Lesley Michaels
Staff Writer

First impressions, interview suits, entry-level salaries. Finding one’s niche after college is challenging enough, and the current economic situation is leaving seniors with added stress.

Although the country has witnessed far worse economic states of recession, those preparing for the professional world are nervous nonetheless.

“I would call the economy weak,” said Paul J. Abbondante, professor of finance at the University of La Verne.

According to Abbondante, three basic reasons behind the weak economy are: the subprime mortgage problem, the natural cycle of business, and the media coverage of them. When bad news is reported, people start fearing and stop spending.

So fear of a recession and its accompanying behaviors actually intensifies the likelihood of a recession, Abbondante said.

Given the rough state of the economy, is there hope for aspiring college graduates?

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the total percent of hires in many industries has increased by eight percent from 2007 to 2008.

Jobs in the field of utilities, nonprofit and government have all had between 17 percent and 49 percent increases in hires since last year.

However, fields like construction and finance have decreased, although at a smaller percent.

“Last month there was a national 5.1 percent unemployment rate, which means there is roughly a 95 percent chance of getting a good job,” Abbondante said. “There are lots of jobs out there, but the search is harder. Make sure you do everything you can to increase your chances.”

“The job market always looks good to me because I know there are plenty of good jobs out there, just as long as students are realistic about jobs and take proper measures to ensure they are prepared,” Paula Verdugo, director of career services at ULV, said.

Being prepared for a career search means the individual perfects the resume, brushes up on interview skills and decides the best way to highlight their individual skills, Verdugo said.

One of Verdugo’s suggestions for job search preparation is to stop by the ULV Career Services on campus, as 700 students and alumni did last year.

Doing everything short of placing a student in a job, career services provides free services for life including resume proof-reading (even supplying resume paper if needed), conducting mock interviews and offering general assistance for students trying to discover where they would like to apply their talents.

“We treat every student differently based on where they are in their search. For most students, we start at the basics and work on through,” Verdugo said.

One of the advantages of technology is utilizing the internet to search for careers.

With Web sites such as indeed.com and hound.com, the hunt is easier, yet the emphasis on writing skills and professional resumes increases.

“There are so many resumes submitted online to employers, they cannot interview every person. Instead they make evaluations based on the resumes which replace the first interview impressions,” Abbondante said.

Senior Vanessa Martinez, an international business and language major, has used ULV’s career services, particularly for resume crafting assistance.

“Life after college is intimidating because at least going to school every day is a plan,” Martinez said. “But when school is ending, there’s a lot of searching and uncertainty that leaves people scared.”

While many graduating students remain uncertain where they exactly want to end up, Verdugo reminds everyone that the average American changes careers – not just individual jobs – four or five times in their life.

Students may feel inclined to immediately enter graduate school after graduation, which is absolutely fine if they are entirely certain of what they are doing there, Verdugo said.

“Normally we tell students not to seek grad school for the sake of continuing something familiar. It costs too much to discover half way through it that it’s not for you,” Verdugo said.

Even if a student is certain of their grad school path, Abbondante recommends they refrain from immediately enrolling.

“Some business schools won’t even accept students until they’re held a job for three to five years after undergrad. Get the experience first, because it’s valuable,” Abbondante said.

In the meantime, whether deciding to embark on grad school or getting that foot in the door, a key element to remember is that experience helps.

“My best advice is to find what you like and take an internship. Get involved while you can,” Martinez said.

Lesley Michaels can be reached at lmichaels@ulv.edu.