1.8 Million 2013 Four-Year College Grads Entering Improving Job Market

John Challenger of Challenger, Gray & Christmas

With college seniors around the nation returning to their respective campuses following spring break recess, many will undoubtedly turn their attention to their impending graduation and the search for their first post-collegiate job.  A new analysis of the entry-level job market estimates that while the job market continues to strengthen for college graduates, the environment remains highly competitive, which may force some to pursue unexpected career paths.

In its annual college graduate job-market outlook, global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. says this year’s crop of 1.8 million bachelor’s degree recipients will be able to take advantage of the 36 consecutive months of private-sector employment growth that has occurred since the jobs recovery began in earnest in March 2010.

“Job creation has been slow, but it has been steady.  Over the past 14 months, private payrolls have grown by an average of 190,000 new workers per month.  There are a growing number of opportunities for job seekers, but the search definitely requires an aggressive approach.  This is especially true for new graduates, who are likely to have less real-world experience to point to in job interviews,” said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Continue Reading

Internships Open the Door to Getting and Keeping Jobs

Students in the Class of 2013 can boost their chances of finding jobs by taking advantage of internships.  Learn more in the following post.

For the sixth consecutive year, two annual nationwide surveys, both conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), indicate that performing a college internship not only increases one’s opportunities to land a job, but also to keep a job. The 2012 Internship and Co-op Survey and the Student Survey Class of 2012 revealed that 63% of paid interns received at least one job offer upon graduation. In contrast, only 36% of graduates who have no internship experience received at least one job offer. Continue Reading

Top Paying Liberal Arts Majors

Three liberal arts majors had average starting salaries that topped $40,000 in 2012, according to a new report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

NACE’s January 2013 Salary Survey (see Figure 1) found that the top-paying liberal arts majors in 2012 were: Continue Reading

Employers Taking 30+ Days to Extend Offers After Interview Date

How long can a college student expect to wait for a job offer after an interview? And, after an offer is extended, how long will he or she have to accept or reject it?

NACE’s 2012 Recruiting Benchmarks Survey found that, on average, employers hiring new college graduates take 24.2 business days to extend an offer to a college student after an interview. If you add in weekend and holiday days, that means that the employers are asking the average candidate to wait more than 30 days from the date of their interview to receive an offer of employment. Once an offer has been extended, employers then give the candidate an average of 14.1 business days to make a decision. Continue Reading

6 of 10 Top Paying Majors in Engineering

Marilyn Mackes of NACE

Technical majors—particularly those in engineering—dominated the list of top-paying majors in 2012, according to a new report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

NACE’s January 2013 Salary Survey found that six engineering majors were among the 10 highest-paid at the bachelor’s-degree level.  Continue Reading

College Grad Starting Average Salary Jumps 3.4% to $44,455

The average starting salary for new college graduates earning bachelor’s degrees has risen 3.4 percent over last year, according to the January 2013 Salary Survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

The survey found that the overall increase has carried the average starting salary for 2012 college graduates earning bachelor’s degrees to $44,455, outpacing the 2011 average salary of $42,987. Continue Reading

CollegeRecruiter.com Founder Selected to Present at 2013 NACE Annual Conference

Steven Rothberg of CollegeRecruiter.com

MINNEAPOLIS, MN, December 17, 2012 – Steven Rothberg, President and Founder of CollegeRecruiter.com, has been selected as one of the presenters at the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) 2013 Annual Conference in Orlando next June.

“It’s been a couple of years since I’ve had the opportunity to deliver a presentation at the NACE annual conference and I’m excited about doing so again next spring. NACE conferences are always very well attended by hundreds of the world’s leading employers of university students and recent graduates and even more college career service office professionals. The organizers are always laser focused on delivering the content that their members want, regardless of whether those members are new to the field or have decades of experience,” said Rothberg. Continue Reading

Annual Salary Increases More Important to New Grads Than Medical Insurance Benefits

Marilyn Mackes of NACE

Annual salary increases are the most preferred benefit among job-seeking new college graduates, according to results of a new study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

Historically, graduating seniors taking part in NACE’s annual student survey have placed medical insurance in the top spot, according to Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director. Continue Reading

Forget the Early Worm. Grads With Best Communication Skills Get the Jobs.

What sets two equally qualified job candidates apart can be as simple as who has the better communication skills.

An annual survey of the job market for new college graduates shows that, year after year, certain skills, attributes, and qualities show up on employers’ “most wanted” list. Continue Reading

60% of Paid Interns Received At Least One Job Offer

Much has been written over the years about the difficulty recent college graduates have in finding career-related employment and, in many cases, any employment at all.

A recently released survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers demonstrates the wide disparity between college grads who didn’t start applying for jobs until they graduates versus those who applied for jobs prior to graduation versus those who completed at least one internship or co-op position prior to graduation versus those who completed a paid internship or co-op position. Continue Reading