College Grads: Step-By-Step Guide For Entering The Workplace

Think you are ready for the real world, college graduates?  Here are some tips to help you make a smooth transition from college to the workplace.

The following is a guest post by Aileen Pablo. It’s a big step to go from winning your frat’s beer pong championship to dealing with rush hour traffic on your daily commute. College is supposed to prepare you for the real world, but it’s also your last hurrah before adulthood, so sometimes that jump into your first adult job

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College Grads: Step-By-Step Guide For Entering The Workplace

8 Workwear Tips for College Grads

Once the euphoria of graduation subsides, reality kicks in and the “real world” inevitably comes calling. If you’re lucky enough to have solid job prospects — or better yet, an actual offer — be sure your work wardrobe is ready for the next chapter.

It may seem like a small detail, but presenting yourself professionally is paramount in building a solid rapport with your new employer. Read on for eight tips to get you on the right — and fashionable — foot for your new job. Continue Reading

11 Useful Gifts for College Grads

Once the euphoria of being done with class has subsided, new grads must face what adults have been warning them about for twenty-plus years: the real world.

Poised on the cusp of opportunity, young professionals may be considered “the lucky ones” by the older crowd, but grappling with unemployment and severe debt is no walk in the park. Ease the transition from carefree college life to responsible adulthood with these 11 practical gifts for college grads. Continue Reading

7 Hot Jobs for New College Grads

One Final Semester – What’s Next?

The job market isn’t exactly ideal for recent college graduates, but recent studies have shown that hiring is finally headed in a positive direction. Bloomberg Businessweek reported that recent graduates of the class of 2011 are seeing progress due to a “window of economic growth,” and that window could be responsible for the greatest increase of hired, newly graduated employees since the school-to-work transition of the class of 2008. Although the increase benefited this year’s college grads in general, grads with degrees in business and accounting saw the most success. Continue Reading

Unemployment Rate for College Grads Falls From 9.4 to 6.2%

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that unemployment rates for bachelor’s degree holders ages 20 to 24 not only have dropped month over month from September through November 2011 -— from 8.3 percent to 6.2 percent -— but also over the past year. For example, the rates for the most recent three months all dipped in comparison to their 2010 counterparts: Continue Reading

Recent Graduates, Remember These Tips in Your Job Search

You have just graduated from college and are ready to conquer the world.  First, though, you need a job.  While you may not have the most work experience among your competition, that does not mean you can’t get hired.  For some employers, the energy you bring to your job search can make the difference in landing a new position.

As a recent graduate, remember these tips in your job search: Continue Reading

The Best Companies for College Grads and Entry Level Jobs

“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

So what exactly is an entry level job? According to Wikipedia (and this is an excerpt) – “An entry-level job is a job that is normally designed or designated for recent graduates of a given discipline, and doesn’t ask for prior experience in the field or profession. These may require some on-site training.“. Now I’m not sure that is a perfect definition, because not all entry level jobs are for college grads. There are many entry level jobs for people who have not attended college or are college students. So how about this one from BusinessDictionary.com- “Bottom-level employment in a firm which usually requires ordinary-level of education, training, and experience qualifications. It gives a recruit the benefit of a gainful occupation, opportunity to learn and gain experience, and serves as a stepping-stone for higher-level jobs.“. Still doesn’t sound like the best definition but it is a better definition than the first one. Today’s post is about finding the best companies for entry level jobs (however they are defined). Continue Reading

Engineering Majors Are The Highest Paid College Grads

Engineering degrees account for four of the five most highly paid majors among the college Class of 2010, according to a new study conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

NACE’s Summer 2010 Salary Survey shows that petroleum engineers earned the highest starting salary offer—$74,799—followed by chemical engineers ($65,628). (See Figure 1.)

The only non-engineering degree to crack the top five was computer science, coming in at third with an average starting salary offer of $61,112.

Rounding out the top five were computer engineering ($59,917) and electrical/electronics engineering ($59,381).

Despite the high salaries, the current averages actually represent lost ground for all but chemical engineering graduates.

The average offer to chemical engineers gained 1.1 percent over last year at this time, but the average offer to petroleum engineers fell 10 percent compared to July 2009.

Losses were smaller for graduates in computer science (down 0.5 percent), computer engineering (down 2.9 percent), and electrical/electronics engineering (down 1.2 percent).

“Those high starting salary offers reflect the uneven supply and demand that exists for these graduates, even in the current economy,” says Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director.

In fact, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), all engineering degrees accounted for just 5.4 percent of the 1,563,069 bachelor’s degrees conferred in 2008.* Just 521—or 0.03 percent of the total number of bachelor’s degrees—were conferred in petroleum engineering.

“All of the top five earners are in short supply,” says Mackes. “Each accounts for less than 1 percent of the degrees granted.”