70% of College Seniors Expect to be Hired Within Three Months of Graduation and Half Expect to Earn $50,000+

Yet another sign has emerged that the labor market has rebounded from the recession of 2001-03. Today’s college seniors are very confident that they will find jobs upon graduation and that those jobs will pay well. In a nationwide survey by Yahoo! HotJobs, 69 percent of college seniors indicate that they expect to have a full-time job within three months of graduation, up a remarkable 17 percent from just a year ago. In addition, more than two thirds of those seniors expect that their job will be within their desired field of interest and that they will make more than $50,000 in their first year.
So what’s important to college graduates when choosing between competing offers? Work-life balance is often mentioned as the most important factor for this Millenial generation. While that is a factor, far more are concerned about the reputation of the employer. The percentage breakdowns are:

• Desire to work for a reputable company (60 percent)
• A strong starting salary (58 percent)
• A well-defined career path (56 percent)
• Location (46 percent)
• Work-life balance (28 percent)

Also interesting is that the large percentage of seniors who are willing to work in temporary jobs or in a different field until they can field a position in their chosen career field. More than half (53 percent) said that they would work as a temp or in a different field while only 10 percent would hold out for a full-time position in their chosen field.
As for which career fields are most sought after by the college seniors of 2006, the hottest jobs are finance, communications (includes marketing, advertising, and public relations), and healthcare. Previously hot fields such as retail and sales declined.
Finally, the perception amongst many older people is that the Millenial generation is not willing to pay their dues and that they are lazy. From my discussions with these young adults, I know that is simply not true for the vast majority of them. The survey revealed that 68 percent think that they will need to start at the bottom in terms of responsibility and then advance up the corporate ladder by proving themselves. Only 28 percent believe that they will be working on important projects immediately.