Seniors wait, search for jobs
By LIZ KAHLING
News Writer
As graduation looms closer for seniors, they are bombarded with the ubiquitous question, "What are you doing next year?" Most of the seniors have an answer, but there are a number who are still weighing options and still looking.
It's been a discouraging year for hiring with the recession that begin in March 2001, the Sept. 11 tragedy and the Enron and Andersen scandal.
"It's a very different job market in comparison to years past, " says Lee Svete, director of the Career Center. He reports national on campus recruiting down 36 percent this year. Making matters worse is the fact that last year's class was over-hired and some are now only starting their jobs.
Particularly hard hit were the 65 Notre Dame juniors and seniors who were affected by the Andersen meltdown. Alums have also contacted the Career Center to help them relocate. In response, the Career Center has held two meetings to discuss research on the Web and utilizing alumni contacts. Additionally, a listserv was formed to report any internship or job possibilities.
Senior Catherine Sanders is among the group who is still waiting to hear from a partner in Andersen if her position will still be available.
"Everything is uncertain right now, a lot of us are just waiting for things to shake out," she said. Sanders is among a group who still hasn't heard for sure if her offer has been rescinded. She is on an e-mail list at the Career Center that notifies her of possible alternatives or strategies to make it through this unpredictable time.
"It's hard to look for a position now because a lot of jobs have been snapped up at this point of the year. A lot of seniors don't know what they're doing. It's a touchy subject," Sanders said.
But there has been a lot of late recruiting this year as the economy begins a slow recovery. Just this week, Pace Global Energy Services and Hewitt Associates called the Career Center about job positions. Hewitt is hiring 50-60 business analysts. Svete also reports that the government is hiring like crazy because anywhere between 25 to 30 percent of the government workforce is retiring, many of them baby boomers.
A new service available at the Career Center this spring is the City Tour informational meetings that highlight job opportunities in 12 major metropolitan cities including.
"We collected the best info we could find on each city," said Svete.
Students can visit the website and find a short description of the city life and connect to links to major employers in the public and private sectors, the fastest growing companies in the city, and sample companies by industry.
Career service doesn't end for students after graduating. Students will have access to Go Irish all summer and for 30 days after graduation, seniors will be able to access Irish Online, the online alumni directory that contains nearly 100,000 alum contacts. Students can add their names to a listserv for a particular city and receive notices about job opportunities available in the area.
"It's great for networking and picking their[alumni] brains to find out how they broke into the field," said Kevin Monahan, assistant director for Alumni Career Programs.
Other online employment directories can be excellent sources for students still looking. Svete recommended www.directemployers.com, which is a nonprofit Website set up by companies to bypass monster.com. Another link on the Career Center Web page that may be useful is interncenter, which is password protected and only has 28 schools participating.
Monahan reminds seniors that they still offer career counseling including career assessment, resume review, cover letter proofreading, and mock interviews. They also assist students perform company research and find alumni contacts within the company or industry.
"The important thing is not to lose faith and remain aggressive," Svete said.
All News Stories for Friday, April 26, 2002
