May 20, 2009 7:41 am US/Eastern
College Grads Concerned About Finding A Job
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
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Four years of hard work and diploma in hand, thousands of college grads are heading out to the real world in search of their first job.
CBS
Four years of hard work and diploma in hand, thousands of college grads are heading out to the real world in search of their first job. But amid a recession and record unemployment, it's the toughest job markets grads have faced in decades.
Mary Bubala explains why many graduates are concerned.
As college students pack up for the semester, seniors are scrambling for their first job post-graduation in the worst recession of their generation.
"It's tough. I still haven't found anything yet," said Alis Freeman, a criminal justice major.
"That's going to be my main thing when I get home--make a list and deciding what would be best for the future," said journalism major Molly Hooven.
One in five graduates surveyed by the Associated Press says they'll take on more school instead of getting a job this year. The study also shows one in five graduates has at least one parent who lost a job, adding to the pressure and the competition.
"There are brand new emerging professions who just graduated college but also incumbent workers that have to jump back into the job market because they just got laid off," said Art Taguding.
Of course there's no perfect formula, but the 2009 graduates who are having success in this job market say they started early and used their network.
"I lucked out. I got in with some connections, networking, family friends. And most of my friends who were able to get jobs, the networking really helped them out," said business major John Paul Hoffmen.
"It's definitely, definitely hard job-hunting out here. I've been on the grind, trying to look for a job for a couple months now," said Kyndra Brown, who double majored in biology and psychology.
She has one interview next week.
Advice from corporate America is to adjust expectations.
"I should think college graduates should be looking for salaries of no more than 50-60% of what was seen four years before the recession took hold," said Morris Segall.
Industries somewhat insulated from the recession include government and health care.
Economists warn 2010 graduates could face the same dismal job market.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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