Up for discussion: Job prospects improve for grads

The job outlook appears to be improving for the Class of 2011.

More companies are hiring, according to the Internship and Career Center on campus, and national statistics bear that out.

Marcie Kirk-Holland, project manager at the center, says the prospect for soon-to-be graduates is “better than in the past couple of years.” She said hiring is up among the organizations that attend the career fairs held on campus several times a year. The next is April 7.

A survey of the National Association of Colleges and Employers shows expected college hiring for the class of 2011 is up slightly from 2010, but significantly from 2009, when hiring and recruitment actually decreased.

The association tracks intended hiring among prospective employers — with 62 percent of recent job survey participants showing a particular interest in hiring graduates with a bachelor’s degree in business, engineering or computer science.

Skills count

Skills and experience — rather than a specific major or course of study — are the critical components in landing a job, says Kirk-Holland. “What your major is can be important, but what is really important are the skills you are developing,” she says.

Of particular interest to employers? Clear, professional writing, basic computer skills and foreign language skills. Kirk-Holland says a minor offered by the University Writing Program is a good way of providing students with something valuable to add to a skills-based resume.

Basic computer knowledge or programs such as Excel also look good on a resume, as does foreign language proficiency gleaned from learning to speak another language well enough to travel abroad.

Kirk-Holland favors students peppering their studies with courses that yield a tangible skill — data management skills for a student who wants to work in a nonprofit or knowledge of sound equipment for a theater or film student.

But Kirk-Holland says all employers are especially interested in hiring students who are proficient in skills useable in all workplaces — and they want students who have had some experience working somewhere — even if that work experience was gained through an internship.

Get experience

“Most employers don’t want to be your first employer,” said Kirk-Holland. “Even if your first job is part time or an internship, you’re learning to be on time, you are learning professional expectations and you are developing your professional persona.”

The center places more than 6,000 interns each year and maintains a database of opportunities. Those internships can yield important connections and references — and they can also help students develop the skills they need to express on their resume just what they hope to do — and what they already are capable of doing in the workplace.

The center also provides resume and job-seeking assistance through ongoing workshops and a library of career-related resources.