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May 19, 2014

CT college grads face sunnier job prospects

Photos | Contributed Colleges are increasingly hosting career fairs to help match students with hiring employers. The UConn Center for Career Development in Storrs (left photo) and Quinnipiac (right photos) both recently hosted a number of Connecticut companies eager to hire college graduates.
Photo | Contributed

About 5,400 UConn undergraduate and graduate students received diplomas this month and about a third of them are expected to start their careers in Connecticut — a number about equal to the total jobs the Hartford area has added in the past year.

Tens of thousands of graduates from other local colleges are also flooding Connecticut's job market right now, ratcheting up competition for entry-level positions. The good news, according to university career counselors: Newly minted grads face improved hiring prospects compared to their peers a year ago.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers estimates employers will hire 8.6 percent more recent college grads this year, up significantly from 2.1 percent last year. Recent grads could also expect a 1.2 percent increase in starting compensation. The employer optimism is being buoyed in part by a stronger national economy and increased demand for students with business, engineering, accounting and computer science degrees.

“The job market, from our perspective, is getting better,” said Nancy Bilmes, director of the UConn Center for Career Development in Storrs. “We've had more employers who want to interview on campus and come to our career fairs.”

Bilmes said the school's job-posting system HuskyCareerLink has seen a 79 percent increase in new employers, partly the result of UConn marketing the service but also an indication that employers have more openings this year than last.

Big gains are also evident at Hamden's Quinnipiac University, according to Jill Ferrall, associate dean for career development at the School of Business & Engineering, where 35 percent of its 675 graduates are expected to remain in Connecticut.

“I had a 40 percent increase in companies attending my spring career fair from the previous year,” Ferrall said. “On-campus recruiting is still really busy, in terms of employers coming to campus. Right now we have over 600 jobs posted on our jobs board, which is very high.

“I don't see a lot of anxiety with our students,” she added. “That's telling me that one, the students aren't panicking, and two, our students really were preparing throughout the year and not waiting until the last minute to try to find gainful employment for themselves.”

In the past year, Bilmes said UConn has seen more medium- and small-sized employers recruiting on campus and they're looking for a few new hires rather than dozens of new additions, which she takes as a positive sign that the mainstream economy is in motion.

Quinnipiac is seeing the most hiring in the finance, technology and engineering industries, with accounting and computer information systems among the job functions most in demand. Ferrall said employers also seem to be taking an interest in entrepreneurial studies, or experience graduates have on their resume.

Quinnipiac has yet to finalize data on the job search experience; the class of 2013 spent one to three months, on average, searching for employment, depending on their preparation and dedication, Ferrall said. They also reported initial compensation of just over $50,000 on average.

Still, even though hiring prospects are up, today's job market doesn't rival the bull market that preceded the recession.

Nationally, the unemployment rate for college graduates under 30 is about 10.7 percent, down from 13.3 percent a year earlier, but well above the overall U.S. unemployment rate of 6.3 percent, according to the Department of Labor.

Connecticut's April unemployment rate dropped below 7 percent for the first time since 2008.

For those still seeking work, and who might be getting discouraged as June fast approaches, Ferrall counsels perseverance and attitude.

“There are always opportunities out there, even in the down times,” she said. “There are always opportunities for the students who are hungry and who are going to go for it, and work hard to get those opportunities.”

Bilmes and Ferrall said one major change in student behavior this year is the increased use of LinkedIn for the job search, as students look for ways to better market themselves and scout opportunities.

Last year the professional social networking site created a “University Pages” feature focusing on the job search process for college students, while lowering its minimum age to allow high school students to sign up. That has piqued more user interest among college students heading into the workforce.

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