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Rising above the crowd is key to success in a tight job market

Fast forward to 2009. With the volatile economy and firms making split-second decisions to slash positions, a certain number of graduates may experience similar difficulty finding employment in their chosen field and need to trot out a Plan B strategy.

“We’re seeing college hiring as pretty much flat for the class of 2009,” advised Andrea Collins, employment information manager for the National Association of Colleges and Employers. NACE is the leading source of information on the employment of the college-educated, connecting nearly 2,000 college and universities nationwide with HR/staffing professionals in the market.

“When we went out to employers in August, their original projections were that they were going to hire 6 percent more graduates than last year. Since then, we’ve gone out to same respondents, and they’re now saying little more than 1 percent,” Collins reported.

Locally, Sinclair Community College is bracing graduates for a worst-case scenario and positing that the solution to a tight job market requires preparation, polish and persistence.

“We’re trying to hammer home those skills that make graduates stand out in the crowd,” Career Services manager Matt Massie stressed. “We start working with students as soon as they hit that second year.”

The Sinclair mantra is “be as well-polished as you can be.” Interviewing skills should be topnotch, the resume impeccable.

“With as many candidates as there are out there, you don’t want an employer weeding you out,” Massie reminded.

To get results, graduates should commit to spending full time finding a job and use resources available to them.

“They need to be in continual contact with their career service staff,” Massie urged. “Often, they’ll try to go it alone. Go back to the school career center and have them help you. That’s why they’re there. These offices exist to assist people.”

If the job search extends beyond six months, Massie suggests taking additional classes to acquire more marketable skills.

“Continue to upgrade your skills in a tough time, the more marketable you will be,” he said.