... one against all the experienced hires prowling for work. The options may be fewer and ideal jobs harder to come by, but the good news is the recent grads will find work somewhere. As the WSJ notes today, there are some ways new grads can improve their odds. These include: 1) interning, 2) looking for fields where lots of boomers are retiring or will retire, 3) volunteer and keep your options open.
Personally, I think interning is the most valuable option, but it should be done WHILE you are in school. College students should get this out of the way over their four years at school so they can hit the ground running with a leg up come May. I'm all for college kids working cheap in the name of experience, but think its unfortunate so many take "unpaid" internships. There are paying gigs out there, you just have to look for them and knock on some doors that may not be advertising they are open . There are plenty of smart young (and established) companies ready and willing to take on a college kid who is willing to work hard and contribute. I contacted the local chamber of commerce in college and basically mail-bombed all the companies that looked like they might be interesting. I landed with a young financial company that was growing quickly and treated me great. The money was terrible, but I got paid and was rewarded with some nice bonuses on my way out. Oh yeah, and they were more than happy to pull strings and set me up with a real job elsewhere, even though it wasn't in their line of work.
Just remember new grads, you have some advantages over your experienced job-seeking counterparts. First, you are dirt cheap. Second, you aren't limited by "they way things work". I find that new grads are able to think outside the box better sometimes because they are less resistant to change than their older peers.
Are you a new (or soon to be grad), I'm interested to hear how your search is going and if you interned at all to set yourself up at graduation. Please leave a comment.
Image: telethon @ Flickr
