Employers and students have expressed a "cautious sense of optimism" regarding the current job market, and a higher percentage of Dartmouth seniors have reported securing post-College employment than they did at this time last year, according to Monica Wilson, associate director of employer relations at Career Services. To make themselves more marketable as they face stiff competition for jobs and spots in graduate school, many students said they have chosen to focus on developing unique skills in areas ranging from leadership to foreign language.
Dartmouth's Career Services distributes an annual online survey to the senior class to determine "where seniors are" in their post-college planning and to encourage them to use the various resources available at Career Services, Wilson said. Almost 300 students participated in this year's questionnaire.
Thirty-seven percent of seniors have accepted a full-time job offer, up from 33.3 percent last year, according to the survey, while 24 percent of survey participants are still seeking employment, down from 31.8 percent last Spring. The number of students pursuing full-time educational opportunities has remained relatively constant, at approximately 24 percent.
The situation at Dartmouth mirrors nationwide post-college employment as shown in the Job Outlook 2010 Spring Update report, published by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. The report predicts that 5.3 percent more recent graduates will be hired in 2009-10 than in the previous year, the first increase since fall of 2008.
Of the 177 employers that participated in the report, almost 80 percent said they plan to hire new employees for full-time or internship positions this Spring. Nevertheless, almost half the organizations reported decreased recruitment budgets due to economic uncertainty, according to the NACE website.
Many students said they were aware of the challenging job market situation and increased their job search efforts accordingly.
Terra Branson '10 who will be working as a paralegal in Washington, D.C., next year said the job search process depended on advance preparation.
"Most of us recognized that the job market was pretty tight and started the search early," she said.
Wilson said the current market may influence which fields students choose to pursue, adding that marketing, advertising, government agencies and fields related to health care are "actively seeking new employees."
"We've had some marketing and advertising firms come that haven't been on campus for a few years and there seems to be strong student interest," she said.
A wide variety of government agencies, including the State Department, Central Intelligence Agency and Peace Corps, reached out to Dartmouth students and there were strong turnouts at their information sessions on campus, Wilson said.
Despite a decrease in the number of available finance jobs last year, the financial industry seems to be "bouncing back," Wilson said.
"Finance organizations were the ones suffering the most last year and while the job availability in this field may not be back to its original number, it definitely started to rebound this past Winter," she said.
Branson said her choice of career path was not influenced by the current economic climate.
"I don't think fears about the job market impacted what I pursued," Branson said. "I was just looking for a job where I could use my brain and develop skills that I hadn't necessarily learned in the classroom."
Despite recent optimism, Wilson said there is some concern that the improvement in the labor market may not be sustainable.
Lou-Lou Igbokwe '10, who plans to attend New York University Tisch School of the Arts Asia for dramatic writing next year, said all students, regardless of their field, are coping with the precarious economic situation.
"The security is gone for everyone," she said. "The arts are always in danger, whether or not we're in a recession, but many students in other industries aren't used to this feeling of uncertainty."
She added that several years ago, most students were "fairly certain" that they would be able to secure a job in the field of their choice. Today, this assurance is gone and students are more willing to be flexible about location, Igbokwe said.
"Whereas a few years ago students seemed to have a very clear image of where they would be, today people are much more likely to say I'll go to New York, Boston or wherever,'" she said.
At the beginning of each school year, Career Services hosts a career fair for recruiters and students. The Fall 2009 fair attracted fewer recruiters and students than previous years, according to Wilson.
While many employers have reduced recruiting efforts due to budget cuts and decreases in staff availability, the prospects for the 2010 fair are "very promising," she said.
"I've already heard from a number of employers who didn't come this past Fall but who want to attend this year," she said.
Wilson added that Dartmouth's schedule and location affects the recruitment process.
"At Dartmouth, the fair is much more crucial because with a 10-week term, employers don't have time to hold individual information sessions," she said. "It's the only face-to-face opportunity on campus and because of this, we tend to get a higher level of employer participation."
Wilson cited the cancellation of the direct flight from New York to Hanover in 2008 as "an impediment to employers," who now must change planes, take a long bus ride or drive over four hours to reach campus. Cape Air announced that it would offer a flight from the Lebanon Municipal Airport to White Plains, N.Y., in March of this year.
An increasing number of employers have contacted the College with new opportunities, Wilson said.
"There's a bit of a myth that you need to know what you want to do before you come in but that's not the case," she said. "You don't need a specific plan to explore our resources and find out about ways to get started."
As jobs become more competitive, students are looking for ways to make themselves more attractive to potential employers, Jocelyn Krauss '10 said. Krauss said she decided to participate in the Rockefeller Center's Management and Leadership Development program to develop skills not taught in the classroom.
"A lot of students don't have the opportunity to learn skills related to strategic management, public speaking and negotiation," she said. "I think employers will recognize the advantages of the program."
Stefani Ruper '10 said that accumulating transferable skills is necessary to make applicants more competitive in graduate school admissions. Ruper, who hopes to attend graduate school for history, plans to work as an au pair in Italy for the next year in order to learn Italian.
"My primary objective is to build knowledge of more languages, which I hope will help give me an advantage in the application process," she said.
Students should use personal networks such as friends, family members, parents' friends, alumni, student organizations and faculty members as potential resources during the job search, Wilson said.
