College job market improving?

Careerbuilder’s Annual Job Forecast has found that the overall job market for 2010 college graduates, like myself, will remain highly competitive, but is thankfully showing signs of improvement! One-in-five employers who are hiring recent college graduates said they will hire more than they did last year. Even better? Sixteen percent also reported they will offer higher starting salaries than they did in 2009, a five percent improvement from last year’s survey! The National Association of Colleges and Employers Job Outlook 2010 Spring Update also reported that employers expect to hire 5.3 percent more new college graduates in 2009-10 than they did in 2008-09. Not a big change, but a glimpse of hope and motivation for us college graduates in this challenging job market!

While employers said that experience is one of the most influential factors in their decisions to hire a recent college graduate, they also point out the following other attributes for those who may not have a lot of work experience on their resume:

• Be flexible, some college graduates need to be open minded in their job search and look outside of their immediate major.
• Come into the interview with a great level of enthusiasm and prepared and knowledgeable about company, with good ideas and be sure to ask good questions!
• Apply your educational background or draw a connection from experiences in community involvement or campus activities to the job.
• To help your résumé go to the top of the pile, incorporate keywords from the employer’s job posting into your résumé and cover letter as they relate to your skills and experience.

To all recent college graduates, there IS a job out there for you so don’t give up and Good luck! 🙂

College job market improving, hiring up 5.3 percent for Class of 2010

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