The job outlook for college seniors graduating in 2005 is steadily improving, according to a recent survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, a nonprofit group based in Bethlehem, Pa.
NACE publishes a survey every year of its employer members and their employment projections for future graduates in the upcoming year.
"The employers are nationwide and from different sectors," said Andrea Koncz, employment information manager at NACE.
Employer members pay an annual membership fee to receive the benefits of being connected to statistical and general information about the current college-graduate market, she said.
"We do a lot of surveys and collect a lot of information about the college-educated workforce," Koncz said.
NACE asked employers in the Winter 2005 update to the Job Outlook 2005 survey if they were adjusting their employment projections. Twenty-five percent of employers surveyed increased their projection numbers, and 62.5% said their projections would remain the same, Koncz said.
Katherine Stahl, executive director at the AU Career Center, agreed with Koncz that the job outlook is improving.
"We are seeing a more positive environment," Stahl said. "In the fall, we had a much better job fair, better than a couple of years ago."
"Employers have been eager" to sign up for this spring's job fair, she said. Thirty employers have already signed up for the March 24 fair, and the Career center is hoping for about 110 to 120 total.
The demand for investment bankers and consultants has increased, two areas that "just died after 2000 and 2001," Stahl said.
However, the job market is still not what it once was four years ago when "a huge surge" of employers were looking for students, she said.
NACE's employer members are mostly employers from the business, government, engineering, and service sectors. The survey did not account for jobs that require more liberal arts degrees. Is there still a demand for liberal arts majors?
"Liberal arts majors who have an interest in working hard and researching what they want to do... especially if they've had an internship - there's always a need for [them]," Stahl said.
[Washington Post section could be added here, or even after student comments.]
Olivia Clayton, a senior majoring in broadcast journalism in the School of Communication, was one of the lucky job-seekers who had an internship.
"I interned at 'America's Most Wanted' last semester, and now I'm working part-time," she said.
The part-time job should turn into a full-time job after she graduates, Clayton said.
Clayton attributed her current position to staying late at work, making sure co-workers noticed her hard work, and having good luck.
"I was very lucky," she said. "One of the production assistants was leaving."
She now has that former production assistant's job.
The broadcast journalism industry is tough to break into, Clayton said. Two friends of hers who graduated earlier have not had her luck.
"Broadcast journalism is very hard, especially if you want to be a TV reporter, but a production assistant is a good way... to get your foot in the door," she said.
Andrea Vazzano is a senior literature major in the College of Arts and Sciences who has a job as an editorial intern.
"I work specifically to go into book publishing," Vazzano said. "It's very complicated and very difficult to break into."
Vazzano also has friends who have not had much luck with the industry in New York.
"They all say it's difficult to break into, but eventually you'll find something," she said.
Stahl wants AU students to take advantage of the resources available at the Career Center and on AU Career Web.
"Now our frustration is getting students to go on AU Career Web" and register, she said.
Stahl also emphasized the importance of knowing basic interview skills. Most job-seekers just out of college do not know how to "write and speak effectively," and many "don't understand basics," she said.
Students must know how to present themselves at interviews, and they also must look for the right job for their own personal talents and interests, Stahl said.
"What employers want to see is interest and someone who wants to work," Stahl said.
