Graduates Having Hard Time Getting Foot in the Door

One man already had a bachelor's degree in economics but decided that a master's in public policy would make him more marketable.

Three months after earning that master's from the University of Maryland, he still hasn't found a job in his field and is settling for part-time work at the university's career center. Thirty years old and married with a baby on the way, he is working alongside undergraduates nearly 10 years younger.

Since February, he has applied for about 60 positions as a researcher or analyst for the federal government, the state government, nonprofit organizations, private companies, associations, anyplace he can think of.

He said he didn't think it would take this long. He also said it's even hard just to get an interview.

He is a victim of bad timing. During robust economic times, college students in undergraduate and graduate school programs would easily get multiple offers. As the economy teeters on the edge of recession, college graduates this year face a tough job market, leaving many without work in their fields or doing jobs that people without college degrees can do, career center officials said.

Most affected, the officials said, are those looking to break into the financial services industry, hard hit by the subprime mortgage crisis.

The numbers aren't pretty. Unemployment among 20- to 24-year-olds, the typical post-undergraduate age group, is sharply higher than the overall population. In the second quarter of this year, joblessness among this group reached 9.8 percent, according to the Labor Department. That is up from 7.7 percent last year at this time and 8.1 percent in the second quarter of 2001, about the time the last recession hit. Overall, unemployment rose to 5.7 percent in July from 5.5 percent the previous month, and the economy lost 51,000 payroll jobs.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers said employers offered higher starting salaries this year. That said, the increase in hiring recent college grads, especially in the financial services industry, has dropped considerably. Employers were expected to increase hiring 8 percent for the class of 2008, sharply below the 17.4 percent surge for the class of 2007.

The assistant dean and director of MBA career management at Georgetown University said they're trying to get them thinking about and planning for Plan B and Plan C in the event their first choice is not available.

The most desirable job candidates, career center officials and recruiters said, are those with engineering, information technology, math and science degrees. The job market in industries such as health care, information technology, accounting and biotechnology remains strong.

There are also geographic differences. The federal government and trade associations provide many opportunities in the Washington area, but other parts of the country are struggling more, career center directors and recruiters said.

One thirty-year-old man is hoping his Plan A will still pan out. A recent graduate of Georgetown's MBA program, he has been searching for a management consulting or marketing job since last year.

He has applied to about 50 companies in Boston, New York and all over the West Coast.

He said the first semester, the economy was still good. Jobs were aplenty. He didn't think there would be problems, but as soon as 2008 hit, the economy took a big downturn, and the jobs dried up. From last year to this year, it's changed quite a bit, and it's definitely been more difficult than he had anticipated, he said. The president of the Midtown Group, a hiring agency in Washington, noticed a shift, with several law firms, financial services companies and nonprofit organizations instituting hiring freezes. Many freezes have been lifted and jobs are available, she said, but applicants still have to be a lot more competitive these days.

She said this market is one that just really needs to be navigated. It's not like the old days where someone could pop a resume out there and get 15 interviews and five offers. You have to seek out opportunities more than in the past. In the past, they were coming to you, she said.

The Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank in Washington, found that college graduates might not be better off in other ways. After analyzing figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the institute found that there was a five percentage point decrease since 2001 in college graduates getting health insurance coverage. Fewer than half of young college graduates receive any form of pension coverage, the institute reported.

Some career center officials said they have heard of job offers being rescinded or jobs changing or being eliminated after the graduates arrive at work. Others say undergraduates are planning to wait out the economic downturn in graduate school.

Recruiters painted a mixed picture.

An area manager for a hiring agency said that jobs are available but that there are many more applicants to fill them. Ordinarily, when his recruiters post a job, they receive 100 or 150 resumes. Now they are getting more than 200.

How does one stand out in a market like this?

Don't rely only on Monster.com and other Web sites that match employers with job candidates, said recruiters and career center officials. If you are in college now, get as much experience as you can in your field, through internships or part-time work, even if it is unpaid.

Start your job search early, at least a semester or even a year ahead of graduation. Network as much as you can. Reach out to alumni. Join professional associations. Even use connections you have through relatives and friends.

And be open to jobs you might not have considered before.