Forty-nine percent of the college class of 1999 graduated without having a job lined up, according to the 2000 Career Services Survey published by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Despite the booming economy and the lowest unemployment rate in decades, a lot of bright, educated young people cannot seem to find the right opportunity.

Today's graduates may be experiencing an envious yet detrimental dilemma: too many jobs to choose from.

"If you don't know what you want, employers won't know whether to hire you," says Denny Bennett, president of GradStaff, which specializes in placing college graduates.

Bennett offers the following job-seeking suggestions for the current crop of graduates.

1 - Decide what you want in a job. Too many recent graduates use the "shotgun" approach to finding a job, sending out 100 resumes and seeing what happens. "These are the graduates we work with six months from now," Bennett said. Use all available resources to learn about companies and the positions they offer, including college career service centers, informational interviews, internships and even temporary employment. GradStaff, for example, offers "exploratory" positions through its Project Staffer program. This puts graduates to work with some of the area's top companies on a project basis. The good news is more than 65 percent of Project Staffers are offered full-time employment by one of the companies to which they are assigned.

2 - Present yourself in the best possible light. The resumes of most recent graduates consist of 50 words or less, describing three or four skills for each job, internship, or school project listed. Even a position at a fast food restaurant involves dozens of different skills and abilities. So customize your resume by choosing the components of past jobs that are most relevant to the one for which you're applying and describe them in detail.

3 - Be prepared to answer two important questions: "Why should I hire you?" and "Why do you want this position?". Once you know the answers to these two key questions, you'll be better prepared to answer the rest.

4 - Always ask questions. Asking questions shows an interviewer you're interested and gives you valuable information for the next interview. Good questions seek better understanding of a position, clarify what skills are important for the job, show that you are visualizing yourself achieving in the position, and probe future opportunities for growth in the position.

5 - Always follow up. Summarize your qualifications as well as your motivations while showcasing your writing skills.

-- Article courtesy of GradStaff, which recruits bright, computer-literate college graduates from more than 45 Midwest colleges and universities and places them in challenging entry-level positions with progressive, growing companies. It has offices in Chicago, Minneapolis and Milwaukee. Additional information is available from Denny Bennett, president, at (612) 339-5332 or dbennett@gradstaff.com