Tough Job Market Awaits 2003 Graduates, Survey Shows
By JEFFREY R. YOUNG
from The Chronicle of Higher Education Online Edition
November 22, 2002
Joel Haist, a senior at Michigan State University, knows that
he is going to have to "work it from all angles" to land a job
when he graduates in May, and he says some of his friends are
applying to graduate schools as a backup in case no job
prospects pan out.
The class of 2003 faces a bleak labor market, though one that
is slightly improved over last year's, according to a national
survey conducted by the Collegiate Employment Research
Institute at Michigan State.
While the survey indicates that overall hiring will be down by
1 percent from last year, the job market shows many signs of
having stabilized and of improving soon, says Philip D.
Gardner, the institute's director. Of the 390 companies that
responded, the majority reported that they expect hiring to
pick up by the end of the first quarter of next year.
"This year's going to be better than last year," says Mr.
Gardner. "I've seen employers a little more positive than last
year. With 9/11, it was just really, really bad."
The market will also be uneven, he says, with fields like
engineering and computer science continuing to face slowdowns,
while retail and some liberal-arts fields improve.
Mr. Gardner advises graduates to work hard to find a job that
is the ideal fit, and to work hard to sell themselves to
companies.
"Graduates are going to have to know who they are," Mr.
Gardner says. "They're going to have to take some time and
know what they want."
Mr. Haist, a communications major who is now applying for
jobs, says he is taking that advice to heart.
He recently interviewed for a job at Dow Chemical, and he has
since followed up with an e-mail thank-you note. He also asked
a friend who works for the company to put in a good word for
him.
He says he is "anxiously optimistic" that he will have a job
lined up by the time he dons his cap and gown.
A report on the survey, "Recruiting Trends, 2002-2003," can be
ordered online from the institute's Web site.