Job market worries grads

In response to the current economic recession, the Career Center has worked to broaden its services for students in the schools of Liberal Arts and Science and Engineering.

In the current economic climate, career centers across the nation have had to work with less.

According to a National Association of Colleges and Employers survey, approximately 55 percent of universities will have to run their career centers on less funding this year. NACE has also found that since the credit crunch, the hiring of new college graduates has continued to take place, though at rates lower than those of previous years.

Tulane doesn’t have complete statistics pertaining to its graduates’ success finding jobs post-graduation because graduates give information on a voluntary basis.

Tulane Career Center Director Barry Thompson said that it is important for universities to stay up-to-date with their students’ needs. The Career Center has made many of its services and databases available to students online and has experimented with online chats.

“A career center has to be on the cutting edge of where the population is,” Thompson said. “I like to think that we’re moving in that direction.”

Thompson said that as a result of the current economic situation, the number of graduates utilizing the career center has increased. He has also seen more students choosing to go to graduate school now, as opposed to when the economic climate was better. The percentage used to be 30 - 40 percent; now it is approximately 50 percent.

Alumnus Eric Couper said he chose to apply to graduate school rather than enter the workforce when he graduated last May. He is currently pursuing a Master’s of Development Practice at Columbia University.

“Of my closest friends, all but one of them chose to continue their education after college,” Couper said.

Alumnus Jordan Butler is pursuing his master’s at Tulane having graduated in May with no job offers for the fall. He said he noticed that a lot of employers were demanding more experience than in the past.

“I decided to apply to graduate school and get that experience they were looking for,” Butler said.

Thompson said that making connections and marketing yourself well are the two most essential parts of a job search.
“More than 80 percent of jobs today are found through networking,” Thompson said. “I’ve read article after article that that’s a skill that’s missing from this generation.”

Alumna Jenny Groves also graduated in May and was able to utilize networking to find a job at the Newcomb-Tulane College Office of Cocurricular Programs. Groves initially worried about finding a job after graduation, but eventually found one through a connection she made while working on a play.

“I feel like the best thing you can do is take every opportunity to network,” Groves said. “Every acquaintance you make is an opportunity to make a career connection. Remember that you are always selling yourself. If you’re looking to stay in New Orleans, understand that the community isn’t that big. There are always only a few degrees of separation between people, so it is important to always make a good impression.”

Groves said, however, that her experience with job hunting was unique.

“I feel like I was the exception, not the rule, of how finding a job has been for most of my classmates,” Groves said. “I was the first out of my close friend group that did the whole process from beginning to end and got the full package deal. There are still so many in our class who are struggling to find a full-time position career versus a part-time job.”