What employers want
These attributes were most important to 260 employers surveyed about what they look for in recent college graduates:
Leadership … 77.8 percent
Ability to work in a team … 77.8 percent
Written communication skills … 73.4 percent
Problem-solving skills … 70.9 percent
Strong work ethic … 70.4 percent
Source: NACE Job Outlook 2015
Double-digit growth
Six job sectors will see double-digit growth in the coming year, according to a Michigan State University survey of nearly 5,700 employers:
Information services … 51 percent
Finance & insurance … 31 percent
Professional, business & scientific services … 24 percent
Government … 24 percent
Manufacturing … 17 percent
Nonprofits … 16 percent
Source: Recruiting Trends 2014-15, Michigan State University College Employment Research Institute
Job prospects for new college graduates are stronger than they’ve been in years, according to two national studies, including one that predicts hiring for grads holding bachelor degrees will increase by 16 percent in 2015.
The College Employment Research Institute at Michigan State University, which polled 5,700 employers nationwide, says the recruiting of freshly minted college graduates is reaching levels “not seen since the dot-com frenzy of 1999-2000.”
The National Association of Colleges and Employers took a more conservative stance, but still estimates that employers will boost hiring for the Class of 2015 by 8.3 percent.
Area colleges agree the job market for young professionals is strong — and not just in traditionally coveted STEM fields.
“We keep hearing STEM, engineering, computer science, but it’s a lot of everything,” said Joseph Slater, interim associate vice president for Career and Workforce Development at Wright State University. “In the spring, the complaint that we got was we didn’t have enough liberal arts students at our career fair.”
Slater said WSU’s fall career fair was the largest ever at the school and employers had to be turned away.
“We’re seeing interest in hiring beyond anything we’ve ever seen from that single metric,” Slater said. “We’re trying to adapt to this new paradigm of companies being hungry for students.”
The University of Dayton and Miami University reported similar momentum. UD’s fall career and internship fair at a packed UD Arena drew 195 employers — and there was a wait list.
“For people who have skills and experiences, there are certainly jobs for which to compete,” said Jason Eckert, UD director of Career Services. “From a hiring perspective, I think we have moved beyond the bottom of the recession and there’s a lot of reason for hope.”
Accounting is No. 1
One-third of NACE respondents rated the current job market as “very good,” a sizeable increase from 16.5 percent last year. NACE received completed surveys from 260 employers, including major regional players such as Procter & Gamble, General Electric, Honda and Macy’s.
That positive response coincides with more hiring in Ohio. The state unemployment rate in November was a healthy 5 percent, its lowest in 13 years.
“A lot of my friends have accepted positions,” said Miami senior Erika Spragg, who in August accepted an offer from Exel, a logistics company in Trotwood. “There’s a few that are still looking, but the majority of the people I know have jobs.”
The U.S. Department of Labor reported 4.8 million job openings nationally at the end of October, and businesses are trying to fill many of them with young workers.
“The job market is actually significantly better for someone in their 20s compared to someone with 30 years of experience because the cost to hire someone who has less experience is so much less,” Eckert said.
The top five undergraduate majors in the Midwest, according to NACE, are accounting, finance, mechanical engineering, computer science and electrical engineering.
“It’s exciting time to be a college graduate,” said Michael Goldman, Director of Career Services at Miami University.
Registrations for Miami’s February career fair is tracking close to last year when about 175 employers were represented at Millett Hall. The university holds a larger event in the fall.
Experience counts
Good grades are important for job-seekers, employers say, but in many cases practical experience trumps a 4.0. More than 72 percent of NACE respondents said they “prefer to hire candidates with relevant work experience.”
“A student can’t even apply for a position, a posted internship or job on Miami CareerLink until they’ve completed an interviewing program,” said Goldman, who gave high marks to the state’s Ohio Means Internships & Co-ops program.
The most sought-after attributes of new college graduates, according to the surveys, are leadership, the ability to work in a team, written communication skills, problem-solving skills, and a strong work ethic.
Those traits helped Spragg land a job as an operations supervisor at Exel, which helps businesses across the world run their warehouses and ship goods.
Spragg, who will graduate from Miami in the spring and start her new job in June, minored in Supply Chain Management an majored in Spanish and Latin American Studies. Many Exel employees are Hispanic, so Spragg earned “instant respect” on the warehouse floor, according to Exel general manager Bob DePouw.
Spragg’s experiences at Miami helped her land a summer internship, which led to a job offer. The Carroll High School graduate was a student manager at a school dining hall, where she managed about about 20 employees — the same number of workers she’ll lead at Exel.
The Huber Heights resident also held a leadership position in her sorority and is a member of the water-ski team.
“The landscape is getting more competitive for good talent,” DePouw said. “Everyone talks about grades, but I want that kid with a 3.0 who worked two part-time jobs. It shows that they’re not afraid to work.”
Being in the right place at the right time doesn’t hurt, either. Spragg contacted Exel after a chat with a professor who thought she would be a good fit for the company.
“I got a foot in the door because I said ‘hi’ to a professor in a dining hall,” she said. “That conversation spun into ‘what do you want to do with your life?’ I didn’t plan for that to happen. You never know when a door might open.”
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