Class of 2002: Looking for Work

Feb. 4, 2002 -- With his economics, business and computer science course work, college senior Adam Cearley is the kind of student who not too long ago would have been courted by potential employers offering signing bonuses, fat salaries and perks like company cars and foosball tables.

But like many members of the class of 2002, Cearley is coming to terms with tamped-down expectations. Before the recession officially began last March, "even philosophy majors could find jobs," said Cearley, 21, a senior at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn. "Now, it's a seller's market for employers."

Indeed, while some specialties are still in demand — pharmacists, teachers, nurses and civil engineers, for example — college career officers say they are struggling in the bleak economic climate to help many students leverage their diplomas into job offers.

A Rutgers University January 2001 job fair, for example, hosted 247 employers and 2,650 job candidates. For 2002, the number of employers dropped to 178 — a 29 percent decline — but jobseekers swelled to 4,887.

For the fall 2001 semester, Rutgers also saw a 40 percent decline in on-campus recruiting activity from 2000. "That suggests a significant decline. We're not talking about single-digit changes," said Richard White, director of Rutgers' office of career services in New Brunswick, N.J. Although some economists say the recession could soon end, White said he hasn't seen any easing of the tight job market.

Rutgers' experience seems to be reflected nationwide. A survey of employers released last month by the National Association of Colleges and Employers showed that they expected to hire approximately 20 percent fewer new college graduates this year than last.

And last year wasn't exactly a prime time for first-time job seeking, when nightmare stories abounded about corporations rescinding job offers or delaying the start of employment for a year or more.

Ask Not What Your Country …

Now, corporate belt-tightening is forcing many in the class of 2002 to seek alternatives to traditional employment.

Graduate schools are reporting whopping increases in applications. American University in Washington, D.C., for example, is seeing a 70 percent increase for its School of International Service and a 50 percent increase for its School of Public Affairs. At Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, undergraduate student interest in law school is up 30 percent.

Although some students surely would apply for graduate programs anyway, college placement officers say some seniors hope more schooling will allow them to stave off the painful job-seeking process.

Student interest in public service opportunities is also up, perhaps dually a product of the recession and a potential wave of altruism since the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Teach for America, the corps of recent college grads who teach in urban or rural public schools, has seen a trebling of applications since the previous year, officials say. The Peace Corps has also seen a dramatic rise in inquiries — about a one-third rise in Sept.-Dec. 2001 from the same period the previous year.

"Many more students are asking for contacts in government and non-profits than we've ever seen before," said Donna Goldfeder, Lehigh's director of career services. "I don't think that comes from just the attitude that there's nothing available, I think it comes partly from wanting to give back."

Jasen Andersen, a Peace Corps nominee and business and psychology double-major at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., attended an on-campus job fair last fall but found nothing of interest. Then, a friend told him about the Peace Corps.

"I think it's important to learn about other cultures, especially in a world where there is so much controversy and strife," said Andersen, a 21-year-old from Philadelphia. If he was offered a high-paying job right out of school, "it would be a tough decision," he said, but added that he will have the rest of his life to take a "desk job in corporate America."

It's the Economy, Stupid

For his part, Cearley is holding out for a job, checking out employment listings on the Internet and taking advantage of the resources at his campus career placement office. But instead of being cherry-picked by a plum corporation as his computer science-major brother was a few years ago, he realizes he may have to settle for whatever job he can find — within reason.

"I prefer not to have a bachelor's degree and work in a restaurant," the 21-year-old Nashville native says. As a student of economics, Cearley says he has an informed perspective on the ups and downs of the market — he doesn't blame himself for the dearth of jobs.

Jackie Hing, associate director of career services for Rice University in Houston, said she also has seen students with Cearley's healthy attitude.

"It's almost as if students have resigned themselves to the fact that the job market isn't so great," Hing said. "They are saying, 'I might as well travel, or go to grad school.' It's an ironic thing that in the really hot job market we had, the sense of urgency was more heightened. The idea was, 'everyone is getting a great job, what's wrong with me.' In a low market, they are saying, 'OK, I am not the only one out here. It's all right."

A Teachable Moment

But not all students have that perspective, some career advisors say, leading to a general sense of anxiety among many job-seeking students.

"What we're seeing is a mix. Some students are just in disbelief," said Alice-Kay Hilderbrand, director of student development at Ohio Northern University. "Because their friend, significant other or some person on the football team got a job with a big salary and a $10,000 bonus two years ago, they think that's what they're going to get. Others are so absolutely scared they're just wired, too scared to write or update a résumé."

Of course, the job outlook isn't all bad for college seniors — especially those who have had internships and work experience or are lucky enough to be in a field relatively unscathed by the recession.

But in general, compared to the late 1990s, students now must work harder, look more closely and be more patient.

For campus career officers, says Katherine Stahl, executive director of American University's career center, slow times at the job fair call for what she dubs "recession education" for staff and students alike.

"We have a teachable moment for the long-term process," Stahl said. "We're trying to help educate them that dips in the economy don't happen just to them. We also have to remember that things [in the economy] don't just go up."